Argus Filch

[Eustace_Scrubb]

No: HPFGUIDX 101572

The ongoing discussion of squibs and late bloomers makes me wonder
about the role of Argus Filch in the series.  If this has all been
hashed out before, I apologize.

We don't know Filch's story.
  
What's he doing at Hogwarts, anyway?  It appears he's a squib or a
very minimally-abled wizard.  In another thread I wrote that "Filch is
a bitter man who is tormented by hundreds of bratty wizards and
witches all day--I would think Hogwarts would be a squib's existential
hell."  Yet he's been there for years--we don't know exactly how long.

In Greek mythology, Argus was a hundred-eyed herdsman or servant of
Hera.  When Zeus seduced Io, he changed her into a cow to in an
unsuccessful attempt to deceive Hera.  Hera asked Zeus for the cow and
set Argus to guard bovine-Io. Zeus then had Hermes kill Argus to free
Io.  In Ovid's version, Hermes used a magic wand to seal Argus's eyes,
then killed him.  According to Aeschylus, Argus was "earth-born." 
(see www.pantheon.org for more detail)

Now, in the Potterverse, Filch's omnipresent watchfulness is analogous
to the mythic Argus' hundred eyes.  Is the "earth-born" status of
mythic Argus equivalent to the squib status of Filch?

Is Filch at Hogwarts to guard something or someone specific (maybe
someone who's been transfigured into something else), or is he just
generally watchful?  The mythic Argus ultimately fails to successfully
guard Io, losing his life in the process.  Is there a connection to
the frequent futility of Filch's efforts to catch
Harry/Ron/Fred/George/ students in general doing things prohibited by
school rules?  Or again, will he ultimately fatally fail at some more
specific and important task?  Any chance Mrs. Norris might not be what
she appears to be?

It's clear JKR is using the name Argus to tell us something about
Filch, the question is how much.  Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Eustace_Scrubb