Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Phorbas (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Φόρβας, gen. Φόρβαντος) or Phorbaceus was the sixth king of Argos.

Family

Phorbas was given two different parentage and progeny by various sources. According to ''

scholia Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient a ...

'' on

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

, his parents were

Criasus In Greek mythology, Criasus (; Ancient Greek: Κρίασος ''Kriasos'') was a king of Argos. Family Criasus was the son of Argus and Evadne (daughter of Strymon) or the Oceanid Peitho. He had five brothers who were named Ecbasus, Jasus, ...

and

Melantho In Greek mythology, Melantho (; Ancient Greek: Μελανθώ) may refer to the following women: * Melantho, also called Melanthea, a Phthian princess as the daughter of King Deucalion and Pyrrha of Thessaly, Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus and Pa ...

( MelantomiceAugustine, ''City of God'
18.8
/ref>), brother of

Ereuthalion In Greek mythology, the name Ereuthalion (Ancient Greek: Ἐρευθαλίων) may refer to: *Ereuthalion, son of Criasus, founder and eponym of the city Ereuthalia. *Ereuthalion, an Arcadian who fought in the battle against the Pylians "beneat ...

and

Cleoboea In Greek mythology, the name Cleoboea () refers to multiple women: *Cleoboea, daughter of Criasus and Melantho, sister of Phorbas and Ereuthalion. *Cleoboea, mother of Eurythemis. Her daughter was married to King Thestius of Pleuron in Aetolia. ...

and father of

Arestor In Greek mythology, Arestor (Ancient Greek: Ἀρέστωρ, ''gen''.: Ἀρέστορος) may refer to two distinct characters: * Arestor, an Argos, Peloponnese, Argive prince as the son of Phorbas (king of Argos), Phorbas (possibly by Euboea (m ...

and

Triopas In Greek mythology, Triopas () or Triops (; , gen.: Τρίοπος) was the name of several characters whose relations are unclear. * Triopas, king of Argos and son of Phorbas. His daughter was Messene. * Triopas, king of Thessaly, and son of Po ...

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

. While Pausanias stated that Phorbas was the son of Argus, brother of Peirasus and possibly

Tiryns Tiryns ( or ; Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles was said to have performed his Twelve Labours. It ...

and

Epidaurus Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epi ...

as they were sons of Argus. His mother in the latter case maybe

Evadne In Greek mythology, Evadne (; Ancient Greek: Εὐάδνη) was a name attributed to the following individuals: *Evadne, a daughter of Strymon and Neaera, wife of Argus (king of Argos), mother of Ecbasus, Peiras, Epidaurus and Criasus. *Eva ...

, daughter of river god Strymon. In which case, both authors agree that he had a son Triopas who also became a king after him. Another son, Pellen (Pelles) was credited to be the founder of the city of

Pellene Pellene (; ; ) was a city and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, the most easterly of the twelve Achaean cities (the Achaean League). Its territory bordered upon that of Sicyon on the east and upon that of Aegeira on the west. Pellene was s ...

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

Reign

According to Tatiānus, he may have been a king of Argos himself, succeeding either Argus or Criasus.Tatian, ''Address to the Greeks'
39
/ref>

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

included him in the list of kings of Argos, in which he reigned for thirty five years and was succeeded by Triopas. He was a contemporary of

Actaeus In Greek mythology, Actaeus (; ), also called Actaeon, was the first king of Attica, according to Pausanias. Legend Actaeus was said to have ruled over the kingdom of Attica, named Acte ( ''Akte'') or Actica. The ancient Parian Chronicle ...

, the first king of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

who named the country after himself, Actaea.Eusebius, ''Preparation for the Gospel'
10.11.2
/ref> During Phorbas' reign, Cecrops Diphyes became the first king of the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

.Eusebius'', Chronography'
66
/ref>

Notes

References

Apollonius Rhodius Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is ...

, ''Argonautica'' translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica''. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. {{ISBN, 0-674-99328-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

. ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology'' ''s.v
Phorbas
' Princes in Greek mythology Kings of Argos Inachids Mythology of Argos, Peloponnese