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 ...

, Phoroneus (;

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 ...

: Φορωνεύς means 'bringer of a price') was a culture-hero of the

Argolid The regions of ancient Greece were sub-divisions of the Hellenic world as conceived by the ancient Greeks, shown by their presence in the works of ancient historians and geographers or in surviving legends and myths. Conceptually, there is no cl ...

, fire-bringer, law giver, and primordial king of Argos.

Family

Phoroneus was the son of the river god

Inachus In Greek mythology, Inachus, Inachos or Inakhos (Ancient Greek: Ἴναχος) was the first king of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos. He was one of River gods (Greek mythology), the three thousand sons of Oceanus and Tethys (mythology), Tethys. The In ...

and either Melia, the Oceanid or Argia, the embodiment of the Argolid itself: "

, son of

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titans, Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys (mythology), Tethys, and the father of the River gods (Greek mythology), river gods ...

, begat Phoroneus by his sister Argia". He was said to have been married to Cinna; or Cerdo, a

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

; or Teledice, also a nymph; or Perimede; or

Peitho In Greek mythology, Peitho ( or 'winning eloquence') is the personification of persuasion. She is typically presented as an important companion of Aphrodite. Her opposite is Bia (mythology), Bia, the personification of force. As a personificatio ...

, and to have fathered a number of children including Apis,

Car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

, Chthonia, Clymenus, Sparton, Lyrcus and Europs, an illegitimate son. An unnamed daughter of his is said to have consorted with Hecaterus and thus became the mother of the five Hecaterides, nymphs of the rustic dance. In Argive culture,

Niobe Niobe (; : Nióbē) was in Greek mythology a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa. She was the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Niobe is mentioned by Achilles in Homer's ''Iliad ...

is associated with Phoroneus, sometimes as his mother, sometimes as his daughter, or as his consort (Kerenyi). According to

Hellanicus of Lesbos Hellanicus (or Hellanikos) of Lesbos (Greek language, Greek: , ''Hellánikos ho Lésbios''), also called Hellanicus of Mytilene (Greek language, Greek: , ''Hellánikos ho Mutilēnaîos''; 490 – 405 BC), was an ancient Greece, Greek logographe ...

, Phoroneus had at least three sons:

Agenor Agenor (; ) was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician monarch, king of Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre or Sidon. The Greeks, Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC), born in the city of Halicarnassus under the Achaemenid Empire, estimated that Agen ...

, Jasus and

Pelasgus In Greek mythology, Pelasgus (, ''Pelasgós'' means "ancient") was the eponymous ancestor of the Pelasgians, the mythical inhabitants of Greece who established the worship of the Dodonaean Zeus, Hephaestus, the Cabeiri, and other divinities. In the ...

. After the death of Phoroneus, the two elder brothers divided his dominions, Pelasgus received the country about the river Erasmus, and built

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

, and Iasus the country about Elis. After the death of these two, Agenor, the youngest, invaded their dominions, and thus became king of Argos. The '' Clementine Recognitions'' mentions

Phthia Phthia (; or Φθίη ''Phthía, Phthíē'') was a city or district in ancient Thessaly according to Greek mythology. In Literature It is frequently mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'' as the home of the Myrmidons, the contingent led by Achilles i ...

, a daughter of Phoroneus, who became the mother of Achaeus by Zeus.

Reign

Hyginus' genealogy expresses the position of Phoroneus as one of the primordial men, whose local identities differed in the various regions of Greece, and who had for a mother the essential spirit of the very earth of Argos herself, ''Argia''. He was the primordial king in the

Peloponnesus The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the ...

, authorized by Zeus: "Formerly Zeus himself had ruled over men, but Hermes created a confusion of human speech, which spoiled Zeus' pleasure in this Rule". Phoroneus introduced both the worship of

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

and the use of fire and the forge. Poseidon and Hera had vied for the Argive when the primeval waters had receded, Phoroneus "was the first to gather the people together into a community; for they had up to then been living as scattered and lonesome families". ( Pausanias). Phoroneus' successor was Argus, who was Niobe's son, either by

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

or Phoroneus himself. He was also the father of Apis, who may have also ruled Argos (according to Tatiānus). He was worshipped in Argos with an eternal fire that was shown to Pausanias in the 2nd century CE, and funeral sacrifices were offered to him at his tomb-sanctuary. He is also credited as the founder of law. Protrepticus

Argive genealogy

Notes

References

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed. Life and works ...

, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Parthenius, ''Love Romances'' translated by Sir Stephen Gaselee (1882-1943), S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 69. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Parthenius, ''Erotici Scriptores Graeci, Vol. 1''. Rudolf Hercher. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1858
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.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pseudo-Clement, ''Recognitions'' from Ante-Nicene Library Volume 8'','' translated by Smith, Rev. Thomas. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 1867
Online version at theio.com
*

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

External links

{{Portal, Ancient Greece, Myths}

Greek mythological heroes Princes in Greek mythology Kings of Argos Kings in Greek mythology Children of Inachus Mythological Argives Deeds of Zeus Mythology of Argos, Peloponnese