Editing Phoroneus

{{Short description|Character in Greek mythology}}
[[File:Andrea e nino pisano, phoroneus ossia la legislazione, 1348-50, dal lato sud del campanile 03.JPG|thumb|alt=Phoroneus|Relief from [[Giotto's Campanile]], depicting Phoroneus as the man who invented law.]]
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Phoroneus''' ({{IPAc-en|f|ə|ˈ|r|ɒ|n|.|j|uː|s}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: Φορωνεύς means 'bringer of a price'<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=The Greek Myths|last=Graves|first=Robert|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1960|isbn=978-0143106715|location=Harmondsworth, London, England|pages=s.v. Phoroneus}}</ref>) was a [[culture-hero]] of the [[Argolid]], fire-bringer,<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D19%3Asection%3D5 2.19.5]</ref> law giver,<ref>[[Clement of Alexandria]], [[Protrepticus (Clement)|protrepticus]] [https://archive.org/details/clementofalexand00clem/page/232/mode/2up p. 233]</ref> and primordial king of Argos.

== Family ==
Phoroneus was the son of the [[river god]] [[Inachus]] and either [[Melia (consort of Inachus)|Melia]], the [[Oceanids|Oceanid]]<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=0:chapter=0&highlight=Phoroneus 2.1.1]; [[Scholia]] ad [[Euripides]], ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'' [https://archive.org/details/scholiaineuripi00schwgoog/page/n229/mode/1up?view=theater 932]; [[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes]] ad [[Lycophron]], 177.</ref> or [[Argia (mythology)|Argia]],<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#143 143]</ref> the embodiment of the Argolid itself:  "[[Inachus]], son of [[Oceanus]], begat Phoroneus<ref>The Argive myth was reported to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.15.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:book=2:chapter=15&highlight=Phoroneus 2.15.5]</ref> by his sister Argia".

He was said to have been married to [[Cinna (mythology)|Cinna]];<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#145 145]</ref> or [[Cerdo (mythology)|Cerdo]], a [[nymph]];<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.21.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.21.1]</ref> or [[Teledice]],<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Teledice 2.1.1]; Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 177.</ref> also a nymph; or [[Perimede (mythology)|Perimede]];<ref>Scholia ad [[Pindar]], ''Olympian Ode'' [https://archive.org/details/scholiaveterain00dracgoog/page/112/mode/1up?view=theater 3.28a]</ref> or [[Peitho]],<ref>Scholia ad Euripides, ''Orestes'' [https://archive.org/details/scholiaineuripi00schwgoog/page/n229/mode/1up?view=theater 932]</ref> and to have fathered a number of children including [[Apis (Greek mythology)|Apis]], [[Car (Greek myth)|Car]],<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.39.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Phoroneus 1.39.5]–[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.39.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Phoroneus 6]; [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.40.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Phoroneus 1.40.6] & [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.44.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Phoroneus 1.44.6]</ref> [[Chthonia]], [[Clymenus]],<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.35.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.35.4]</ref> [[Sparton]],<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.16.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.16.4]</ref> [[Lyrcus]]<ref>[[Parthenius of Nicaea|Parthenius]], [https://topostext.org/work/550#1 1] with sources— ''Lyrcus'' of [[Nicaenetus of Samos|Nicaenetus]] and the ''Caunus'' of [[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]]</ref> and [[Europs (mythology)|Europs]], an illegitimate son.<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.34.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.34.4]</ref> 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.<ref>[[Strabo]], 10.3.19</ref>

In Argive culture, [[Niobe (daughter of Phoroneus)|Niobe]] is associated with Phoroneus, sometimes as his mother, sometimes as his daughter, or  as his consort (Kerenyi). According to [[Hellanicus of Lesbos]], Phoroneus had at least three sons: [[Agenor, son of Jasus|Agenor]], [[Iasus (king of Argos)|Jasus]] and [[Pelasgus]]. After the death of Phoroneus, the two elder brothers divided his dominions, Pelasgus received the country about the river Erasmus, and built [[Larissa]], and Iasus the country about [[Elis (city)|Elis]].  After the death of these two, Agenor, the youngest, invaded their dominions, and thus became king of [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]].<ref>[[Hellanicus of Lesbos]], ''Fragm.'' p. 47, ed. Sturz.</ref><ref name="DGRBM">{{Citation|last=Schmitz|first=Leonhard|title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]|year=1867|volume=1|pages=68|contribution=Agenor (2)|contribution-url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0077.html|place=Boston|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=William|access-date=2008-05-17|archive-date=2013-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012030356/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0077.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The ''[[Clementine Recognitions]]'' mentions [[Phthia (mythology)|Phthia]], a daughter of Phoroneus, who became the mother of Achaeus by Zeus.<ref>[[Pseudo-Clement]], ''[[Clementine Recognitions|Recognitions]]'' 10.21</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Comparative table of Phoroneus' family</big>
|-
! rowspan="2" |'''Relation'''
! rowspan="2" |Names
! colspan="10" |Sources
|-
|''Hellanicus''
|''Σ ad Pindar''
|''Σ ad Euripides''
|''Parthenius''
|''Strabo''
|''Apollodorus''
|''Pausanias''
|''Hyginus''
|''Clement''
|''Tzetzes''
|-
| rowspan="3" |''Parents''
|Inachus
|
|
|
|
|
|
|✓
|
|
|
|-
|Inachus and Melia
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|✓
|
|
| 
| 
|-
|Inachus and Argia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|✓
|
|
|-
|''Wife''
|Perimede
|
|✓
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|Peitho
|
|
|✓
|
|
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|
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|-
|
|Teledice
|
|
|
|
|
|✓
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|
|
|✓
|-
|
|Cerdo
|
|
|
|
|
|
|✓
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|
|
|-
|
|Cinna
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|✓
|
|
|-
| rowspan="14" |''Children''
|Agenor
|✓
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|-
|Jasus
|✓
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|-
|Pelasgus
|✓
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|-
|Aegialeus
|
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|✓
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|-
|Apis
|
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|✓
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|✓
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|✓
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|✓
|-
|Niobe or Nioba
|
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|✓
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|✓
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|✓
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|✓
|-
|Lyrcus
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|✓
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|-
|wife of Hecaterus
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|✓
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|-
|Car
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|✓
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|-
|Europs
|
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|✓
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|✓
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|-
|Chthonia
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|✓
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|-
|Clymenus
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|✓
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|-
|Sparton
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|✓
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|-
|Phthia
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|✓
|
|}

== Reign ==
Hyginus' genealogy expresses the position of Phoroneus as one<ref>In the Argolid, of course, he displaced Prometheus as ''the'' primordial fire-giver and the originator of kingship (Yves Bonnefoy and Wendy Doniger, eds. ''Greek and Egyptian Mythologies'', "Myths of Argos and Athens" [University of Chicago 1992:124]).</ref> of the primordial men, whose local identities differed in the various regions of Greece,<ref>See [[Karl Kerenyi]], ''The Gods of the Greeks'', 1951 (1980), p. 222, for other primordial men: [[Prometheus]] and [[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]], and, in [[Boeotia]], Alkomeneus.</ref> 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]], authorized by Zeus: "Formerly Zeus himself had ruled over men, but Hermes [[Mythical origins of language|created a confusion of human speech]], which spoiled Zeus' pleasure in this Rule".<ref>Karl Kerenyi, ''The Gods of the Greeks'' 1951 (1980), p. 222.</ref> Phoroneus introduced both the worship of [[Hera]] and the use of fire and the forge.<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#143 143]. Compare [[Prometheus]].</ref> 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 (geographer)|Pausanias]]).

Phoroneus' successor was [[Argus (mythology)|Argus]], who was Niobe's son, either by [[Zeus]] or Phoroneus himself. He was also the father of [[Apis (Greek mythology)|Apis]], who may have also ruled Argos (according to Tatiānus<ref>James Cowles Prichard : ''An Analysis of the Egyptian Mythology''. 1819. p. 85</ref>). He was worshipped in [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] with an [[eternal flame|eternal fire]] that was shown to Pausanias in the 2nd century CE, and funeral sacrifices were offered to him at his tomb-sanctuary.<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.30.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.20.3]</ref> He is also credited as the founder of law.<ref>[[Protrepticus (Clement)|Protrepticus]]</ref>
{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{succession box
|
 title=[[King of Argos]]
|
 years=
|
 before=[[Inachus]]
|
 after=[[Apis (Greek mythology)|Apis]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="12" |PHORONEUS' CHRONOLOGY OF REIGN ACCORDING TO VARIOUS SOURCES
|-
!Kings of Argos
! colspan="2" |''Regnal Years''
!Castor
! colspan="2" |''Regnal Years''
!Syncellus
!''Regnal Years''
!Apollodorus
!Hyginus
!Tatian
!Pausanias
|-
|Precessor
|''1677''
|''50 winters & summers''
|Inachus
|''1677.5''<td>''56 winters & summers''</td>
|Inachus
|''1675''
|Inachus
| -do-
| -do-
| -do-
|-
|'''Phoroneus'''
|''1652''
|''60 winters & summers''
|Phoroneus
|''1649.5''
|''60 winters & summers''
|Phoroneus
|''1650''
|Phoroneus
| -do-
| -do-
| -do-
|-
|Successor
|''1622''
|''35 winters & summers''
|Apis
|''1619.5''
|''35 winters & summers''
|Apis<td>''1625''</td>
|Apis<td>-do-</td><td>-do-</td>
| -do-
|}

== Argive genealogy ==
{{Argive genealogy in Greek mythology}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== References ==

* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Parthenius of Nicaea|Parthenius]], ''Love Romances'' translated by Sir Stephen Gaselee (1882-1943), S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 69. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916.  [https://topostext.org/work/550 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* Parthenius, ''Erotici Scriptores Graeci, Vol. 1''. Rudolf Hercher. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1858. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0643 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|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}}. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.  [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Clementine literature|Pseudo-Clement]], ''Recognitions'' from [[Ante-Nicene Period|Ante-Nicene]] Library Volume 8'','' translated by Smith, Rev. Thomas. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 1867. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ClementRecognitions.html Online version at theio.com]
* [[Strabo]], ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]

== External links ==
{{Portal|Ancient Greece|Myths|}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090723062901/http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/Phoroneus.html Mahanas, Dictionary of Greek Mythology; "Phoroneus"]

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