Phoroneus

In Greek mythology, Phoroneus (Φορωνεύς) was a culture-hero of the Argolid, fire-bringer, primordial king and son of the river god Inachus and either Melia, the primordial ash-tree nymph [See Meliai, the ash-tree nymphs.] or Argia, the embodiment of the Argolid itself: "Inachus, son of Oceanus, begat Phoroneus [The Argive myth was reported to Pausanias, ("Description of Greece", 2.15.5).] by his sister Argia," wrote Hyginus, in "Fabulae" 143. Hyginus' genealogy expresses the position of Phoroneus as one [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] ).] of the primordial men, whose local identities differed in the various regions of Greece, [See Karl Kerenyi, "The Gods of the Greeks", 1951 (1980), p. 222, for other primordial men: Prometheus and Epimetheus, and, in Boeotia, Alkomeneus.] 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 created a confusion of human speech, which spoilt Zeus' pleasure in this Rule". [Karl Kerenyi, "The Gods of the Greeks" 1951 (1980), p. 222.] Phoroneus introduced both the worship of Hera and the use of fire and the forge. [Hyginus. "Fabula", 143. Compare Prometheus.] Poseidon and Hera had vied for the land: 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).

In Argive culture, Niobe is associated with Phoroneus, sometimes as his mother, sometimes as his daughter, but likely as his consort (Kerenyi). He was worshipped in Argos with an eternal fire that was shown to Pausanias in the second century CE, and funeral sacrifices were offered to hi at his tomb-sanctuary. [Pausanias, ii 20.3.]

According to Hellanicus of Lesbos, Phoroneus' had at least three sons: Agenor, Jasus and Pelasgus, and that after the death of Phoroneus, the two elder brothers divided his dominions between themselves in such a manner that Pelasgus re­ceived the country about the river Erasmus, and built Larissa, and Jasus the country about Elis. After the death of these two, Agenor, the young­est, invaded their dominions, and thus became king of Argos. [Hellanicus of Lesbos, "Fragm." p. 47, ed. Sturz.] Citation | last = Schmitz | first = Leonhard | author-link = | contribution = Agenor (2) | editor-last = Smith | editor-first = William | title = Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology | volume = 1 | pages = 68 | publisher = Little, Brown and Company | place = Boston | year = 1867 | contribution-url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0077.html ]

References

External links

* [http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/argolis.html Timeless Myths - Royal Houses of Argolis]
* [http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/Phoroneus.html Mahanas, Dictionary of Greek Mythology; "Phoroneus"]