Phorōneus
(
Φορωνεύς). A son of Inachus and the Oceanid Melia or
Archia, was a brother of Aegialeüs and the ruler of Argos. He was married to the
nymph Laodicé, by whom he became the father of Niobé, Apis, and Car.
According to other writers, his sons were Pelasgus, Iasus, and Agenor, who, after their
father's death, divided the kingdom of Argos among themselves. Phoroneus is said to have been
the first who offered sacrifices to Heré at Argos, and to have united the people,
who, until then, had lived in scattered habitations, into a city which was called after him
ἄστυ Φορωνικόν (Pausan. ii. 15, 5). The patronymic Phoronĭdes is sometimes used of the Argives in general, and
especially to designate Amphiaraüs and Adrastus. Ovid (
Met. i. 668) calls Io, who was a descendant of Phoroneus,
Phoronis.