Who was Aegyptus in Greek Mythology

Aegyptus is a character who represents the ancient connections and mythological links between Greece and Egypt.

The character of Aegyptus is part of a larger myth involving themes of family conflict, prophecy, and tragedy.

Aegyptus is said to be the son of Belus, a king of Egypt, and Anchinoe, who was a daughter of the Nile god.

Aegyptus himself is often identified as a king of Egypt, embodying the geographic and cultural connections that the Greeks saw with Egypt.

His twin brother, Danaus, plays a crucial role in his myth, as the two are often depicted as counterparts in a familial saga that ends in tragedy and conflict.

The Myth of Aegyptus and Danaus

Aegyptus and Danaus are central figures in a myth that heavily features themes of escape and vengeance. Aegyptus had fifty sons, and Danaus had fifty daughters, known as the Danaides. Aegyptus commanded that his sons marry their cousins, the daughters of Danaus. Danaus, however, was opposed to this marriage, primarily because of a prophecy that foretold his demise at the hands of a son-in-law.

To escape this unwanted betrothal, Danaus fled with his daughters to Argos in Greece, a place often considered to be under the protection of Hera. Aegyptus’s sons, however, pursued them to Greece, and Danaus was forced to agree to the marriages but with a secret plan for each of his daughters to murder their respective husbands on their wedding night.

On the night of the weddings, all but one of the Danaides obeyed their father’s command. Each daughter murdered her husband by cutting his throat or stabbing him as he slept. Only one daughter, Hypermnestra, disobeyed Danaus; she spared her husband, Lynceus, because he had respected her wish to remain a virgin. Lynceus later killed Danaus as revenge and fulfilled the prophecy that Danaus had tried to avoid