Busiris (mythology)

Heracles kills Busiris and his entourage, Attic red-figure hydria , around 480 BC. Chr. , Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen Inv. 2428

Busiris ( ancient Greek Βούσιρις Boúsiris ) is in Greek mythology, an Egyptian king. In the legend of Heracles he appears as the priest of Osiris , who annually sacrifices people to God. He is the son of Poseidon and builder Thebes . Busiris succeeds in overpowering Heracles and taking him prisoner in order to also sacrifice him to Osiris. But Heracles succeeds in breaking his bonds and slaying Busiris and his son Amphidamas .

The core of this legend may be the custom, resumed in the late Egyptian period , of sacrificing strangers of red skin color to Osiris (especially Europeans ). In these the embodiment of the Osiris enemy Seth was seen, who was depicted with red skin.

literature

• Walther Sontheimer : Busiris. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 5, Stuttgart 1975, Col. 974.
• Heinrich Wilhelm Stoll : Busiris 2) . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1.1, Leipzig 1886, Col. 835-837 ( digitized version ).

Web links

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