The appearance of Egyptian elements, including deities, characters, and motifs, in Greek mythology has been the subject of scholarly study, and is attributed to the close interaction of the two civilizations.
According to Ruth Ilsley Hicks, a classics scholar at Wilson College, Egyptian influences entered Greek mythology during two different periods: the 14th-13th centuries BC and the 7th century BC.
There were two periods in which there was direct contact and free interchange between Greece and Egypt. The first was the period immediately after the collapse of Minoan Crete, about 1400 BC to approximately 1340 BC. Mycenae and other Greek cities took over the Aegean trade with Egypt, as is attested by archaeological findings of Mycenaean objects at Tell-el-Amarna and of Egyptian ones in Greece.
Between roughly 1340 and 1230 BC, Greek imports declined, indicating reduced contact between the two cultures. During the reign of Merneptah (1224–1214 BC), raiders attacked the Nile Delta. An inscription at Karnak names several groups involved, including one the Egyptians referred to as the Aquaiwasha, whom many scholars associate with the Achaeans. This may point to a period of hostility toward the Greeks.
In the 7th century BC, during the rule of pharaohs Psammetichus I and Amasis of the twenty-sixth dynasty (Saite), the Egyptian sentiment toward foreigners changed. Psammetichus took the throne with the help of Carian and Ionian mercenaries and realized the advantages of a more open policy towards foreigners.
Following the period of Greek mercenaries, traders returned to Egypt, albeit under more restrictive policies. This renewed commercial activity led to the founding of Naucratis, a flourishing trade center and the first established Greek colony in Egypt.
This suggests that Egyptian elements in Greek mythology were introduced either during the Mycenaean period or in the time of Egypt’s twenty-sixth dynasty (664-525 BC). While most literature and art set in Egyptian contexts date no earlier than the 6th century BC, the myths themselves appear to be of earlier origin.
Greek mythology and its Egyptian elements
Hicks highlighted the influence of Egyptian elements in four narratives from Greek mythology. The first, and oldest, is the myth of the metamorphosis of Io, a priestess of Hera in Argos. She was the daughter of Inachus, founder of the first dynasty of Argos. Zeus fell in love with her and to protect her from Hera’s jealousy turned her into a white heifer.
Hera persuaded Zeus to give her the heifer and appointed Argos Panoptes (“the All-Seeing”), a giant from Greek mythology known for having a hundred eyes, to guard her. Zeus dispatched the god Hermes, who lulled Argos to sleep and killed him. In return, Hera unleashed a gadfly to torment Io, driving her into madness and forcing her to wander the earth. She crossed the Ionian Sea, swam the strait later named Bosporus, and eventually reached Egypt, where she was restored to human form and gave birth to Epaphus.
The Greek priestess of Hera was identified with the Egyptian goddess Isis, while Epaphus was equated with Apis, the sacred bull. In Egypt, the heifer had been venerated since early times, with the most prominent cow-goddess being Hathor, whose cult dates back to deep antiquity.
During the Mycenaean age, Hera was already associated with heifers, and it is likely that the detailed myth of the heifer-maiden emerged after the Greeks encountered the half-animal, half-human Egyptian statues and learned of the cult of Hathor.
The migration of the Danaides
Io’s name appears once again in the Greek myth of the fifty daughters of Danaus, the Danaides, her descendants. The Danaides migrated from Egypt to Argos to escape forced marriage with their fifty cousins, the sons of Aegyptus, the legendary king of Egypt. After initially stopping on Rhodes where they founded Lindos, they sailed to Argos, where they sought asylum and received protection from King Pelasgus and the Argive people.
When the Aegyptiads arrived in Argos, they demanded to marry the Danaides. In the most well-known variation of the myth, Danaus ordered his daughters to marry and then kill their husbands on their wedding night. All but one, Hypermnestra, obeyed. As a result, the Danaides were condemned to an eternal punishment of carrying water in a sieve or perforated jug.
The name Aegyptus is believed to have Egyptian origins, derived from an epithet of Memphis, Hikuptah, and adopted by foreigners. It appears in Homeric poems as both the name of the country and the Nile River. Additionally, in the Odyssey, a man from Ithaca is named Aegyptius, a name which was likely passed down from the Mycenaean period, when Egypt was geographically and culturally closer to the Greeks.
Helen and Menelaus in Egypt
Hicks analyzes two of the protagonists of Homer’s Iliad in terms of their connection with Egypt. On his homeward journey from Troy, contrary winds drive Menelaus off course, sending him to Egypt.
Ancient Greek poet Stesichorus in Palinode provides an alternative version of the story of Helen and Paris: rather than being in Troy during the war, they were actually driven ashore in Egypt. According to his account, Helen remained in Egypt with King Proteus, while a phantom of her went to Troy with Paris.
Although Proteus was not based on an actual person, a similar figure, a king of seals, may have existed in Egyptian folklore. In the Odyssey, he is described as Egyptian, and the paradise promised to Menelaus has often been compared to Egyptian portrayals of the afterlife.
In a similar plot, Euripides’ tragedy Helen expands on the idea that Helen was innocent of causing the war and was kept in Egypt, while a phantom version of her was taken to Troy.
The killing of Busiris by Heracles
According to Hicks, the most intriguing Greek legend influenced by Egyptian culture is the story of Heracles killing King Busiris by Heracles, largely because of the widespread popularity of the mythical hero.
The myth recounts that after Heracles wrestled with Antaeus, he arrived in Egypt, then ruled by King Busiris, who was known for sacrificing strangers. Upon Heracles’ arrival, Busiris’ men captured him and bound him to the altar to be sacrificed. Just as he was about to be sacrificed, he broke away and killed Busiris at his own altar.
Herodotus (2.45), drawing on his knowledge of Egypt, wrote:
“Now it seems to me that by this story the Greeks show themselves wholly ignorant of the nature and the customs of the Egyptians, for how could they sacrifice men, who are forbidden to sacrifice even the lower animals, save only swine and bulls and bull calves if they be unblemished and geese.”
Furthermore, Herodotus argues that Heracles alone could not have fought off the multitude of people present at the sacrificial site. Eratosthenes and Strabo assert that there never was a tyrant named Busiris in Egypt. To some, Busiris was a real king, while, to others, he was a fictional character. Who then was Busiris? No pharaoh by that name existed, as confirmed by Strabo.
Nonetheless, several cities in Egypt were given Greek names, the most prominent being one located in the Delta region, south of Sais near the Phatnitic mouth of the Nile. This city was the capital of the ninth nome and an important center for the worship of the god Osiris.
Its Egyptian name was Per-Asar Neb Tetu, meaning “House of Osiris at Tetu.” Therefore, Busiris is the Greek adaptation of “house of Osiris” rather than the name of a king. The city came to be regarded as the birthplace of Osiris. Few Greeks, however, understood that the true meaning of Busiris was actually “tomb of Osiris.”
The story of an Egyptian king who sacrificed strangers and was ultimately killed by a stranger fascinated the Greeks because of its exotic and unusual nature. It also served as an outlet for Greek feelings of superiority over the “barbarian” Egyptians.
This attitude is especially evident in vase paintings, in which the powerful, heroic Greek figure is contrasted sharply with the small, cowardly Egyptian king. The scholar suggests that the myth dates back to the 6th century BC and likely originated in Naucratis, spreading to Greece through traders or travelers.
Elements of the “exotic” Egypt in Greek mythology
Ruth Ilsley Hicks argues that it is the exotic setting of these four myths that makes them so captivating. From these myths, one can infer that the Greeks possessed a vague body of knowledge about Egypt, derived from the Mycenaean period and later reinforced in the 6th and 5th centuries BC through more accurate accounts of travelers.
Egypt fascinated the Greeks because it was so vastly different from their own land. They admired its ancient history, wealth, and magificent monuments. While their understanding of Egyptian gods and religious practices was limited, Egyptian influence on Greek architecture and art is well documented.
Despite the clear Egyptian elements in these myths, the American scholar concludes that the essence and spirit of the stories remain distinctly Greek.
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