Aegyptus

Aegyptus subdued the land of the Melampodes and gave it the name Egypt after himself. He had already received Arabia as his kingdom. The land of the Melampodes had previously been known by that name, which referred to its dark-footed inhabitants.

Aegyptus was the son of Belus and Anchinoé. Belus ruled at Chemmis in the Thebaid and was the son of Libya and Poseidon. Anchinoé was the daughter of Nilus. She bore the twins Aegyptus and Danaus, and, in one account, also bore Cepheus. Another account adds Phineus to the children of Belus and Anchinoé. Belus was himself the twin brother of Agenor. Agenor went to Phoenicia, while Belus remained in Egypt and became its king.

Belus established Aegyptus in Arabia and sent Danaus to rule Libya. Aegyptus later conquered the land of the Melampodes and named it Egypt. He had fifty sons by various mothers, including Libyans, Arabians, and Phoenicians. Danaus had fifty daughters, known as the Danaids, also by various mothers. These included Naiads, Hamadryads, Egyptian princesses from Elephantis and Memphis, and Ethiopian women.

After Belus died, Aegyptus and Danaus quarrelled over their inheritance. Aegyptus proposed a marriage between his fifty sons and Danaus’s fifty daughters. Danaus suspected that Aegyptus intended harm and refused the arrangement. An oracle confirmed his fears, so Danaus prepared to flee Libya with his daughters. The surviving passages continue with their departure and the later conflict between the two families, but the naming of Egypt comes from Aegyptus’s conquest of the Melampodes.