Busiris (grave of Osiris) In Greek mythology, a king of Egypt, the son of Poseidon and Lysianassa, a daughter of Epaphus. According to one myth, Busiris’s country had been in the midst of a nine-year series of crop failures when Phrasius of Cyprus, a prophet, told Busiris to sacrifice a stranger every year to Zeus. The king made Phrasius the first sacrificial victim. When Heracles came to Egypt during his quest for the apples of the Hesperides, he allowed himself to be bound and taken to the altar as a victim. Then he broke his bonds and killed Busiris, as well as the king’s son Amphidamas and all of his followers.
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante
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