Belus (Egyptian)
This article is about the Greek mythological figure Belos. For the historical province of the island of Timor, see Belu.
Belos (ancient Greek Βῆλος Bḗlos - the Hellenized name for Ba'al; Latin Belus) is in Greek mythology king of Egypt, the son of Poseidon and Libya. The latter in turn was the daughter of Epaphos and thus granddaughter of Io, and thus Belos the brother of the Phoenician Agenor.
According to legend, Belos fathered the twins Aigyptos and Danaos with Anchinoë, the daughter of the river god Neilos, from whom a whole family of heroes descended. Also Kepheus and Phineus as well as a daughter, Thronia are given as descendants of this pair. Phineus, however, is also said to have been the uncle, brother, or - as the son of Agenor - nephew of Belos. Belos is also considered the mythical founder of Babylon.
According to Robert von Ranke-Graves, his name is derived from that of the Sumerian moon goddess Belili and is said to correspond to the Hebrew Baal of the Old Testament, as well as to Bel of the Apocrypha. Thus it is rather a title ("Lord", "King", "God") than an actual name.
