Linos was the son of Apollo and of Psamathe (whose name means ‘Sand-girl’) daughter of Krotopos king of Argos, but was exposed by his mother at birth, and, then or later, torn in pieces by dogs; or son of Amphimaros and the Muse Ourania, who was killed by Apollo for daring to rival him in music; or he was Herakles’ teacher, and his unruly pupil, when Linos tried to punish him, beat the teacher’s brains out with his own lyre; and in any case, he seems to have grown out of the words, or word, ailinon or ai Linon, in a very old traditional song of harvesters and vintagers.
Osiris is the stock example of this type of deity, a godling, probably connected with vegetation, who was thought annually to disappear and presumably come back again after a search, no doubt in spring-time. Another is the obscure Bormos, who was “the brother of Iollas and Mariandynos child of king Oupios, who died young when out hunting, in the summertime, and is honoured in a mournful rustic song.” Similar again is Lityerses, the Phrygian, whose name may mean "rain-dew." He was a son of Midas, used to challenge all comers to contest with him in reaping, and would kill or beat those whom he could out-do, till at last a more violent opponent (some say Herakles) struck him dead. An Egyptian figure of the same kind was Maneros (? maa-ne-hra, “come back!”), son of the first king of Egypt, who died young and was lamented. All their songs were mournful, perhaps because the dead vegetation-spirit was mourned for.