Helios

Lore & Background

Helios is described as the son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and brother of the goddesses Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the Dawn). His most notable role in Greek mythology is the story of his mortal son Phaethon. In the Homeric epics, his most prominent role is in the Odyssey, where Odysseus's men, despite his warnings, impiously kill and eat Helios's sacred cattle kept at Thrinacia, his sacred island. Once informed, Helios in wrath asks Zeus to punish those who wronged him. Zeus agrees, striking their ship with a thunderbolt, killing everyone except Odysseus himself, the only one who had not harmed the cattle and was allowed to live. Due to his position as the Sun, he was believed to be an all-seeing witness and was often invoked in oaths. He also played a significant part in ancient magic and spells. In art he is usually depicted as a beardless youth in a chiton holding a whip and driving his quadriga, accompanied by other celestial gods such as Selene, Eos, or the stars. His major cult centres were the island of Rhodes, of which he was the patron god, Corinth, and the greater Corinthia region. The Colossus of Rhodes, a gigantic statue of the god, adorned the port of Rhodes until it was destroyed in an earthquake.

In Their Own Story

Helios drives a golden chariot drawn by four horses: Pyrois ("The Fiery One"), Aeos ("He of the Dawn"), Aethon ("Blazing"), and Phlegon ("Burning"). He is envisioned as a god driving his chariot from east to west each day, rising from the Oceanus River and setting in the west under the earth. According to Athenaeus, at sunset Helios climbs into a great cup of solid gold in which he passes from the Hesperides in the farthest west to the land of the Ethiops, with whom he passes the dark hours. Mimnermus said that in the night Helios travels eastwards with the use of a bed (created by Hephaestus) in which he sleeps, rather than a cup, as attested in the Titanomachy in the 8th century BCE.

Reader's Guide

Helios is the son of Hyperion and Theia, or Euryphaessa, or Basileia, and the only brother of Eos and Selene. He is usually depicted as a handsome young man crowned with the shining aureole of the Sun, which traditionally had twelve rays, symbolising the twelve months of the year. Euripides describes him as χρυσωπός (khrysōpós) meaning "golden-eyed/faced" or "beaming like gold". Mesomedes of Crete writes that he has golden hair, and Apollonius Rhodius that he has light-emitting, golden eyes. According to Ovid, he dressed in tyrian purple robes and sat on a throne of bright emeralds. In ancient artefacts he is presented as a beautiful, full-faced youth with wavy hair, wearing a crown adorned with the sun's rays. Helios is seen as both a personification of the Sun and the fundamental creative power behind it, and as a result is often worshiped as a god of life and creation. One passage in the Greek Magical Papyri says of Helios, "the earth flourished when you shone forth and made the plants fruitful when you laughed and brought to life the living creatures when you permitted."

Did You Know?

• Helios's name is Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ('the one above') and Phaethon ('the shining').
• The Colossus of Rhodes, a gigantic statue of Helios, adorned the port of Rhodes until it was destroyed in an earthquake.
• Helios's sacred cattle were kept at Thrinacia, and eating them led to Zeus striking Odysseus's ship with a thunderbolt, killing all but Odysseus.
• In the Greek Magical Papyri, Helios is described as 'a youth, fair to behold, with fiery hair, clothed in a white tunic and a scarlet cloak and wearing a fiery crown.'
• The Greek noun ἥλιος is cognate with Latin sol, Sanskrit surya, Old English swegl, Old Norse sól, and Welsh haul.