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| Helios driving through the heavens in his golden chariot. Detail from a red-figured vase. British Museum. | |
The sun-god. He was the son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia, and the brother of Selene and Eos. Every morning Helios emerged in the East from the river Ocean, in his golden chariot drawn by dazzling white horses called Pyrois, Eos, Aethon and Phlegon. Dressed in a sparkling gauze and wearing a golden helmet, the god started his journey across the sky. First he climbed the vault of heaven, reaching the highest point at midday. Then he travelled towards West, and at the end of the day he arrived in the land of the Hesperides and descended into the Ocean, the river which encircled the world. In the land of the Hesperides or on the Islands of the Blessed, Helios unharnessed his tired horses and fed them with a magic herb that made them immortal. It was believed that Helios had a golden cup, the work of Hephaestus, in which he would sail all night back to east, so that in the morning he could start his journey again.
When the gods were dividing the world among themselves, Helios wasn't present. He complained about this to Zeus, and was given an island which was just beginning to emerge from the waves. He named it Rhodes, after the Nymph Rhodus whom he loved. Helios also disputed with Poseidon over the possession of the isthmus of Corinth. Briareus, who was chosen to arbitrate, gave Acrocorinth to Helios and the isthmus to Poseidon.
As the god of light, Helios saw everything and knew everything. Nobody could hide anything from him. He was the one who told Demeter about the abduction of her daughter, and who revealed to Hephaestus Aphrodite's unfaithfulness (for details, see Demeter, Aphrodite).
Helios had numerous love affairs and numerous offspring. He was married to Perse, one of the daughters of Oceanus, by whom he had sons Aeetes and Perses (2) and daughters Circe and Pasiphae. From the union with Clymene (1) he had a son Phaethon and five daughters, the Heliades (1). By one of the Nereids, Naera, he had two daughters, Lampetia (1) and Phaethusa, who later became the guardians of his flocks. Rhodus gave him seven sons, the Heliades (2). In addition, Helios also loved the Nymph Clytia and Leucothoe (see these names).
Helios was worshipped at Elis, at Corinth, at Argos, on Cape Taenoron, in Thrace and, most important of all, on the island of Rhodes, which was sacred to him. In the ancient art, Helios was usually represented with a golden helmet, or sun-rays above his head. The most famous representation of Helios was his gigantic bronze statue on Rhodes, built at the beginning of the third century BC by the sculptor Chares of Lindos, the student of Lyssipus. The statue was about 35 m high, and represented the nude Helios wearing a sun-ray crown. This Colossus of Rhodes, which is one of the seven wonders of the world, was destroyed in an earthquake (225 BC).