Helios By: Michelle Thai

The Sun God Helios is the Greek god of the sun. He was most popularly portrayed as a charioteer, driving either his flaming chariot or gleaming horses from east to west across the sky each day (“Helios the Sun God”). Because he was always in the sky, people thought he saw and heard everything, and consequently, he was also considered the guardian of oaths (Atsma).

Life It is stated that Helios was the son of Hyperion and Theia, but it is also believed that he could’ve also been the son of Hyperion and Euryphaessa (Atsma). He had two sisters: Selene, the goddess of the moon; and Eos, the goddess of dawn (“Helios the Sun God”). It is unclear where he was born. Hyperion- Titan of the East

Popularity Helios was also known to have told Demeter that Hades had kidnapped her daughter and to have tattled to Hephaestus that Aphrodite was having an affair with Ares (Atsma). Helios is most known from the myth in which he let his son, Phaethon, drive his chariot. Phaethon, unable to control the wild horses, let the chariot run wild until Zeus struck him down. (“Helios the Sun God”).

Relation to Odysseus When Odysseus was on his quest, he and his crewmates landed upon an island. They were hungry and there were herds of cows and sheep nearby. Odysseus, remembering a caution that the animals belonged to Helios, warned the crew to stay away from them. When he went off to pray to the gods to help them in their predicament, the crew snuck of and slaughtered cows to eat and consequently, Helios was angered and asked Zeus to punish the crew for the crime. Only Odysseus survived when Zeus destroyed their ship at sea (Atsma).

Works Cited “Helios the Sun God.” Greek Myths and Greek Mythology. Greek Myths and Greek Mythology, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015 Atsma, Aaron. “Helios.” Theoi Greek Mythology. The Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2015