| The Children of Helios |
| Helios and Orion |
| Helios in The Iliad (reference) |
| Helios in The Odyssey (reference) |
Helios rises from Okeanos (Ocean) each morning and drives his chariot to the highest point of the heavens and then drives westward until he reaches Okeanos again. Dressed in flowing robes and wearing a golden helmet he radiantly gazes on all the deeds of mortals and Immortals alike.
There are conflicting accounts of the parentage of Helios. In the Homeric Hymn to Helios, we are told that Hyperion married his sister, Euryphaessa, and begot tireless Helios, rosy Eos (the Dawn) and fair tressed Selene (the Moon).
However, in Hesiod’s Theogony (line 372), Theia is said to be the mother of Helios, Eos and Selene. Theia and Hyperion were Titans of the same generation as Kronos (Cronos) and Rheia (Rhea), i.e. the children of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens).
In The Odyssey of Homer (book 8, line 266), a singer, Demodokos (Demodocus), tells the tale of how Aphrodite and Ares (the god of War) secretly laid together in the bed of her husband, Hephaistos (Hephaestus). Helios, who sees everything that his light touches, observed the lovers and told Hephaestus of the deception. Hephaestus promptly set a trap and humiliated the lovers in front of all the Immortals.
When Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, the girl’s mother, Demeter, asked Helios what he had seen. Helios told Demeter, without hesitation, that Persephone had been taken by Hades with the approval of Zeus. He advised her to allow Persephone to remain with Hades because he would make a fine husband and that to resist the will of Zeus was futile. Demeter did not like Helios’ advice and finally won her daughter back with the condition that Persephone spend one third of the year with her new husband, Hades.
Helios and Perseis, a daughter of Okeanos, had three children: Kirke (Circe), Pasiphae and Aietes (Aeetes).
On her island of Aiaia (Aeaea), Kirke would lure sailors to her palace with beautiful songs and then ply them with magical drugs which would turn them onto swine. (Theogony, line 957)
Aietes became king of Kolchis (Colchis) and the father of the sorceress, Medea (Medeia). Aietes gave sanctuary to Phrixus and thus inherited the famous Golden Fleece. When Jason and the Argonauts came to Kolchis to retrieve the Fleece, Aietes set a number of heroic deeds for Jason to perform before he could claim the treasured relic but then refused to part with the Fleece.
Pasiphae became the wife of king Minos and was cursed to give birth to the Minotaur after Minos offended Poseidon (lord of the Sea).
Helios also played a role in the adventures of the famed hunter, Orion. While on the island of Chios, Orion outraged Merope, the daughter of Oenopion, by his drunkenness. Oenopion blinded Orion and banished him from Chios. After wandering blindly with a servant to lead him, Orion finally encountered Helios in the east and the god healed him so he could resume his prideful and indulgent life.
The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Wyatt translations of The Iliad. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Lattimore (ISBN 0226469409); A.T. Murray/William F. Wyatt Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995791 and 0674995805); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374529051); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140275363)
The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Dimock translations of The Odyssey. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Richmond Lattimore (ISBN 0060931957); A.T. Murray/George E. Dimock Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995619 and 0674995627); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374525749); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140268863)
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