One of his most defining attributes was the radiating crown of the sun’s rays that surrounded his head. Helios was usually depicted as a handsome young man. In illuminating the world, he was praised as a god of creation. Helios was worshipped not only as the physical sun but as the power of creation and life it contained.
In the battle against the Gigantes he saved Hephaestus from the battlefield when the smith grew too exhausted to continue fighting. Helios, in fact, was described by many authors as taking part in the wars that Zeus fought to secure his throne. They sided with the new gods, and in doing so secured places in the pantheon of the Olympians. Like Helios she pulled a chariot across the sky, but her light was dimmer and cooler.Īlthough they belonged to the second generation of Titans, the children of Hyperion were not imprisoned after Zeus won the throne from Chronos. His younger sister was Selene, the goddess of the moon. She never moved across the sky, but just lit the Eastern horizon with a warm glow before Helios appeared each morning. The first, Eos, was the goddess of the dawn. Helios was the second of three children born to Hyperion and Thea. While some interpretations raise the possibility that the two were the same being, there are sources that specifically refer to him as the son of that Titan. He was often called Helios Hyperion, after his father.
Thea was also a goddess of light and of the blue sky, so it is unsurprising that their children were associated with both bright light and the heavens. He was the son of the Titan god of light, Hyperion, and his wife Thea. Helios was not one of the gods of Olympus, although he worked alongside of them. Keep reading to learn all about Helios, the Greek god of the sun! The Family of Helios His many children sometimes helped him with his work, but at other times caused tragic accidents. But unlike that busy god, Helios was too busy lighting the sky all day long to take on many other roles.įrom his position in the sky, the god of the sun could see everything that happened below. Helios is often conflated with Apollo, who was also a god of light. His job was so difficult and dangerous that he had to use a special salve to keep the heat of the sun from burning him beyond recognition. The golden chariot he drove moved his light across the sky through the hours of the day. That’s because Helios was the Greek god of the sun. He worked, quite literally, from sunrise to sunset. Helios was one of the most hard-working gods of the Greek pantheon.Įvery day he drove a chariot pulled by four spirited horses across the sky.
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