Helios

In Greek mythology, Helios (Greek: Ἡλιος, "sun") was the Titan of the sun and sight, as well as the guardian of oaths. His sacred symbols included a chariot, a horse, a rooster, the heliotrope, and the sunflower. He would rise from the River Oceanus everyday and ride across the sky in his chariot as the personification of the sun.
In Roman mythology, he was closely equated with Sol.
==Mythology==
===Personification of the sun===
Helios was sometimes called Helios Panoptes, meaning "all-seeing". Since he drove the sun chariot over the world, he saw all that happened on the earth and was known as the deity of sight. In this aspect, it is Helios who told Hephaestus about the affair between Aphrodite and Ares.
After the sun set, Helios was thought to rest with the Hesperides and ride across the River Oceanus in a golden cup back to his home where he would rise from again the next morning.
At one point during the travels of Heracles, he was traveling through a desert and became frustrated so she shot an arrow at the sun. Realizing his mistake, he apologized profusely to Helios who was not angered, but rather impressed by his boldness. As a gift, Helios gave Heracles the golden cup.
===Phaethon===
Phaethon was a mortal son of Helios who desired to drive the sun chariot across the sky. After reluctantly agreeing, Helios allowed his son to attempt to drive the chariot. However, Phaethon could not control the steeds drawing the chariot and was going to crash into the earth. In order to prevent the world from being set on fire, Zeus struck Phaethon down with a thunderbolt.
===Odysseus===
In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew land on Thrinacia, an island which is sacred to Helios and is the home to his sacred red cattle. Despite the warnings of Odysseus, some of his crew kill and eat some of the cattle. Daughters of Helios who guard the island tell their father about this. Angered at the death of his sacred cattle, Helios tells Zeus to punish them or he will take the sun and shine it in the Underworld. Thus, Zeus destroys the ship with a lightning bolt, killing the entire crew except for Odysseus.
==Family==
He was the son of Hyperion and Theia and the brother of Selene, the Titanide of the moon, and Eos, the Titanide of the dawn.
===Offspring===
Consort 	Offspring
Clymene 	The Heliades, Phaethon, Astris
Neaera 	Phaethusa, Lampetia
Rhode 	The Heliadae, Electryone
Perseis 	Aeetes, Perses, Circe, Pasiphae, Aega (possibly)
Leucothoe	Thersanon
Nausidame	Augeas
Gaea 	Bisaltes
unknown 	Aithon, Aix, Aloeus, Camirus, Mausolus, Phorbas, the Horae, Ichnaea
Category:Greek deities
Category:Greek Titans