Editing Helios (section)

=== God of the Sun ===
==== Rising and Setting ====
[[File:Hans Rathausky - Helios et Selene.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Helios and Selene, by Johann Rathausky, fountain group statue in [[Opatija]], [[Croatia]].]]

Helios was envisioned as a god driving his chariot from east to west each day, rising from the [[Oceanus|Oceanus River]] and setting in the west under the earth. It is unclear as to whether this journey means that he travels through [[Tartarus]].<ref name=":keig">{{Cite book |last=Keightley |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lWAEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA53 |title=The Mythology of Ancient Greece and Italy |date=1838 |publisher=D. Appleton |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Helios, painting on a terracotta disk, 480 BC, Agora Museum Athens, 080646.jpg|thumb|upright|left|230px|Helios the rising Sun, painting on a [[terracotta]] disk, 480 BC, Agora Museum Athens]]

[[Athenaeus]] in his ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' relates that, at the hour of sunset, Helios climbs into a great cup of solid gold in which he passes from the Hesperides in the farthest west to the land of the Ethiops, with whom he passes the dark hours. According to Athenaeus, [[Mimnermus]] said that in the night Helios travels eastwards with the use of a bed (also created by Hephaestus) in which he sleeps, rather than a cup,<ref name=":ath">[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' [http://www.attalus.org/old/athenaeus11b.html#470 11.39]</ref> as attested in the ''[[Titanomachy (epic poem)|Titanomachy]]'' in the 8th century BCE.<ref name=":keig" /> [[Aeschylus]] describes the sunset as such:

{{Blockquote|"There [is] the sacred wave, and the coralled bed of the [[Erythraean sea|Erythræan Sea]], and [there] the luxuriant marsh of the Ethiopians, situated near the ocean, glitters like polished brass; where daily in the soft and tepid stream, the all-seeing Sun bathes his undying self, and refreshes his weary steeds."|title=[[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Unbound (Aeschylus)|Prometheus Unbound]]''.<ref>[[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+1.2.27&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239 1.2.27], translation by H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A., Ed.</ref>}}

Athenaeus adds that "Helios gained a portion of toil for all his days", as there is no rest for either him or his horses.<ref>{{harvnb|Kirk|Raven|Schofield|1983|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kFpd86J8PLsC&pg=PA13 12–13]}}: [F]or him does his lovely bed bear across the wave, [...] from the dwelling of the Hesperides to the land of the Aithiopes where his swift chariot and his horses stand till early-born Dawn shall come; there does the son of Hyperion mount his car."</ref>

Although the chariot is usually said to be the work of [[Hephaestus]],<ref>[[Aeschylus]] in his lost play ''Heliades'' writes: "Where, in the west, is the bowl wrought by Hephaestus, the bowl of [[Phaethon|thy]] sire, speeding wherein he crosseth the mighty, swelling stream that girdleth earth, fleeing the gloom of holy night of sable steeds."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Athenaeus: Deipnosophists - Book 11 (b) |url=http://www.attalus.org/old/athenaeus11b.html#469 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=www.attalus.org}}</ref> [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] states that it was Helios himself who built it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ToposText |url=https://topostext.org/work/207#2.13.1 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=topostext.org}}</ref> His chariot is described as golden,<ref name=":hom" /> or occasionally "rosy",<ref name="Oxford University Press"/> and pulled by four white horses.<ref name="Hansen 2004"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Habinnas, He'lios, He'lios |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:alphabetic+letter=H:entry+group=6:entry=helios-bio-1 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>Keightley, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lWAEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA56 56], [https://books.google.com/books?id=lWAEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA62 62]</ref><ref name=":verg" /> The [[Horae]], goddesses of the seasons, are part of his retinue and help him yoke his chariot.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ToposText |url=https://topostext.org/work/141#2.19 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=topostext.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ToposText |url=https://topostext.org/work/529#38.272 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=topostext.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=C. Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, C. Valeri Flacci Argonauticon Liber Quartus., line 58 |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2007.01.0058:book=4:card=58 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> His sister Eos is said to have not only opened the gates for Helios, but would often accompany him as well.<ref>Bell, s. v. [https://archive.org/details/womenofclassical00bell/page/180/mode/2up?view=theater Eos]</ref> In the extreme east and west were said to be people who tended to his horses, for whom summer was perpetual and fruitful.<ref name=":fairb" />

==== Disrupted schedule ====
[[File:(24) Flaxman Ilias 1795, Zeichnung 1793, 188 x 255 mm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''Hera makes Helios set earlier'', [[Iliad]] engraving, [[John Flaxman]].]]

On several instances in mythology the normal solar schedule is disrupted; he was ordered not to rise for three days during the conception of [[Heracles]], and made the winter days longer in order to look upon [[Leucothoe (daughter of Orchamus)|Leucothoe]]. [[Athena]]'s birth was a sight so impressive that Helios halted his steeds and stayed still in the sky for a long while,<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] 28 to [[Athena]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0138:hymn=28 28.13]; Waterfield, p. [https://archive.org/details/greekmythsstorie0000wate/page/52/mode/2up?q=&view=theater 53]</ref> as heaven and earth both trembling at the newborn goddess' sight.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=U4mFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 195]}}

In the ''[[Iliad]]'', [[Hera]] who supports the Greeks, makes him set earlier than usual against his will during battle,<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D18%3Acard%3D219 18.239–240]</ref> and later still during the same war, after his sister Eos's son [[Memnon (mythology)|Memnon]] was killed, she made him downcast, causing his light to fade, so she could be able to freely steal her son's body undetected by the armies, as he consoled his sister in her grief over Memnon's death.<ref>[[Philostratus of Lemnos]], ''[[Imagines (work by Philostratus)|Imagines]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/225#1.7.2 1.7.2]</ref>

It was said that summer days are longer due to Helios often stopping his chariot mid-air to watch from above nymphs dancing during the summer,<ref>[[Callimachus]], ''Hymn to Artemis'' [https://archive.org/details/callimachuslycop00calluoft/page/76/mode/2up?view=theater 181–182]</ref><ref>Powell Barry, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mtoSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA182 182]</ref> and sometimes he is late to rise because he lingers with his consort.<ref>[[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'' [http://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki/doku.php?id=home:texts_and_library:dialogues:dialogues-of-the-gods#section12 Aphrodite and Eros]</ref> If the other gods wish so, Helios can be hastened on his daily course when they wish it to be night.<ref>Fairbanks, p. [https://archive.org/details/MythologyOfGreeceAndRomespecialReferenceToItsInfluenceOnLiterature/page/n51/mode/2up?view=theater 39]</ref>

[[File:Heracles on the sea in the bowl of Helios.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Helios's cup with Heracles in it, [[Rome]], [[Vatican Museums#Museo Gregoriano Etrusco|Museo Gregoriano Etrusco]], n. 205336.]]

When Zeus desired to sleep with [[Alcmene]], he made one night last threefold, hiding the light of the Sun, by ordering Helios not to rise for those three days.<ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Library]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D8 2.4.8]; [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Hercules (Seneca)|Hercules Furens]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2007.01.0003 24]; ''[[Argonautica Orphica]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/549#113 113].</ref>{{sfn|Stuttard|2016|page=[https://archive.org/details/greekmythologytr0000stut/page/114/mode/2up?view=theater 114]}} Satirical author [[Lucian]] of [[Samosata]] dramatized this myth in one of his ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]''.<ref>[[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'' [https://pt.calameo.com/read/000107044fc0f01286992 Hermes and the Sun]</ref>{{efn|Helios (and Lucian) is wrong here; Cronus had [[Chiron]] by [[Philyra (mythology)|Philyra]].<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-Apollodorus]], [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D4 1.2.4]''</ref>}}

While Heracles was travelling to Erytheia to retrieve the cattle of [[Geryon]] for his tenth labour, he crossed the Libyan desert and was so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at Helios, the Sun. Almost immediately, Heracles realized his mistake and apologized profusely ([[Pherecydes of Syros|Pherecydes]] wrote that Heracles stretched his arrow at him menacingly, but Helios ordered him to stop, and Heracles in fear desisted<ref name=":ath" />); In turn and equally courteous, Helios granted Heracles the golden cup which he used to sail across the sea every night, from the west to the east because he found Heracles' actions immensely bold. In the versions delivered by Apollodorus and Pherecydes, Heracles was only ''about to'' shoot Helios, but according to [[Panyassis]], he ''did'' shoot and wounded the god.<ref>Matthews, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=d92mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 52]</ref>

==== Solar eclipses ====
[[File:Meyers b5 s0687 b1.png|thumb|right|270px|Helios and Eos, carried by the morning dew, above them the god of heaven. Relief from the armor of the statue of Augustus in the Vatican, circa 1885.]]

[[Solar eclipse]]s were phaenomena of fear as well as wonder in Ancient Greece, and were seen as the Sun abandoning humanity.<ref>Glover, Eric. "The eclipse of Xerxes in Herodotus 7.37: Lux a non obscurando." ''The Classical Quarterly'', vol. 64, no. 2, 2014, pp. [https://jstor.org/stable/43905590 471–492]. New Series. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.</ref> According to a fragment of [[Archilochus]], it is Zeus who blocks Helios and makes him disappear from the sky.<ref>[[Archilochus]] frag [https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2015/09/26/now-nothing-is-unexpected-archilochus-on-an-eclipse-fr-122/ 122]; Rutherford, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gPjZOB1YNqAC&pg=193 193]</ref> In one of his [[paean]]s, the lyric poet Pindar describes a solar eclipse as the Sun's light being hidden from the world, a bad omen of destruction and doom:<ref>Ian Rutherford, ''Pindar's Paeans: A reading of the fragments with a survey of the genre''.</ref>

{{Blockquote|Beam of the sun! What have you contrived, observant one, mother of eyes, highest star, in concealing yourself in broad daylight? Why have you made helpless men's strength and the path of wisdom, by rushing down a dark highway? Do you drive a stranger course than before? In the name of Zeus, swift driver of horses, I beg you, turn the universal omen, lady, into some painless prosperity for Thebes ... Do you bring a sign of some war or wasting of crops or a mass of snow beyond telling or ruinous strife or emptying of the sea on land or frost on the earth or a rainy summer flowing with raging water, or will you flood the land and create a new race of men from the beginning?|title=[[Pindar]], ''[[Paean]]'' IX<ref>Rutherford, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gPjZOB1YNqAC&pg=191 191]</ref>}}

==== Horses of Helios ====
{{Redirect|Pyrois|the moth|Pyrois (moth)}}[[File:London , Westminster - The Horses of Helios - geograph.org.uk - 5153323.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The Horses of Helios, Westminster, London.]]Some lists, cited by Hyginus, of the names of horses that pulled Helios' chariot, are as follows. Scholarship acknowledges that, despite differences between the lists, the names of the horses always seem to refer to fire, flame, light and other luminous qualities.<ref>Slim, Hédi. "La chute de Phaeton sur une mosaïque de Barrarus-Rougga en Tunisie". In: ''Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres''. 147<sup>e</sup> année, N. 3, 2003. p. 1121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/crai.2003.22628; www.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_2003_num_147_3_22628</ref>
* According to [[Eumelus of Corinth]] – late 7th/ early 6th century BC:  The male trace horses are Eous (by him the sky is turned) and Aethiops (as if flaming, parches the grain) and the female yoke-bearers are Bronte ("Thunder") and Sterope ("Lightning").
* According to Ovid&nbsp;— Roman, 1st century BC ''Phaethon's ride'': Pyrois ("the fiery one"), Eous ("he of the dawn"), [[Aethon]] ("blazing"), and Phlegon ("burning").<ref name=":hyg183">[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#183 183]</ref><ref>Dain, Philippe. ''Mythographe du Vatican III. Traduction et commentaire''. Besançon: Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité, 2005. p. 156 (footnote nr. 33) (Collection "ISTA", 854). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/ista.2005.2854; www.persee.fr/doc/ista_0000-0000_2005_edc_854_1</ref>

Hyginus writes that according to Homer, the horses' names are Abraxas and Therbeeo; but Homer makes no mention of horses or chariot.<ref name=":hyg183" />

[[Alexander of Aetolia]], cited in Athenaeus, related that the magical herb grew on the island [[Thrinacia]], which was sacred to Helios, and served as a remedy against fatigue for the sun god's horses. [[Aeschrion of Samos]] informed that it was known as the "dog's-tooth" and was believed to have been sown by Cronus.<ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae|Scholars at Dinner]]'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Athenaeus/7D*.html#p329 7.294C]</ref>