Helios (Sol)

HELIOS (Sol).

The worship of Helios was introduced into Greece from Asia. According
to the earliest conceptions of the Greeks he was not only the sun-god,
but also the personification of life and all life-giving power, for light
is well known to be an indispensable condition of all healthy terrestrial
life. The worship of the sun was originally very widely spread, [62]not only
among the early Greeks themselves, but also among other primitive
nations. To us the sun is simply the orb of light, which, high above our
heads, performs each day the functions assigned to it by a mighty and
invisible Power; we can, therefore, form but a faint idea of the
impression which it produced upon the spirit of a people whose intellect
was still in its infancy, and who believed, with child-like simplicity,
that every power of nature was a divinity, which, according as its
character was baleful or beneficent, worked for the destruction or
benefit of the human race.

Helios, who was the son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, is described
as rising every morning in the east, preceded by his sister Eos (the
Dawn), who, with her rosy fingers, paints the tips of the mountains, and
draws aside that misty veil through which her brother is about to appear.
When he has burst forth in all the glorious light of day, Eos disappears,
and Helios now drives his flame-darting chariot along the accustomed
track. This chariot, which is of burnished gold, is drawn by four
fire-breathing steeds, behind which the young god stands erect with
flashing eyes, his head surrounded with rays, holding in one hand the
reins of those fiery coursers which in all hands save his are
unmanageable. When towards evening he descends the curve^[26] in order to cool his burning forehead
in the waters of the deep sea, he is followed closely by his sister
Selene (the Moon), who is now prepared to take charge of the world, and
illumine with her silver crescent the dusky night. Helios meanwhile rests
from his labours, and, reclining softly on the cool fragrant couch
prepared for him by the sea-nymphs, recruits himself for another
life-giving, joy-inspiring, and beauteous day.

It may appear strange that, although the Greeks considered the earth
to be a flat circle, no explanation is given of the fact that Helios
sinks down in the far [63]west regularly every evening, and yet
reappears as regularly every morning in the east. Whether he was supposed
to pass through Tartarus, and thus regain the opposite extremity through
the bowels of the earth, or whether they thought he possessed any other
means of making this transit, there is not a line in either Homer or
Hesiod to prove. In later times, however, the poets invented the graceful
fiction, that when Helios had finished his course, and reached the
western side of the curve, a winged-boat, or cup, which had been made for
him by Hephæstus, awaited him there, and conveyed him rapidly, with his
glorious equipage, to the east, where he recommenced his bright and
glowing career.

This divinity was invoked as a witness when a solemn oath was taken,
as it was believed that nothing escaped his all-seeing eye, and it was
this fact which enabled him to inform Demeter of the fate of her
daughter, as already related. He was supposed to possess flocks and herds
in various localities, which may possibly be intended to represent the
days and nights of the year, or the stars of heaven.

Helios is said to have loved Clytie, a daughter of Oceanus, who
ardently returned his affection; but in the course of time the fickle
sun-god transferred his devotion to Leucothea, the daughter of Orchamus,
king of the eastern countries, which so angered the forsaken Clytie that
she informed Orchamus of his daughter’s attachment, and he punished her
by inhumanly burying her alive. Helios, overcome with grief, endeavoured,
by every means in his power, to recall her to life. At last, finding all
his efforts unavailing, he sprinkled her grave with heavenly nectar, and
immediately there sprang forth from the spot a shoot of frankincense,
which spread around its aromatic perfume.

The jealous Clytie gained nothing by her cruel conduct, for the
sun-god came to her no more. Inconsolable at his loss, she threw herself
upon the ground, and refused all sustenance. For nine long days she
turned her face towards the glorious god of day, as he moved along the
[64]heavens, till at length her limbs became
rooted in the ground, and she was transformed into a flower, which ever
turns towards the sun.

Helios married Perse, daughter of Oceanus, and their children were,
Aëtes, king of Colchis (celebrated in the legend of the Argonauts as the
possessor of the Golden Fleece), and Circe, the renowned sorceress.

Helios had another son named Phaethon, whose mother was Clymene, one
of the Oceanides. The youth was very beautiful, and a great favourite
with Aphrodite, who intrusted him with the care of one of her temples,
which flattering proof of her regard caused him to become vain and
presumptuous. His friend Epaphus, son of Zeus and Io, endeavoured to
check his youthful vanity by pretending to disbelieve his assertion that
the sun-god was his father. Phaethon, full of resentment, and eager to be
able to refute the calumny, hastened to his mother Clymene, and besought
her to tell him whether Helios was really his father. Moved by his
entreaties, and at the same time angry at the reproach of Epaphus,
Clymene pointed to the glorious sun, then shining down upon them, and
assured her son that in that bright orb he beheld the author of his
being, adding that if he had still any doubt, he might visit the radiant
dwelling of the great god of light and inquire for himself. Overjoyed at
his mother’s reassuring words, and following the directions she gave him,
Phaethon quickly wended his way to his father’s palace.

As he entered the palace of the sun-god the dazzling rays almost
blinded him, and prevented him from approaching the throne on which his
father was seated, surrounded by the Hours, Days, Months, Years, and
Seasons. Helios, who with his all-seeing eye had watched him from afar,
removed his crown of glittering rays, and bade him not to be afraid, but
to draw near to his father. Encouraged by this kind reception, Phaethon
entreated him to bestow upon him such a proof of his love, that all the
world might be convinced that he was indeed his son; whereupon Helios
desired him to ask any favour he pleased, [65]and swore by the Styx
that it should be granted. The impetuous youth immediately requested
permission to drive the chariot of the sun for one whole day. His father
listened horror-struck to this presumptuous demand, and by representing
the many dangers which would beset his path, endeavoured to dissuade him
from so perilous an undertaking; but his son, deaf to all advice, pressed
his point with such pertinacity, that Helios was reluctantly compelled to
lead him to the chariot. Phaethon paused for a moment to admire the
beauty of the glittering equipage, the gift of the god of fire, who had
formed it of gold, and ornamented it with precious stones, which
reflected the rays of the sun. And now Helios, seeing his sister, the
Dawn, opening her doors in the rosy east, ordered the Hours to yoke the
horses. The goddesses speedily obeyed the command, and the father then
anointed the face of his son with a sacred balm, to enable him to endure
the burning flames which issued from the nostrils of the steeds, and
sorrowfully placing his crown of rays upon his head, desired him to
ascend the chariot.

The eager youth joyfully took his place and grasped the coveted reins,
but no sooner did the fiery coursers of the sun feel the inexperienced
hand which attempted to guide them, than they became restive and
unmanageable. Wildly they rushed out of their accustomed track, now
soaring so high as to threaten the heavens with destruction, now
descending so low as nearly to set the earth on fire. At last the
unfortunate charioteer, blinded with the glare, and terrified at the
awful devastation he had caused, dropped the reins from his trembling
hands. Mountains and forests were in flames, rivers and streams were
dried up, and a general conflagration was imminent. The scorched earth
now called on Zeus for help, who hurled his thunderbolt at Phaethon, and
with a flash of lightning brought the fiery steeds to a standstill. The
lifeless body of the youth fell headlong into the river Eridanus,^[27] where it was received and
buried by the [66]nymphs of the stream. His sisters mourned so
long for him that they were transformed by Zeus into poplars, and the
tears they shed, falling into the waters, became drops of clear,
transparent amber. Cycnus, the faithful friend of the unhappy Phaethon,
felt such overwhelming grief at his terrible fate, that he pined and
wasted away. The gods, moved with compassion, transformed him into a
swan, which for ever brooded over the fatal spot where the waters had
closed over the head of his unfortunate friend.

The chief seat of the worship of Helios was the island of Rhodes,
which according to the following myth was his especial territory. At the
time of the Titanomachia, when the gods were dividing the world by lot,
Helios happened to be absent, and consequently received no share. He,
therefore, complained to Zeus, who proposed to have a new allotment, but
this Helios would not allow, saying, that as he pursued his daily
journey, his penetrating eye had beheld a lovely, fertile island lying
beneath the waves of the ocean, and that if the immortals would swear to
give him the undisturbed possession of this spot, he would be content to
accept it as his share of the universe. The gods took the oath, whereupon
the island of Rhodes immediately raised itself above the surface of the
waters.

The famous Colossus of Rhodes, which was one of the seven wonders of
the world, was erected in honour of Helios. This wonderful statue was 105
feet high, and was formed entirely of brass; it formed the entrance to
the harbour at Rhodes, and the largest vessel could easily sail between
the legs, which stood on moles, each side of the harbour. Though so
gigantic, it was perfectly proportioned in every part. Some idea of [67]its size
may be gained from the fact that very few people were able to span the
thumb of this statue with their arms. In the interior of the Colossus was
a winding staircase leading to the top, from the summit of which, by
means of a telescope, the coast of Syria, and also the shores of Egypt,
are said to have been visible.^[28]