It’s sunshine sunshine all the way as he shines through the sky in his golden-winged chariot. From up there he sees everything that happens and is often called upon to shed light on events.

Son of Hyperion and Thea, he has a frankly staggering number of children. By turning the tables and following the sun from behind a cloud we have peered into his love life — and it seems to be ‘Go for it sunshine all the way’.

With his wife Perseis he bore four Aeetes of the Argonauts, and a little Perses and Pasiphae and Circe. Next there was a liaison with Rhodos, one of the Nymphs, who bore seven sons and the daughter Electryone.

Does it stop there? Not at all — he’s the father of Acheron by Gaia, there’s an affair with the Oceanid Clymene resulting in another seven daughters called the Heliades and his ill-fated son Phaeton. Then he got nearer to someone called Neaera. So near in fact that two daughters, Phaethusa and Lampetia, arrived — just in time to look after his sacred cattle flocks.

Then he had the hots for Leocothea, but her sister Clytie who had already enjoyed Helios’s favors was jealous, and told her dad King Orcharios of Babylon — who condemned Leocothea to be buried alive. Helios arrived too late to restore her and so changed her into a shrub. In remorse, Clytie exposed herself to nature until she faded away, gazing all the time at Helios zooming through the Heavens. She was transformed at last into a heliotrope, which as you should know is a sunflower.

We last see him chasing after Anaxibia, another of the Nymphs, who seems so far to have eluded him. Phew!

Article last revised on November 20, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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