Helios

Helios with a seven- pointed halo and breastplate ; Bronze statuette, Roman , 2nd – 3rd cent. Century AD, Lower Egypt ( Louvre , Paris)

Helios, Johannes Benk, 1873

Helios ( ancient Greek Ἥλιος Helios "sun") is the sun god in Greek mythology . Together with Selene ( moon goddess ) and Eos (dawn) he is a child of Hyperion and Theia .

meaning

The task of Helios was to steer the sun chariot across the sky, which was being pulled by four stallions. Eos went before him, Selene followed in the evening. He corresponded to the sol of Roman mythology and was equated because of his power with Zeus , later with Apollo , with whom he shares the name Phoibos ("the shining one").

progeny

Helios had four children with Clymene : Aigle , Phaethusa , Lampetia (the three Heliads ) and Phaethon . With Perse he begat Kirke , Pasiphaë , Aietes and Perses .

The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of Helios with a crown of rays.

family tree

Pedigree of the Titans

chaos

→

Gaia

→

Uranus

Family of gods

of the titans

Helios

Family tree of Helios

Helios

photos

Apollo Sol with the seven-pointed sun crown of Helios, Roman floor mosaic, Tunisia, late 2nd century.

Helios in the sun chariot , accompanied by Phosphorus (torch), Hermes (winged helmet) and others; Fresco by JB Zimmermann, Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, 17th century.

Helios statuette, Antalya Archeological Museum

Ceiling mosaic detail, Christ-Helios with seven- ray sun crown in the sun chariot; Mausoleum M (Julier), Vatican Necropolis, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, 3rd century

Gable field with Helios relief , Helios in the four-horse sun chariot with Phosphorus and the three ears , Stuttgart, Rosenstein Castle

Web links

Commons : Helios - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

↑ mosaic title: 'Christ as Sol Invictus ', interpreted as a Christ- Sol . The early Gentile Christians combine early Christian and pagan beliefs in this mosaic of Jesus Christ as the sun god . The triumphant, undefeated God Christ is pulled by two horses in his sun chariot. The vine tendrils of Dionysus , who, according to Greco-Roman mythology, came back / rose from the underworld, become the vine tendrils of Jesus.

literature

Adolf Rapp : Helios . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1,2, Leipzig 1890, Sp. 1993-2026 ( digitized version ).

[1] saic title: 'Christ as Sol Invictus ', interpreted as a Christ- Sol . The early Gentile Christians combine early Christian and pagan beliefs in this mosaic of Jesus Christ as the sun god . The triumphant, undefeated God Christ is pulled by two horses in his sun chariot. The vine tendrils of Dionysus , who, according to Greco-Roman mythology, came back / rose from the underworld, become the vine tendrils of Jesus.