Copyright - 1993 Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.
{hee'-lee-ahs}
In Greek mythology, Helios was the god of the Sun who drove his horse-drawn chariot across the sky each day. Forgotten when ZEUS divided the earth among the gods, Helios requested the island of RHODES. He became the chief god of the island, and the famous Colossus was dedicated to him. His offspring include the sorceress CIRCE and PHAETHON, who was killed while attempting to drive his father's chariot. So greatly did Helios's daughters, the Heliades, weep at Phaethon's death that they were changed into poplars. The nymph Clytie, once loved by Helios, was changed into the heliotrope, a flower whose head turns to follow the Sun's course. Helios was later identified with APOLLO. In Roman mythology, Helios was known as SOL.
Herodotus records that Apollo was known to the Egyptians as Horus who mythologiccally slew Typhon.