HELIOS by Chris Vuong

In what way was Helios viewed by his worshipers and how did this reflect on how people viewed gods back in ancient times?

chrisvuong228 — 2014-10-24 21:05:49 UTC

In ancient Greek times, the many people believed in and worshipped Greek gods such as Helios or Poseidon. Helios was worshipped in numerous places of the Peloponnesos region, however, he is overshadowed by Apollo, who is mistakenly thought of as the sun god. Helios plays quite a big role in the myths of ancient Greek. For example, one of the myths of Helios is that his son wanted to drive his chariot and could not control it, causing Zeus to kill him. Most worshippers knew via Homer’s epics that Helios flew with his flaming chariot east to west every single day. Since Helios is always in the sky during the day, most people viewed him as a god that could hear and see what was going on. He was also a glowing god with good looks gave him the name of a Gigantic eye with a halo was the name that was interpreted by various ancient Greeks due his appearance and the fact that he always above other people in sky.

Thus, both gods and humans called him as a witness to any event .We can infer that the god of the sun, Helios, is often portrayed as person who was a judge or lawyer who was omniscient. Because of this people often viewed him in a respective matter and often did things a certain way to please Helios or else they will be punished in a way specific way. This was also the case for other people worshipping other gods besides Helios back in the ancient Greek times. Greek mythology required the people to sacrifice to the gods in order to gain their favor. For example, different animals such as goats and horses were sacrificed in the name of Helios. Other ways of worshipping common Greek gods such as Poseidon was to pray to them and sacrificing animals in the name of the god just like worshippers of Helios. We conclude that all worshippers of Helios viewed him as one of the elite, a witness/judge to all events, and a person who shall be respected and sacrificed for at all times. Worshippers of other gods also paid the same tribute no matter what god they were worshipping.

How does Helios affect the people around him?

2014-10-24 21:14:24 UTC

Helios is the God of the Sun, meaning he is the source of light for the world, and without him the earth would perish. When Odysseus’ men slaughtered his cattle he threatened Zeus saying that,”Unless these men pay a just atonement for my cattle, I will descend to Hades’ kingdom and shine among the dead.” Helios abuses his importance and forces Zeus to strike down the crew. From this, we can tell that Helios is a very influential and feared god, who can persuade even the king of all the gods. It is said that Helios rode high on his chariot over the earth, and could see everything his light touched. He was used as a witness for all sorts of matters, both godly and humanly. The people of Rhodes worshipped and respected Helios, but they may have also been afraid of the Sun God. Because he could see everything, they must have had to be very careful not to do anything displeasing to the gods or else Helios would see them. This is a good and bad thing. The people were persuaded to always obey the gods, but it also limited their sense of freedom. Unable to do anything without Helios being able to see, people must have lived very cautiously.

What lessons do Helios’ actions teach us?

2014-10-24 21:24:24 UTC

In one greek myth, Helios is said to have seen Aphrodite and Ares enter the house of Hephaistos, Aphrodite’s husband. He told Hephaistos of this affair and Hephaistos caught the cheating god and goddess in the act. Aphrodite learned it was Helios who told and cursed his lineage. This incident teaches us that all actions have consequences. What Helios did may have been just, but he did not think of who he was up against. He rushed and told Hephaistos immediately instead of thinking it through. Because of this, he has caused his descendants to suffer.

Helios, the Sun God.

chrisvuong228 — 2014-10-24 21:46:02 UTC

Sources

chrisvuong228 — 2014-10-26 18:15:54 UTC

Micha F. Lindemans. pantheon.org. MMIX Encyclopedia Mythica, 03 March 1997. Web. 22 October 2014.

S.B. Harding. heritage-history.com. Heritage History. 2013. Web. 24 October 2014.

"Poseidon" Poseidon. mythweb. Web. 26 October 2014

Allusion

chrisvuong228 — 2014-10-27 02:23:48 UTC

Superman has the ablility to fly meaning that he could always be above you and combining it with his X-ray vision he could witness any event.