Helios was the Sun. There are conflicting accounts of the parentage of Helios. In the Homeric Hymn to Helios, we are told that Hyperion married his sister, Eryphaesa, and begot tireless Helios (the Sun), rosy Eos (the Dawn) and fair tressed Selene (the Moon).

In The Odyssey of Homer, a singer tells the tale of how Aphrodite and Ares secretly laid together in the bed of her husband, Lord Hephaestus. Helios, who sees everything that his light touches, observed the lovers and told Hephaestus of the deception. Hephaestus promptly set a trap and humiliated the lovers in front of all the immortals.

The children of Helios and Perseis (daughter of Okeanos) are said to be Circe and (King) Aietes. Circe is famous for her love of Odysseus.