Apollo as Sun God. In the Homeric Hymn, Apollo is given the epithet “Phoebus” (“bright, shining”), but it was not until the classical period (fifth century bce) that he assumed the attributes of a sun god. In this guise he took over the powers of Helios, son of the Titans Thea and Hyperion and brother of the dawn-goddess Eos and the moon-goddess Selene.
Postclassical representations of Phoebus Apollo (also called Sol by the Romans) often depict him driving the sun chariot across the sky, sometimes led by Eos (Aurora). Other representations show him in the company of his sister Artemis (Diana), as goddess of the moon, or rising from the couch of the sea deity Tethys, wife of Oceanus, to begin his journey across the heavens.

Classical Sources. Homer, Odyssey 1.8—9, 12.260-419 (Helios). Hesiod, Theogmy 371—74, 956—62. Homeric Hymns, “To Apollo,” ‘To Helios,” first hymn “To Demeter” lines 62—89. Pindar, Olympian Odes 7.54—76. Orphic Hymns 8, “To the Sun.” Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.750—2.400, 4.194— 270.

See also Apollo, Loves; Clytie; Eos; Hyperion; Persephone, Demeter’s Search; Phaethon; Selene.