Heliades

Heliades, in Greek mythology, was the name given to the daughters of the god Helios and the Oceanid Clymene. Various sources provide different numbers and names for the Heliades. One source mentions three; Aegiale, Aegle and Aetheria. Another source mentions five; Helia, Merope, Phoebe, Aetheria and Dioxippe.

When their brother, Phaeton, unsuccessfully tried to take control of his father's sun chariot and drive it across the sky, he fell and died. The Heliades mourned for four months, until Zeus transformed them into poplar trees. Another version has it that they were transformed because they helped their brother take the chariot without having permission from their father.

See Also: Helios, Clymene, Phaeton, Zeus