Editing Helios (section)

==== In oath-keeping ====
[[File:Magical sphere helios from theater of dionysus acropolis museum athens greece.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Magical sphere with Helios and magical symbols from the theatre of Dionysus, [[Acropolis Museum]], [[Athens]].]]

Gods were often called upon by the Greeks when an oath was sworn; Helios is among the three deities to be invoked in the ''Iliad'' to witness the truce between Greeks and [[Troy|Trojans]].<ref>Warrior, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=KRH2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 10]</ref> He is also often appealed to in [[Ancient Greek tragedy|ancient drama]] to witness the unfolding events or take action, such as in ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'' and ''[[Medea (play)|Medea]]''.<ref>Fletcher, pp [https://books.google.com/books?id=q1W2CPsG_5IC&pg=PA116 116] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=q1W2CPsG_5IC&pg=PA186 186]</ref> The notion of Helios as witness to oaths and vows also led to a view of Helios as a witness of wrong-doings.<ref>[[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0010%3Acard%3D88 88–94]</ref><ref>Smith Helaine, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=g7PfF3C-z_QC&pg=PA42 42]</ref><ref>van der Toorn et al, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA396 s.v. Helios, p. 396]</ref> He was thus seen as a guarantor of cosmic order.<ref>Toorn et al, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA397 s.v. Helios p. 397]</ref>

[[File:Emperor caracalla helios statue roman north carolina museum of art.jpg|thumb|right|270px|Statue of Helios with features of [[Caracalla]] and Alexander, marble, Roman, ca. 2nd-3rd century AD, [[North Carolina Museum of Art]].]]

Helios was invoked as a witness to several alliances such as the one between [[Athens]] and [[Cetriporis]], [[Lycceius|Lyppeus]] of [[Paeonia (kingdom)|Paeonia]] and [[Grabos II|Grabus]], and the oaths of the [[League of Corinth]].<ref name=":sombay">Sommerstein, Bayliss, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ap_uINEOCZsC&pg=PA162 162]</ref> In a treaty between the cities of [[Smyrna]] and [[Magnesia ad Sipylum|Magnesia]], the Magnesians swore their oath by Helios among others.<ref>Gardner and Jevons, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ifTOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA232 232]; ''A treaty between Smyrna and Magnesia-by-Sipylos'' [http://www.attalus.org/docs/ogis/s229.html ''OGIS:'' 229]</ref> The combination of Zeus, Gaia and Helios in oath-swearing is also found among the non-Greek 'Royal Gods' in an agreement between Maussollus and Phaselis (360s BC) and in the [[Hellenistic period]] with the degree of [[Chremonides]]' announcing the alliance of Athens and [[Sparta]].<ref name=":sombay" />