Helium
A chemical element named after Helios, the Greek god of the sun, because it was first detected in the solar spectrum before being found on Earth
The Meaning of Helium
Helium takes its name from Helios, the Greek Titan god who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day. The element was discovered in 1868 by astronomers Pierre Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer, who independently observed an unknown spectral line during a solar eclipse. Because the element was first identified in the sun's spectrum rather than on Earth, Lockyer and the chemist Edward Frankland named it helium, from the Greek helios meaning sun. It was not until 1895 that helium was found on Earth, isolated from the uranium mineral cleveite by William Ramsay. Helium is the second most abundant element in the observable universe, produced primarily by hydrogen fusion in stars — making its solar name remarkably apt. In Greek mythology, Helios drove his golden chariot from east to west each day, observing everything below. He was the one who revealed Aphrodite's affair with Ares to Hephaestus. The naming of helium continues a long tradition of chemists drawing on classical mythology to name elements, embedding Greek gods permanently in the periodic table.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
Helium is the only element discovered in space before it was found on Earth — astronomers spotted it in the sun's spectrum twenty-seven years before anyone isolated it on our planet
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
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