Heliod
| Heliod | |
|---|---|
| God of the Sun | |
|
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Heliod-Sun.jpg}}|250px]] | |
| Details | |
| Race |
Phyrexian God Formerly God |
| Birthplace | Theros |
| Divinity | |
| Abode | Nyx |
| Temples | Meletis (as patron), Akros |
| Colors | |
 | |
Heliod (HEE-lee-ahd)[1] was the God of the Sun on Theros. After his followers were converted, he was compleated during New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse and killed by Kaya Cassir at its conclusion.
Description
Domains
Heliod represented the law, justice, retribution, and the bonds of kinship.[2] Heliod presided over matters of family honor, questions of morality and virtue, speeches, marriages, acts of protective bravery, dawn meals, and self-sacrifice. Heliod's name was often part of legal proceedings, and sacrifices to him were made in times when the greatest aid — or the strictest justice — was needed.
Personality
Heliod radiated with pride and self-assurance.[2] His presence filled the sky with light, blocking mortal access to the dark, starry view of Nyx, and in person, he had the same overwhelming aura of awe and brilliance. He was convivial and gregarious, making friends and forming bonds easily, and he saw himself as an ally to all. But others knew that Heliod could be fickle in his loyalty. Heliod's greatest ally today might have been the target of his retribution tomorrow.
Throughout the Godsend saga, Heliod demonstrated a strong capacity for arrogance. He styled himself as "the lord of the pantheon" and "the greatest of these gods of Theros," and demanded praise from both mortals and other gods. This escalated into outright conflict with Purphoros, who challenged him on these assertions; inevitably, this caused a schism in the pantheon, with most gods supporting one or the other. His need for chronic adoration also inevitably led Heliod to hate Xenagos, whom he accused "a usurper," and Elspeth, for whom he felt envy, and was part of the reason why he murdered her at the end of the saga, taunting her with petty insults before dealing the killing blow.
Heliod's personality, like most of the gods', changed in accordance with mortal beliefs.[3] Ultimately, this is what led to his compleation; as the values of his followers changed as they were compleated during New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, he too changed into a Phyrexian.
Worship
Heliod was the sun god, literally bringing the light of day to the world by using his spear to cause the sun to rise and set.[2] Almost everyone on Theros paid at least a token acknowledgment to him. Some families have a custom of winking in the direction of the dawn's light first thing in the morning, a gesture of respect to the sun god's luminous eye. Heliod's devoted worshipers were mainly humans and Lagonna Band centaurs, who worshipped Heliod on the first clear-skied morning of every month, although some Leonin were said to still worship him. Temples to Heliod often featured stairs up to a rooftop courtyard, enabling sun worship. The largest holiday aligned with Heliod was the summer solstice, celebrated with three days of ceremonious feasting, weddings, and oaths of loyalty.
Signature Item
Heliod wielded Khrusor, the Sun Spear, a weapon blessed with his power that could be pitched down from the heavens to any point on Theros. Obscure legends say that Heliod smote the coastal city known as Arixmethes with Khrusor and cast it into the sea.
During her time in the Underworld, reliving her death every night, Elspeth was able to seize the shadow of Khrusor from her nightmares and bring it into the Underworld. In her escape from the Underworld, the Planeswalker found many opportunities to wield the Shadowspear. Victory after victory, she declared to onlookers that her spear was the real Khrusor and Heliod's was a fake. As the legend of Elspeth's spear grew, Khrusor's strength waned. When she finally battled Heliod at the gates of the Underworld, his spear shattered in his hands.
History
It was Heliod who armed Kytheon (later known as Gideon) and sent him after a Titan that Erebos had sent rampaging across Theros. This event led to the death of Kytheon's companions and his ascension as a planeswalker.
In the Theros Block storyline, Heliod was a key character, acting as a secondary antagonist to Xenagos' mischief. In the first section of the storyline, his desire for praise and glory placed him in conflict with Purphoros, and while neither god could slay the other, they fought savagely. In the battle, Purphoros' weapon, a blade infused with chaos itself that could destroy Nyx, fell from the heavens and was taken by a frightened Elspeth. Years later, when Elspeth returned to Theros and tried to understand its gods by praying to the Sun, Heliod was displeased with her and tried to burn her alive with his rays to acquire her sword, but was prevented from doing so by her power. Instead, he saw fit to make her his "champion", and converted the weapon into a spear called Godsend. Across the rest of the novel, his conflict with Purphoros escalated to a war among the pantheon, and Kruphix saw fit to prevent the gods from interacting with the mortals, in an act known as the "Silence".
When Xenagos achieved his apotheosis, Heliod was quick to blame Elspeth, and once again tried to kill her, but failed. Across the second part, his hatred and jealousy of Elspeth increased, and to make matters worse, he came to understand what a Planeswalker was, fearing that she could rise to godhood like Xenagos and threaten his power. So he waited for the right chance and struck when Elspeth was exhausted after her final battle with Xenagos. He glared his blinding light, taking Godsend away from her and stabbing her with it, taunting her in a final desire to humiliate his champion as she died. He gave her corpse to Ajani Goldmane, telling him to take her out of Nyx and let her soul be captured by Erebos, as she had previously agreed with the dark god to exchange her life for that of Daxos. With this, Heliod departed.
As the gods went to war against each other again, Heliod sought to become the sole god of the pantheon. At a great cost, he fully resurrected Daxos (previously a Returned) and made him a demigod, but at the expense of being Heliod's champion. As Elspeth escaped, she spread stories about her newly acquired weapon, the Shadowspear, that it was the true Khrusor. As her legend grew, Heliod's weapon became weaker and when the pair fought at the borders of the Underworld, Elspeth was able to overpower Heliod and shatter his spear. Erebos, pleased with the defeat of his long-time rival, allowed Elspeth to leave the afterlife and chained Heliod into the Underworld beneath a giant boulder.[4][5][6]
March of the Machine
Heliod was compleated as part of New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse. While the gods of Theros are immune to direct compleation, the blue-aligned Phyrexian Chrome Host were still able to claim Heliod by compleating his followers, whose altered worship of him twisted him into a Phyrexian god.[7]
The compleated god was later killed by Kaya Cassir during the invasion's waning moments, his body fading away after his death.[8]
Inspiration
Heliod is partially modeled after Zeus, leader of the Greek gods and god of the sky, law, and justice. He was also partially inspired by Helios and Alectrona, gods of the sun, and protection from evil. Though likely unintentional, it is also worth noting that the ancient Greeks sometimes perceived Helios as Zeus' eye, and Zeus was also syncretized with the sun gods of other mythologies (as shown by the cults of Serapis and the Mithras) [9] so Heliod being derived from both makes sense.
His imprisonment in the Underworld may be a reference to Hyperion, the titan of light that was locked in Tartarus alongside his siblings. The specific method of torture is an allusion to Atlas and Sisyphus.
Trivia
- Heliod narrates the trailer for Theros.[10]
- He's the second white-aligned villain to be compleated, the first being Nahiri.
Gallery
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Heliod, God of the Sun. Art by Jamie Jones.
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Story appearances
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
- Quoted or referred to:
References
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (September 26, 2013). "Theran Pronunciation Quiz". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c (2013). Theros Player's Guide. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Ken Troop (April 23, 2014). "Dreams of the City". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (December 16, 2019). "The Theros Beyond Death Story on Cards". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (January 10, 2020). "Theros Beyond Death Story Summary". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Seanan McGuire (October 26, 2022). "The Brother's War - Chapter 4: The Dark". Magicthegathering.com.
- ↑ March of the Machine: Debut Aftershow (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (March 31, 2023).
- ↑ K. Arsenault Rivera (March 28, 2023). "March of the Machine - Episode 9: The Old Sins of New Phyrexia". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Sick, David H. (2004), "Mit(h)ra(s) and the Myths of the Sun", Numen, 51 (4): 432–467
- ↑ Theros Trailer - English (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (September 1, 2013).
External links
- The Magic Creative Team (August 21, 2013). "Planeswalker's Guide To Theros part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- Theros: Godsend, Part I
- Journey into Nyx: Godsend, Part II
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