Hĕlĕnus, a celebrated soothsayer, son of Priam and Hecuba, greatly respected by all the Trojans. When Deiphobus was given in marriage to Helen in preference to himself, he resolved to leave his country, and he retired to mount Ida, where Ulysses took him prisoner by the advice of Calchas. As he was well acquainted with futurity, the Greeks made use of prayers, threats, and promises, to induce him to reveal the secrets of the Trojans, and either the fear of death or gratification of resentment seduced him to disclose to the enemies of his country, that Troy could not be taken whilst it was in possession of the Palladium, nor before Philoctetes came from his retreat at Lemnos and assisted to support the siege. After the ruin of his country, he fell to the share of Pyrrhus the son of Achilles, and saved his life by warning him to avoid the dangerous tempest which in reality proved fatal to all those who set sail. This endeared him to Pyrrhus, and he received from his hand Andromache the widow of his brother Hector, by whom he had a son called Cestrinus. This marriage, according to some, was consummated after the death of Pyrrhus, who lived with Andromache as his wife. Helenus was the only one of Priam’s sons who survived the ruin of his country. After the death of Pyrrhus, he reigned over part of the Epirus, which he called Chaonia, in memory of his brother Chaon, whom he had inadvertently killed. Helenus received Æneas as he voyaged towards Italy, and foretold him some of the calamities which attended his fleet. The manner in which he received the gift of prophecy is doubtful. See: [Cassandra]. Homer, Iliad, bk. 6, li. 76; bk. 7, li. 47.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 295, &c.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 11; bk. 2, ch. 33.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, lis. 99 & 723; bk. 15, li. 437.——A Rutulian killed by Pallas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 388.
Helerni Lucus, a place near Rome. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 105.
Heles, or Hales, a river of Lucania near Velia. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 16, ltr. 7; Letters to his Friends, bk. 7, ltr. 20.
Hēliădes, the daughters of the sun and Clymene. They were three in number, Lampetie, Phaetusa, and Lampethusa, or seven, according to Hyginus: Merope, Helie, Ægle, Lampetie, Phœbe, Ætheria, and Dioxippe. They were so afflicted at the death of their brother Phaeton [See: [Phaeton]], that they were changed by the gods into poplars, and their tears into precious amber, on the banks of the river Po. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 340.—Hyginus, fable 154.——The first inhabitants of Rhodes. This island being covered with mud when the world was first created, was warmed by the cherishing beams of the sun, and from thence sprang seven men, which were called Heliades, ἀπο του ἡλιου, from the sun. The eldest of these, called Ochimus, married Hegetoria, one of the nymphs of the island, and his brothers fled from the country for having put to death, through jealousy, one of their number. Diodorus, bk. 5.
Heliastæ, a name given to the judges of the most numerous tribunal at Athens. They consisted of 1000, and sometimes of 1500, they were seldom assembled, and only upon matters of the greatest importance. Demosthenes, Against Timocrates.—Diogenes Laërtius, Solon.
Helicāon, a Trojan prince, son of Antenor. He married Laodice the daughter of Priam, whose form Iris assumed to inform Helen of the state of the rival armies before Troy. Helicaon was wounded in a night engagement, but his life was spared by Ulysses, who remembered the hospitality which he had received from his father Antenor. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, li. 123.
Hĕlĭce, a star near the north pole, generally called Ursa Major. It is supposed to receive its name from the town of Helice, of which Calisto, who was changed into the Great Bear, was an inhabitant. Lucan, bk. 2, li. 237.——A town of Achaia, on the bay of Corinth, overwhelmed by the inundation of the sea. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 92.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, li. 293.——A daughter of Silenus king of Ægiale. Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 24.——A daughter of Lycaon king of Arcadia.
Hĕlīcon, now Zagaro-Vouni, a mountain of Bœotia, on the borders of Phocis. It was sacred to the muses, who had there a temple. The fountain Hippocrene flowed from this mountain. Strabo, bk. 8.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 219.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 28, &c.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 641.——A river of Macedonia near Dium. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 30.
Hĕlīcŏniădes, a name given to the Muses because they lived upon mount Helicon, which was sacred to them.
Helĭcōnis, a daughter of Thespius. Apollodorus.