Apollo or Helios?

[Amara Verdandi]

Which is the Greek sun god? I've heard both referred to as the god of the sun, so which is it? Or is it both?  

[ncsweet]

According to theoi.com

Quote:

HELIOS (or Helius) was the Titan god of the sun. He was also the guardian of oaths and the god of gift of sight...

Quote:

APOLLON (or Apollo) was the great Olympian god of prophecy and oracles, healing, plague and disease, music, song and poetry, archery, and the protection of the young.

The confusion maybe because Helios is sometimes identified as Apollon - but I don't think that they are actually the same God.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

In later mythology, Apollo is referred to as "charioteer of the sun" (rather than the sun itself). It might be an attempt to link him to the sun as his sister is linked to the moon, but as I say, it's a later addition to the mythology.  

[Amara Verdandi]

Thanks. =]  

[Angel Bruja]

I always thought Helios was the orignal Greek sun god before being phased out by Apollo. Unless I'm asking something similair to what Sanguina just said?  

[Brass Bell Doll]

This has come up in another thread as well.
In some myths there are deities that are celestial bodies personified and then there are deities that are associated with celestial bodies.

I think of it like this- a leather thong can be a shoe lace, and thus when people talk about leather thongs they can talk about shoes, but that doesn't make the leather thong a shoe itself.  

[Appoline Artemisia]

Helios was one of the Titans.

Apollo was the god of the sun (and music).

So, Apollo was the god or the sun, and Helios was the titan of the sun.  

[Brass Bell Doll]

Appoline Artemisia

Helios was one of the Titans.

Apollo was the god of the sun (and music).

So, Apollo was the god or the sun, and Helios was the titan of the sun.

Could you help explain your reasoning behind this? I find myself confused since most of his epithets refer to light directly, but not always the sun, much like my earlier comments about associations not always reflecting a gods nature.

What makes this interesting is that the Romans in their habit of associating their gods with the Greeks did not go as far as to equate Apollo with Sol.