I. Name
The word ἥλιος, sun, like šemešShemesh, is ambivalent between a true name and a common noun. Only the context can determine which aspect—stellar, religious, cosmic, political—is predominant in a given text. The standard etymology (H. Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Heidelberg 1954] 1:631–632; P. Chantraine, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque 2 [Paris 1970] 410–411) appeals to the psilotic epic form ἀέλιος and a Cretan (Hesych.) or Pamphylian (Heraclei…