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Helios by H. D.

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H.

Poet
H. D.
Composed
1924 · Modernist
Core theme
Death
The PoemFull text

Helios

H. D., 1924

_Helios makes all things right:-- night brands and chokes as if destruction broke over furze and stone and crop of myrtle-shoot and field-wort, destroyed with flakes of iron, the bracken-stems, where tender roots were sown, blight, chaff and waste of darkness to choke and drown._ _A curious god to find, yet in the end faithful; bitter, the Kyprian's feet-- ah flecks of whited clay, great hero, vaunted lord-- ah petal, dust and wind-fall on the ground--queen awaiting queen._ _Better the weight, they tell, the helmet's beaten shell, Athene's riven steel, caught over the white skull, Athene sets to heal the few who merit it._ _Yet even then, what help, should he not turn and note the height of forehead and the mark of conquest, draw near and try the helmet; to left--reset the crown Athene weighted down, or break with a light touch mayhap the steel set to protect; to slay or heal._ _A treacherous god, they say, yet who would wait to test justice or worth or right, when through a fetid night is wafted faint and nearer-- then straight as point of steel to one who courts swift death, scent of Hesperidean orange-spray._

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

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§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

H. D.'s "Helios" explores the sun god as a dual force—capable of both nurturing life and causing destruction. He can reduce crops to ashes one moment and bring stability the next. The poem journeys through various Greek figures (Aphrodite, Athena, the Hesperides) to question if divine power can be considered just or if it simply overpowers us. Ultimately, even a "treacherous" god can rescue someone from death's brink with something as delicate as the scent of an orange blossom.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Helios makes all things right:-- / night brands and chokes

    Editor's note

    The opening line comes across as a confident proverb, but H. D. quickly undermines it. Night is portrayed as branding and suffocating the landscape — scorching furze, stone, myrtle, and bracken with "flakes of iron." The sun god is presented as a remedy to this devastation, yet the harshness of the imagery makes his "rightness" seem hard-fought and brutal rather than tender.

  2. A curious god to find, / yet in the end faithful;

    Editor's note

    Here, the speaker turns to Aphrodite, the Kyprian born off Cyprus, and the destruction she causes, reducing heroes to "petal, dust, and wind-fall." The phrase "queen awaiting queen" hints at a cycle of power and submission between divine and mortal women. Helios is described as "curious" because his faithfulness isn’t clear; it exists alongside bitterness and ruin.

  3. Better the weight, they tell, / the helmet's beaten shell,

    Editor's note

    The poem shifts focus to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, whose helmet provides better protection than the raw power of Helios's sun. The helmet, described as "beaten" and "riven," shows signs of battle, yet Athena "sets to heal / the few who merit it." The phrase "the few who merit it" carries a quietly harsh implication: divine protection is not given freely.

  4. Yet even then, what help, / should he not turn and note

    Editor's note

    Even Athena's protection relies on Helios taking notice of you. The stanza depicts the god physically adjusting the helmet — either resetting it or perhaps breaking it with a careless touch. The last two words, "to slay or heal," sit next to each other without any preference indicated. Just because the divine is paying attention doesn't mean they care; the outcome can swing in either direction.

  5. A treacherous god, they say, / yet who would wait to test

    Editor's note

    The closing stanza leaves the tension unresolved. The speaker admits to the accusation of betrayal but questions: when engulfed in true darkness and despair, who can afford to assess a god's moral standing? The poem concludes with the fragrance of Hesperidean orange-spray slicing through the "fetid night" like a blade — sharp, accurate, and revitalizing. In Greek mythology, the orange grove of the Hesperides symbolizes immortality, so the scent offers a glimmer of hope for survival, even to someone flirting with death.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone remains tense and uncertain throughout. H. D. writes with the focused intensity characteristic of Imagism — using short, sharp lines and vivid images — but the emotions conveyed are truly conflicted rather than simply detached. There’s a sense of respect for the Greek gods, yet a clear refusal to idealize them. The poem feels like a person grappling with a tough internal debate, reaching not a resolution but a form of practical acceptance.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Helios / the sun
Helios embodies divine power in its most indifferent form—able to scorch the earth and rejuvenate it in one breath. He isn't just a symbol of warmth or optimism; he signifies a force that transcends human moral boundaries.
Athena's helmet
The helmet represents earned, conditional protection. Unlike the sun's broad and impersonal light, Athena's gift is selective—it goes to "the few who merit it"—making it both more personal and more fragile.
Hesperidean orange-spray
The orange blossom from the garden of the Hesperides—mythical orchard at the world's western edge linked to immortality—offers an unexpected, almost instinctive reason to live. Its scent comes unexpectedly in the dark, slicing through despair like a tangible force.
Flakes of iron
Iron flakes remind us of both charred, fragile plants and the remnants of conflict. They link the devastation of nature to human aggression, implying that the harm inflicted during the night and that caused by battle share a common nature.
The Kyprian (Aphrodite)
Aphrodite embodies a force of dissolution instead of love—her feet are described as "bitter," and heroes crumble to dust and become mere whispers in the wind at her feet. She illustrates how desire and beauty can dismantle greatness.

§06Form & structure

Form & structure

Meter
free verse

§07Historical context

Historical context

H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) was a key figure in the Imagist movement, which Ezra Pound started around 1912 to focus poetry on clear, concrete images while eliminating unnecessary embellishments. H. D. stood out as the movement's most dedicated practitioner. Her work was deeply influenced by ancient Greek literature—she was fluent in Greek and translated Euripides—and she employed the Greek gods not just as decorative elements but as psychological and elemental forces. "Helios" fits perfectly within this framework: the sun god represents not merely a classical allusion but a genuine issue to contemplate. H. D. wrote during and after both World Wars, and her poetry consistently confronts themes of destruction, survival, and the reliability of any ordering principle—whether divine or human. Her later long poem *Trilogy* (1944–46) delves into these same questions within a wartime setting.

§08FAQ

Questions readers ask

What is the poem actually about?

It reflects on the trustworthiness of the sun god Helios, and by extension, any divine or natural ordering force. H. D. explores three Greek figures—Helios, Aphrodite, and Athena—to examine the relationship between power and justice. Her conclusion isn’t straightforward: Helios can be both treacherous and a savior, sometimes at the same time.

Who is "the Kyprian" in the second stanza?

"The Kyprian" refers to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, named for her legendary birth from the sea near Cyprus (known as Kypros in Greek). H. D. opts for this epithet instead of her name to maintain a distinctly Greek tone in the poem and to highlight the goddess's ancient, elemental essence rather than her later Roman charm.

What does "queen awaiting queen" mean?

The phrase is intentionally ambiguous. It might suggest mortal queens awaiting divine ones, or it could represent Aphrodite and Athena as competing powers, or even a cycle where one woman's dominance takes over another's. H. D. frequently presents her mythological images in a way that keeps them somewhat unresolved, allowing them to convey multiple meanings simultaneously.

Why does H. D. call Helios "treacherous" at the end after calling him "faithful" earlier?

Both descriptions hold truth from different perspectives. He is faithful in that the sun consistently rises and brings life back after the night. He is treacherous in that his focus — much like when he adjusts or breaks Athena's helmet — can just as easily cause destruction as it can provide salvation. H. D. isn't contradicting herself; she illustrates how these traits coexist within the same god.

What are the Hesperides, and why does the poem end with their orange-spray?

The Hesperides were nymphs who cared for a garden at the far western edge of the world, where golden apples grew—a realm linked to immortality and the divide between life and death. The fragrance of orange blossoms from that garden wafting in a "fetid night" serves as a powerful, sensory reminder to embrace life. It doesn't argue with the one "who courts swift death"; it just envelops them completely.

Is this poem written in a specific form?

No fixed form — no regular rhyme scheme or meter. It’s free verse in the Imagist style: short, tight lines, sharp consonants, and images selected for clarity instead of embellishment. There are some near-rhymes ("shell" / "skull" / "heal"; "test" / "right" / "night" / "steel" / "death" / "spray") that give a sense of structure without confining the poem to a specific pattern.

What does Athena's helmet represent, and why does Helios get to tamper with it?

Athena's helmet symbolizes the protective wisdom she provides—rational and earned, meant for those who truly deserve it. However, H. D. envisions Helios reaching out to adjust or even break it, illustrating how solar power (raw, impersonal, and overwhelming) can surpass even the best defenses. No armor can withstand the sun.

How does this poem connect to H. D.'s broader body of work?

H. D. revisited Greek mythology throughout her career to delve into themes of survival, destruction, and female power. "Helios" serves as an early illustration of her approach: she treats a male deity as a genuine force rather than merely a symbol and compares him to other divine figures. Her later long poems—particularly Trilogy and Helen in Egypt—expand on these same questions on a much grander scale.

Citation

Cite this poem

MLA

D., H. "Helios." 1924. Storgy, https://storgy.com/poems/helios-h-d/.

APA

D., H. (1924). Helios. Storgy. https://storgy.com/poems/helios-h-d/

TeacherAP Lit Q1 scaffold — preview

Row A — Thesis

1 pt

In H. D.'s 'Helios,' the sun god functions not as a stable source of warmth and order but as an agent of radical ambiguity, capable of obliterating the very life he is supposed to sustain, yet still the only force that makes existence …

  • Row B — Evidence + Commentary4 pts
  • Row C — Sophistication1 pt
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