Her love was unrequited,
She was not the one Helios wanted.
The one he called his lover
Was Leucothea, her sister.
He would disguise himself as their mother,
To sneak into Leucothea's room.
So Clytie told, Orchamus, their father
Who by anger became consumed.
He had her buried alive in the sands.
Clytie now thought she had her chance.
But her actions Helios could not forgive;
Without his lover, on earth he could not live.
She sat naked on the rocks for nine days straight
With nothing to drink and nothing to eat.
His departure from earth, she could not take,
So for those nine days she did nothing but grieve.
Slowly she withered as she passed away
And thus her form Helios forever changed.
As a heliotrope she would forever stay,
Following the sun, every single day.