When Phaethon arrived at the sun god’s palace, he stood amazed. Everything from the columns to the doors, which were engraved by Vulcan himself, was fashioned in gold, silver, bronze, and ivory. Helios was reclining on a throne of emeralds and surrounded by gods and goddesses who
Represented the passage of time. When Phaethon asked Helios whether he was his father, the sun god replied that not only was he the boy’s father, but that he would also grant Phaethon whatever his heart desired. Phaethon thought for a moment before asking to drive his father’s chariot, the vehicle that brought the sun to the world every morning at dawn. Helios saw the danger and pleaded with Phaethon to change his mind. “Look at the worry in my face,” he pleaded. “Hear the concern in my voice: they should be proof enough of my love for you.” He went on to say that the horses were too difficult even for Zeus to control, and that the path through the sky was dangerous and filled with monsters such as the Scorpion, the Lion, the Bull, and the Crab. Helios begged Phaethon to ask for anything else, but Phaethon was determined to attempt the impossible. Helios realized that he must comply with his request because he had sworn by the Styx River to grant Phaethon’s wish, and not even a god could break such a solemn promise.
Distraught, Helios gave Phaethon all the advice he could, then rubbed a magic ointment on his face to protect
Celestial Science
Despite the moral lessons to be learned from Phaethon's tragedy, his story may have a deeper scientific significance. For example, scholars such as Diodorus Siculus (90-21 BCE) of Rome connected Phaethon's story with the creation of the Milky Way. The streak of stars was clearly visible in the dark skies of the ancient world, and the story helped to explain it.
Some scientists have also questioned whether the legend arose because of Earth's contact with a comet or meteor. Others have suggested that the myth might have resulted from a particularly dry period. Ancient people could have interpreted either phenomena as the consequence of the chariot of the sun coming too close to Earth. Stories from ancient Mesoamerica and China both suggest a dry period between 1200 and 1000 BCE. Whether a natural phenomenon lies at the root of this myth or not, one thing is certain: the effects of such an event were extremely troubling, especially in a world with limited understanding of meteorology.
Him from the intensity of the sunlight. No sooner had Phaethon set off than the horses realized that their usual driver was not at the reins. When Phaethon passed the Scorpion in the sky, he was frightened and dropped the reins. The horses ran out of control, wildly galloping first high, then low, dragging the sun across mountaintops and valleys, setting fire to everything in their path. Not only did mountains and cities catch fire, but also rivers, springs, and fields of crops. According to Ovid (43 BCE-17 CE), the Latin poet who tells this story in its entirety in the Metamorphoses, Phaethon’s chariot ride blackened the skin of Ethiopians, created the Libyan Desert, and caused the Nile River to hide its head in the sand.
When earth goddess Gaia could take no more of this destruction, she cried out to Zeus to intervene. The chief god struck the chariot with a bolt of lightning, and Phaethon plummeted to his death into a river, later said to
Below: The Fall of Phaethon by Luca Giordano (1632-1705).
Right: This 16th-century Italian painting depicts the moment when the Heliades, Phaethon’s sisters, mourning his death, begin to turn into trees.
Have been the Eridanus (the modern Po in northern Italy). Helios himself mourned for a day, during which the sun was not seen in the sky. According to Ovid, Helios shirked his light-bringing responsibility out of anger at Zeus, who, he asserted, could not have handled the chariot any better than Phaethon. It was only after other gods and goddesses interceded that Helios resumed his duties, but not before savagely beating his horses for their part in his son’s death.
Meanwhile, nymphs in the service of Hesperus (the Evening Star) found and buried Phaethon’s body. When they did so, two miraculous transformations took place. First, Cycnus was so distraught by the death of his friend Phaethon that the gods took pity on him and placed him in the stars as a swan (the constellation Cygnus).The second transformation was that of Phaethon’s sisters, the Heliades. Having mourned their brother at his tomb on the banks of the river, the Heliades attempted to rise, but their bodies were no longer human. Where there had formerly been skin, bark grew. Their legs became rooted to the ground, their arms turned into boughs, and leaves sprouted from the tops of their heads. Clymene, their mother, attempted to tear the bark away, but the girls cried out in agony. As their bodies were changed into poplar trees, their tears turned to amber, a precious gemstone that was worn by Roman brides. In Ovid’s account, the tomb of Phaethon was forever shaded by poplar trees:
“Here Phaethon lies, his father’s charioteer—
Great was his fall, yet did he greatly dare.”
World History
