Phaethon
heroPhaethon was the son of Helios who insisted on driving the chariot of the sun and lost control, nearly burning the earth to ashes.
The Myth
Doubting his divine parentage, Phaethon travelled to his father Helios's palace in the east. Helios swore by the Styx to grant any wish. Phaethon asked to drive the sun chariot. Helios begged him to reconsider, but the oath was unbreakable. The horses, sensing an inexperienced hand, bolted. The chariot swooped too close to earth, scorching the land (creating the Sahara) and burning rivers dry. Zeus struck Phaethon with a thunderbolt to save the world. He fell into the river Eridanus. His sisters, the Heliades, wept until they became poplar trees, their tears becoming amber.
Parents
Helios and Clymene
Symbols
Fun Fact
A "phaeton" became a type of open horse-drawn carriage and later a car body style — named for this disastrous charioteer.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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