What led to the downfall of Phaethon?
In some versions, the Earth first froze when the horses climbed too high, but when the chariot then scorched the Earth by swinging too near, Zeus decided to prevent disaster by striking it down with a thunderbolt. Phaethon fell to earth and was killed in the process.
Why does Phaethon lose control of his father’s chariot?
Phaeton asked to drive the sun god’s chariot. According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Helios tried to dissuade him, warning his son that not even Jupiter (Zeus), king of the gods, could control the fiercely hot chariot pulled by fire-breathing horses. Confused, they reared and Phaeton lost control.
Who stopped Phaethon?
Phaeton found, however, that he could not control the horses; as they left their course, the chariot scorched the earth and the crops, and the heat caused the death of all the animals. Jupiter stopped Phaeton with a thunderbolt, and he fell into the river Eridanus (Met II. 19-328; OM II.
Who crashed Apollo’s chariot?
Phaethon
Phaethon was the son the god Helios who secretly took the chariot one day to drive it. However, as he was young and inexperienced, he lost control of the horses and got killed.
How did Phaethon get killed by the Thunderbolt?
In some versions, the Earth first froze when the horses climbed too high, but when the chariot then scorched the Earth by swinging too near, Zeus decided to prevent disaster by striking it down with a thunderbolt. Phaethon fell to earth and was killed in the process.
What did Phaethon do when he dropped the reins?
Ovid’s version. Terrified, Phaethon dropped the reins. The horses veered from their course, scorching the earth, burning the vegetation, bringing the blood of the Ethiopians to the surface of their skin and so turning it black, changing much of Africa into desert, drying up rivers and lakes and shrinking the sea.
Who was Phaethon’s father in the Metamorphoses?
In the version of the myth told by Ovid in the Metamorphoses, Phaethon ascends into heaven, the home of his suspected father. His mother Clymene had boasted that his father was the Sun-God or Phoebus. Phaethon went to his father who swore by the river Styx to give Phaethon anything he would ask for in order to prove his divine sonship.
Why was Phaethon put in charge of the chariot?
Placed in charge of the chariot, Phaethon was unable to control the horses. In some versions, the Earth first froze when the horses climbed too high, but when the chariot then scorched the Earth by swinging too near, Zeus decided to prevent disaster by striking it down with a thunderbolt.