Everything about Phaethon totally explained
In
Greek mythology,
Phaëton or
Phaethon (or /ˈfeɪəθən/) ("shining") was the son of
Helios (
Phoebus, the "shining one", an
epithet later assumed by
Apollo), or of
Clymenus by
Merope or
Clymene. Or, in the later myths, Apollo.
In an alternate genealogy,
Eos bore
Cephalus a son, named Phaëthon but
Aphrodite stole him away while he was no more than a child, to be the night-watchman at her most sacred shrines. The
Minoans called him
Adymus, by which they meant the morning and evening star (
Hesiod,
Theogony, 986;
Solinus, xi:9;
Nonnus,
Dionysiaca, xi:131 and xii:217).
The myth stated that Phaeton bragged to his friends that his father was the sun-god. One of his friends, who was rumored to be a son of Zeus, refused to believe him and said his mother was lying. So Phaeton went to his father Helios, who swore by the river
Styx to give Phaeton anything he should ask for in order to prove his divine paternity. Phaeton wanted to drive his
chariot (the
sun) for a day. Though Helios tried to talk him out of it, Phaeton was adamant. When the day came, Phaeton panicked and lost control of the mean horses that drew the chariot. First it veered too high, so that the earth grew chill. Then it dipped too close, and the vegetation dried and burned. He accidentally turned most of
Africa into
desert; burning the skin of the
Ethiopians black. Eventually,
Zeus was forced to intervene by striking the runaway chariot with a lightning bolt to stop it, and Phaëthon plunged into the river
Eridanos. His sisters the
Heliades grieved so much that they were turned into
poplar trees that weep golden
amber.
This story has given rise to two latter-day meanings of "phaeton": one who drives a
chariot or
coach, especially at a reckless or dangerous speed, and one that would or may set the world on fire.
Phaëton in other stories
Fragments of
Euripides' tragedy on this subject suggest that
Phaethon survives. In reconstructing the lost play and discussing the fragments, James Diggle has discussed the treatment of the Phaeton myth (Diggle 2004).
Perhaps the most famous version of the myth is given us through
Ovid in his
Metamorphoses (Book II). Ovid is emphasizing that Phaeton seeks assurance that his mother,
Clymene, is telling the truth about his father.
Dante refers to the episode in both the Inferno and Paradiso Canto XVII of his
Divine Comedy.
The motif of the fallen star must have been familiar in Israel, for
Isaiah referred to it in admonishing the king of Babylon for his pride ("How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"
Isaiah 14:12ff). The
Jewish Encyclopedia reports that "it is obvious that the prophet in attributing to the Babylonian king boastful pride, followed by a fall, borrowed the idea from a popular legend connected with the morning star." The falling-star image reappears in John's
Apocalypse without a name. In the 4th century,
Jerome's translation of the "morning star" as "Lucifer" carried the fallen-star myth-element into
Christian mythology. For fuller details, see
Lucifer and
Azazel.
Camille Saint-Saëns wrote a symphonic poem entitled
Phaëton.
Extra-terrestrial impact theory
It has been noted by a number of commentators, including the astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier, that, if stripped of its obviously mythological elements, the story of Phaethon reads like a genuine account of the impact of an asteroid or a piece of cometary debris. They compare the description of an intensely bright light and searing heat with eyewitness accounts of the
Tunguska event and point out that the after effects of Phaethon's fall, including flooding and a darkening of the sun, are consistent with the dust veil and tsunamis which an impact might be expected to cause (Clube & Napier 1982, The Cosmic Serpent, pgs 206-9).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Phaethon'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://pha__ton.totallyexplained.com">Phaëton Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
