Ricci, Sevastiano. The Fall of Phaethon. 1703-1704, Museo Civico, Belluno, Italy.
Beginning Book II of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, “The Story of Phaethon” tells a
tale of great tragedy. As Ovid’s poem goes, a young boy named Phaethon seeks his alleged father for approval of the legitimacy of their relationship. The Greek god of the sun, Apollo, who Phaethon believes to be his father, is found sitting in the royal sun palace. As Apollo invites Phaethon in as family, Phaethon then asks if he really is his son and if Phaethon’s mother, Clymene, had been lying about their relationship or not. Apollo tells Phaethon the truth, that he really is his father, but Phaethon needs more proof, so Apollo grants him any favor. Without hesitation, Phaethon asks to drive the sun chariot, the chariot Apollo rides from east to west each day to control the sun. Apollo immediately regrets his decision to grant the boy anything and tries to persuade and manipulate young Phaethon but to no luck. Apollo eventually gives in, allowing the boy to take the chariots but also ridiculing him for his ignorance and stupidity. Nevertheless, Phaethon takes the chariots. Apollo, sighing, then warns Phaethon of all the dangers before his departure. Phaethon does not listen and departs in the sun chariot. Lacking the skill needed to control the chariot, Phaethon quickly lost control of the horses, who then started making their way toward the earth below. The earth began to burn below, and the oceans began to evaporate. Apollo watches from above, knowing that if he does not act the earth will perish. He seeks the citadel of Heaven and Jupiter who begins throwing thunder down toward the earth, striking and destroying the chariot. Apollo saves the earth from total annihilation, but at the cost of his son’s life. Before Ovid’s version of “The Story of Phaethon” in Metamorphoses, the poem existed during the classical period of Greece (510 B.C. - 323 B.C.) in texts such as The Timaeus by Plato and The Phaethon by Euripides. “The Story of Phaethon” only exists in Part II of The Timaeus as a little story told by an egyptian priest to Solon. Solon is a distant relative of the Critias, the main character of Plato’s triad of dialogue (Grabowski). However, The Phaethon by Euripides tells a much more in depth version of the story. While Plato’s version of Phaethon’s story is just a reference and Ovid’s version begins with Phaethon’s arrival at the royal sun palace, The Phaethon begins earlier in Phaethon’s life, covering key details such as Phaethon’s adoptive father, Merops - once the king of Ethiopia, and Clymene’s confession that Helios is Phaethon’s actual father (Lloyd). Also, on that note, Euripides uses Helios instead of Apollo; Helios was originally considered the sun god, but during the 5th century B.C., Apollo became associated with the sun and ever since Helios and Apollo became almost interchangeable (Cartwright). I studied lines 1 - 48 of “The Story of Phaethon”, which mainly introduce the setting and give context to the fall of Phaethon. These lines contain descriptions of the sun palace and the sea below, foreshadowing its endangerment later in the story. Throughout the last half of these lines, Phaethon and Apollo begin to speak about proving Apollo’s fatherhood and how to go about it. “The Story of Phaethon” as a whole lies very early on in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, for it is in Book II out of fifteen. This myth itself was ancient for even Ovid, so it can be assumed that he placed it so early on in the text because of its prior position in history. |
Ricci, Sevastiano. The Fall of Phaethon. 1703-1704, Museo Civico, Belluno, Italy.
• References •
Grabowski, Frank. “Plato: The Timaeus.” The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISSN 2161-0002, https://www.iep.utm.edu/timaeus/#SH6b, 3 Apr. 2020.
Lloyd-Jones, Hugh. The Classical Review, vol. 21, no. 3, 1971, pp. 341–345. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/708587. Accessed 3 Apr. 2020.
Menoni, Burton. Kings of Greek Mythology. Lulu.com, 2016.
Cartwright, Mark. "Helios." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 16 May 2016. Web. 03 Apr 2020.
Lloyd-Jones, Hugh. The Classical Review, vol. 21, no. 3, 1971, pp. 341–345. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/708587. Accessed 3 Apr. 2020.
Menoni, Burton. Kings of Greek Mythology. Lulu.com, 2016.
Cartwright, Mark. "Helios." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 16 May 2016. Web. 03 Apr 2020.