Phaethon, << FAY uh thon >>, in Greek mythology, was the son of the sun god Helios and the sea goddess Clymene. To learn whether Helios was truly his father, Phaethon journeyed to the palace of the sun god in the east. There Helios, to reassure Phaethon, promised to grant his son any favor. Phaethon rashly asked to drive the sun chariot through the sky for one day. Helios reluctantly consented, but Phaethon, being a mere mortal, was unable to control the fiery divine steeds. They flew so high that the earth froze and a scar—the Milky Way—was carved on the sky. They then flew so low that people were scorched black, streams dried up, and rocks split. Zeus, king of the gods, rescued the world from destruction by striking Phaethon with a thunderbolt. Phaethon fell into a river and perished.
