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Phaethon

Myths and Legends of the World | 2001 | Copyright

Phaethon

In Greek mythology, Phaethon was the son of the sun god Helios and the sea nymph Clymene. Phaethon's friends teased him because they did not believe that the sun was his father. Phaethon journeyed to Helios's palace to determine the truth. Helios replied that he was Phaethon's father and promised to grant his son a wish.

nymph minor goddess of nature, usually represented as young and beautiful

Phaethon asked to drive his father's chariot across the sky. Helios tried to discourage Phaethon, for no one except the sun could control the horses that pulled the chariot. However, Phaethon did not listen to the warning and insisted on driving the chariot. Helios could not take back his promise, so he let the youth take the reins. Soon after the chariot rose into the sky, Phaethon lost control of the horses, causing the sun to come too near the earth and burn it. To stop further destruction, Zeus* killed Phaethon with a thunderbolt, and the boy fell into the Eridanus River. Phaethon's sisters mourned for him so much that they turned into poplar trees on the banks of the river, and the tears they shed hardened into drops of amber.

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Phaethon

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Copyright

Phaethon Asteroid 3200, a member of the Apollo group, discovered in 1983 by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite. Phaethon's orbit is very similar to that of the Geminid meteor shower, and it may be their parent body. Before the discovery of Phaethon, meteor showers were generally believed to be associated only with comets, but infrared observations suggest that Phaethon has a rocky surface, not the dusty crust expected for an extinct cometary nucleus. Phaethon is an F-class asteroid with a diameter of about 5 km. Its orbit has a semimajor axis of 1.271 AU, period 1.43 years, perihelion 0.14 AU, aphelion 2.40 AU, and inclination 22°.2. It can approach to within 0.02 AU (3 million km) of the Earth's orbit.

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Phaëthon

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Phaëthon or Phaëton , in Greek mythology, son of Helios and the nymph Clymene. He tried to drive his father's golden chariot, but he could not control its great steeds. As the chariot plunged to earth it burned Mt. Oeta and dried the Libyan Desert. The universe would have been destroyed by fire if Zeus had not killed Phaëthon with a thunderbolt.

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Phaethon

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Phaethon in Greek mythology, the son of Helios the sun god. He asked to drive his father's solar chariot for a day, but could not control the immortal horses and the chariot plunged too near to the earth until Zeus killed Phaethon with a thunderbolt in order to save the earth from destruction.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Phaethon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Phaethon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Phaethon.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Phaethon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Phaethon.html

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Phaethon

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Phaethon In Greek mythology, son of Helios, the Sun god. He drove his father's Sun chariot across the sky but lost control of the horses, setting the Earth on fire as he approached too close. To save the Earth, Zeus struck him from the reins with a thunderbolt.

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Phaethon

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

Phaethon (tropicbirds) See PHAETHONTIDAE.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Phaethon." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "Phaethon." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Phaethon.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "Phaethon." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Phaethon.html

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Phaethon

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