October 11, 2008
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Volk Tale:
Phaeton“Haider was pronounced dead
in a hospital shortly after his
Volkswagen Phaeton veered
off the road….”“In the version of the myth told by Ovid in the Metamorphoses,
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 Phaeton 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.” –Wikipedia
