Phaethon (Song)

The myth of Phaethon tells the tragic story of a young demigod whose pride and desire for validation lead to his downfall. Phaethon, son of Helios, the Sun god, seeks to prove his divine lineage after being mocked by others. Journeying to the palace of the Sun, he confronts his father and is granted a wish. Phaethon demands to drive the Sun’s chariot across the sky, despite Helios' warnings of the task's peril. His recklessness causes the chariot to veer off course, scorching the Earth and creating deserts, while other lands suffer under relentless heat.

Mother Earth pleads with Zeus to intervene, and Zeus strikes Phaethon with a thunderbolt to save the world. Phaethon falls to his death in the river Eridanus, where his grieving sisters, the Heliades, are turned into poplar trees, their tears forming amber.