THE DEATH OF PHAETHON
The horses darted forward to their long race, and their first few
leaps brought them above the highest mountains. Before the eyes of the
youth the whole extent of land and sea lay outstretched.
The deer already had left their shelters and gone up on the heights.
All nature seemed to awake. The quiet woods resounded with the songs
of the birds, which seemed to greet the rising sun. Glittering
dewdrops hung on the leaves and flowers and shone like diamonds with
the light of Helios. Hares and rabbits left their hiding-places and
came forth for food. Bees flew humming from flower to flower,
gathering their precious sweets. The shepherd led forth his bleating
flocks into the green pastures, the farmer plodded off into the fields
with his rural tools. Smoke began to rise from the cottage chimneys.
Only the owls and other night-birds, unable to bear the light of the
sun, flew back to their lonely hiding-places, and a few timid flowers
closed their petals, but the sun-flowers turned their faces with joy
toward the rising sun. Phaethon was entranced by the sight of the
glorious beauty of awakening nature.
The horses soon perceived that they were not held by the powerful
hands of Helios; they also felt that they were not drawing their
accustomed burden, and as a ship that does not carry the necessary
ballast is tossed about by the waves, so the chariot was jolted
through the air, rising and falling as if it were empty.
The horses strayed from their path. Phaethon tried to rein them in. He
did not know the way and was not strong enough to curb the restive
steeds. They ran this way and that, to right and left, under the
uncertain guidance of their new driver.
On they flew. They were near the middle of the sky where the road was
steepest. Phaethon looked down from the tremendous height upon the
earth. He became dizzy; his hands trembled and his knees knocked
together. He let the reins go loose; the horses darted forward like
arrows. He pulled them back, and they plunged and stood on their hind
feet. He wanted to speak to them, but he did not know their names.
Overcome at last by fear, he threw the reins down on the backs of the
horses and clung to the chariot. Having no guidance whatever the
horses now started on a wild race. They approached the earth and
turned everything into a desert; woods and meadows, cities and
villages were burnt to ashes. The rivers were dried up and the sea was
boiling.
Again the chariot was borne up to an immeasurable height and the earth
was relieved of the terrible heat. But now the firmament was in danger
of being destroyed by fire. Curses and prayers rose to heaven from the
suffering people on earth, and cries of fright resounded through
Olympos.
Zeus heard the sighs and wailings and cries, and to save the world
from destruction he hurled his thunder-bolt at the unfortunate
Phaethon, who fell from the dizzy heights to earth. With tears and
lamentations his mother searched for the body of her wayward son. She
found him near the mouth of a great river which had been burned dry.
There she buried him, and the sisters of the unfortunate youth shed
bitter tears over his grave. They could not bear to go away from the
tomb and leave him lying there alone, so they remained kneeling and
motionless until Zeus took pity on them and changed them into weeping
willows. Even then they kept on weeping, but their tears were dried
by the sun and carried away by the streams into the great sea, where
they became jewels of amber.
Kyknos, too, a friend of Phaethon's, mourned his loss and could not be
comforted; so Zeus, in kindness, changed him into a swan. Helios, in
his fatherly grief, refused to drive the chariot of the Sun any
longer, and the earth was left in darkness for a whole day. But the
gods entreated him to take the reins again and men prayed for light,
and from that time on the Sun has kept its true course through the
heavens, under his wise guidance.
VOCABULARY
Ad mē' tos.
Æ gē' us.
Æ thra (ē' thra).
A kris' i os.
Alk mē' ne.
An tæ os (an tē' os).
A res (ā' rēs).
A ri ad' ne.
As klep' i os, or Æs cu la' pi us.
Ath' a mas.
Au gei as, or Au ge as (au gī' as, or au gē' as).
Bœ o' ti a.
Ca' cus, or Ka' kos.
Cer' be rus, or Ker' be ros.
Da' nä e (dă).
Da' na æ.
Da na' i des, or Da' na ids.
Da´ na os.
Dæ' da los.
De' los.
De me' ter.
Deu ka' li on.
Di o me' des.
E leu' sis.
Eu rys theus (ū rys' thuse).
Glau' ke.
Hĕ´ ka te.
Hē' li os.
He phæs tos (hĕ fēs' tos), or Vulcan.
Her' a kles or Her' cu les.
He si o ne (hĕ see' o ne).
Hip po da mei a (hip po da mī' a).
Hip pol' y te.
Hy met' tos.
Hy per bo rē' ans.
I bē' ri a.
I´ ka ros, or Ic' a rus.
I o la os (ē ō' la os).
I ol kos (ē ol' kos).
Jap e tos, or I ap e tus (yap' e tos, or ē ap' e tus).
Kē´ le os.
Ke pheus (kē' fuse).
Kre ū' sa.
Krom' my on.
La ri' sa.
Li nos (lē' nos).
Lo cri (lo' crē).
Ly ka' on.
Me de a (mĕ dē' a).
Mĕ' ga ris.
Me le a gros (mĕ le ah' gros).
Met a nei ra (met a nī ra).
My ke´ næ, or My cē' næ.
Myr' til os.
Ne me' an.
Ne reus (nē' ruse).
Πno' ma os.
O ke' a nos.
Or pheus (or' fuse).
Pe leus (pē' luse).
Pe li as (pē' li as).
Pe lop' i des.
Pe lop on nes' os, or Pe lop on nes' us.
Per i phe' tes or Kor y ne' tes.
Per seph' o ne, or Pro serp' i ne.
Pha ë thon (fā' e thon).
Phin' e us.
Pit' theus.
Po sei don (po sī' don).
Se' ri phos (sĕ).
Stym phā´ los.
Sym ple gä' des (sym ple gah' des).
Ta' los.
The seus (the´ suse).
Trip tol e mos (trip tol' a mos).
Trœ ze ne (tre zē´ ne).
Vale of Tem pe (tem' pe).
Zeus (zuse).
Transcriber's Note
Variant spelling is preserved as printed.
Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. Hyphenation has been made
consistent.
The following amendment has been made:
Page vii--xiii amended to xi--Introduction xi
The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page.
Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are
not in the middle of a paragraph.