Phaeton and the Sun Chariot Retold by: John Brumm Carson Huber Payton Cornelius

Once there was a boy named Phaeton. When he grew older he was curios who his father was. So Phaeton went to his mother to ask her. When he did she answered, ”Your father is Apollo, the god of the sun.

As soon as he heard these words he was in shock. So he started going around telling people that his father was Apollo, but nobody believed him. So he went out to find his father on Mt. Olympus.

On his long journey Phaeton faced many challenges. When he got there, he asked Apollo if he could give proof that he was his father.

Apollo gave proof by giving his promise to grant whatever his son wanted. So Phaeton asked to drive the sun chariot for a day. Apollo said, ”Driving the chariot is beyond your power. Not even the great Zeus can drive the chariot of the sun.”

Eventually Phaeton got his way and got to drive the sun chariot. But before he drove the sun chariot he had to put sunscreen on his face. He also had to put on Apollo’s crown in order to be able to bring the sun across the sky.

As he took off, his father yelled, “Don’t pull on the reigns too hard. It upsets the horses.” As he was going across the sky the sun was burning his skin. Phaeton tried to wipe sweat off his skin and as he did the horses took off leaving him to plummet to the ground in the chariot.

As he hit the ground it made a gigantic crater. Later on that day his father realized he didn’t receive back his chariot, horses, or his son. The next day Hermes gave Apollo the news that Zeus had hit the chariot to prevent the Earth from catching on fire and that the horses had gotten away safely but Apollo’s son was not so lucky.

So from then on Apollo vowed to never let anyone but him drive the chariot. He kept that promise forever.

Apollo lived a lonely and sad life after his son died. When he was lonely he played a sweet song on his lyre.

When Phaeton died, that’s how the gods explain how the sun ended up in space. The End!