Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 53 minutes ago
In the ancient days of Greek and Roman mythology, the story was told of Phaeton, the son of the sun god Helios (often equivocated with Apollo) who asked his father to command the chariot of the sun on its journey across the sky. The power of the god was too much for this mortal, and his bold attempt to wield it nearly destroyed all of creation. Today we wield many of the same powers once attributed to the gods, and we must listen to ancient wisdom to avoid repeating Phaeton's disastrous mistake.
Transcript: https://ancientworld.website/b/mythosandlogos/view_post.php?id=3
Mythos & Logos are two ancient words that can be roughly translated as “Story & Meaning.”
Support the channel by subscribing, liking, and commenting to join the conversation!
Support the channel financially through your generous Patreon donation: patreon.com/mythosandlogos
This channel is a collection of thoughts of one person on the important stories that we humans have shared with each other. I believe that, in respectfully approaching storytelling traditions, we can find timeless wisdom and beauty that apply to modern life. I do my best to find and share that wisdom. I encourage you to share your thoughts and stories as well.
The stories presented here have all been freely shared by their original tellers. I encourage you to study each story directly and consult traditional sources whenever possible.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:07 Bellerophon Riding Pegasus and Killing the Chimera, Roman mosaic, second to third century A.D., from the Rolin Museum, Autun, France
00:11 The Great Library of Alexandria by O. Von Corven from The Memory of Mankind
01:42 Phaéton on the Chariot of Apollo by Nicolas Bertin
02:11 The Son of a God
02:15 Plate with the Story of Phaeton by Francesco Durantino
03:07 Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Venice 1497, from the European Library of Information and Culture, Milan, Italy
03:19 Helios and Selene by Johann Rathausky
03:37 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book I
04:34 The Palace of the Sun
04:38 Apollo and Phaëthon by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
05:02 Shield of Achilles by John Flaxman
05:20 Ceremonial Plaque depicting Cybele on her chariot, early 3rd century B.C. Afghanistan, from the National Museum of Afghanistan
05:36 Dionysos with Helios and Aphrodite, Pompeii, from the National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy
05:51 Phaeton by Odilon Redon
06:13 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book II
06:58 London : Westminster - The Horses of Helios by Lewis Clarke, licensed under Creative Commons
07:13 Mosaic with Zodiac and Chariot of the Sun, Beth Alpha, Israel, image upscaled via use of artificial intelligence
07:44 The Ultimate Flight
07:48 Helios in front of Mithras at a Mithraeum, Hawarti, Syria
08:03 Helios and his Chariot, Kalyx-Krater, Puglia, Italy circa 430 B.C., from the British Museum
08:36 Phaeton in the Chariot of the Sun God by Godfried Maes
08:49 Ursa Major by Sidney Hall from Urania’s Mirror
08:57 The Fall of Phaeton by Johann Heiss
09:07 The Fall of Phaeton by Dominique Lefevre
09:13 The Fall of Phaeton by Godfried Maes
09:23 Phaethon by John Singer Sargent
10:35 The Fall of Phaeton by Franz Francken the Younger
10:45 The Fall of Phaeton by Joseph Heintz the Elder
10:54 Phaeton by Thomas de Leu, after Antoine Caron
11:03 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book II
11:16 Conclusion: Taking the Reins
12:15 The Fall of Phaeton by Hendrick Goltzius
12:28 Collection of the Tula Oblast Museum photographed by Celest, licensed under Creative Commons
12:50 Phaëthon Driving the Chariot of Apollo by Max Francis Klepper from Star Lore of All Ages
All works of art are in the public domain unless stated otherwise.
Stock video clips licensed through Storyblocks.
Ambiment - The Ambient by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
In the ancient days of Greek and Roman mythology, the story was told of Phaeton, the son of the sun god Helios (often equivocated with Apollo) who asked his father to command the chariot of the sun on its journey across the sky. The power of the god was too much for this mortal, and his bold attempt to wield it nearly destroyed all of creation. Today we wield many of the same powers once attributed to the gods, and we must listen to ancient wisdom to avoid repeating Phaeton's disastrous mistake.
Transcript: https://ancientworld.website/b/mythosandlogos/view_post.php?id=3
Mythos & Logos are two ancient words that can be roughly translated as “Story & Meaning.”
Support the channel by subscribing, liking, and commenting to join the conversation!
Support the channel financially through your generous Patreon donation: patreon.com/mythosandlogos
This channel is a collection of thoughts of one person on the important stories that we humans have shared with each other. I believe that, in respectfully approaching storytelling traditions, we can find timeless wisdom and beauty that apply to modern life. I do my best to find and share that wisdom. I encourage you to share your thoughts and stories as well.
The stories presented here have all been freely shared by their original tellers. I encourage you to study each story directly and consult traditional sources whenever possible.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:07 Bellerophon Riding Pegasus and Killing the Chimera, Roman mosaic, second to third century A.D., from the Rolin Museum, Autun, France
00:11 The Great Library of Alexandria by O. Von Corven from The Memory of Mankind
01:42 Phaéton on the Chariot of Apollo by Nicolas Bertin
02:11 The Son of a God
02:15 Plate with the Story of Phaeton by Francesco Durantino
03:07 Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Venice 1497, from the European Library of Information and Culture, Milan, Italy
03:19 Helios and Selene by Johann Rathausky
03:37 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book I
04:34 The Palace of the Sun
04:38 Apollo and Phaëthon by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
05:02 Shield of Achilles by John Flaxman
05:20 Ceremonial Plaque depicting Cybele on her chariot, early 3rd century B.C. Afghanistan, from the National Museum of Afghanistan
05:36 Dionysos with Helios and Aphrodite, Pompeii, from the National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy
05:51 Phaeton by Odilon Redon
06:13 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book II
06:58 London : Westminster - The Horses of Helios by Lewis Clarke, licensed under Creative Commons
07:13 Mosaic with Zodiac and Chariot of the Sun, Beth Alpha, Israel, image upscaled via use of artificial intelligence
07:44 The Ultimate Flight
07:48 Helios in front of Mithras at a Mithraeum, Hawarti, Syria
08:03 Helios and his Chariot, Kalyx-Krater, Puglia, Italy circa 430 B.C., from the British Museum
08:36 Phaeton in the Chariot of the Sun God by Godfried Maes
08:49 Ursa Major by Sidney Hall from Urania’s Mirror
08:57 The Fall of Phaeton by Johann Heiss
09:07 The Fall of Phaeton by Dominique Lefevre
09:13 The Fall of Phaeton by Godfried Maes
09:23 Phaethon by John Singer Sargent
10:35 The Fall of Phaeton by Franz Francken the Younger
10:45 The Fall of Phaeton by Joseph Heintz the Elder
10:54 Phaeton by Thomas de Leu, after Antoine Caron
11:03 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book II
11:16 Conclusion: Taking the Reins
12:15 The Fall of Phaeton by Hendrick Goltzius
12:28 Collection of the Tula Oblast Museum photographed by Celest, licensed under Creative Commons
12:50 Phaëthon Driving the Chariot of Apollo by Max Francis Klepper from Star Lore of All Ages
All works of art are in the public domain unless stated otherwise.
Stock video clips licensed through Storyblocks.
Ambiment - The Ambient by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
