PHAETON Son of the sun god, Helios, Phaeton got into an argument with Epaphos concerning his parentage, and begged his father to prove that he was indeedhis son, by allowing him to drive his sun chariot across the sky for one day. Resistingthe idea at first, Helios finally gave in, and Phaeton rode the chariot of day across thesky. But the boy could not control the horses, and the chariot went out ofcontrol, causing terrible carnage on the Earth below. Zeus, alarmed at the furtherdamage that the son of Helios could cause, struck him dead.