While he directed his eye to the upper air and the flood of stars, the diverse races of earth and the restless back of the sea, gazing round and round on the foundations of the infinite universe, the shining horses rolled along under the yoke over their usual course through the zodiac. Now inexperienced Phaethon with his fiery whip could be seen flogging the horses’ necks ; they went wild shrinking under the goad of their merciless charioteer, and all unwilling they ran away over the limit of their ancient road beyond the mark of the zodiac, expecting a different call from their familiar driver. Then there was tumult along the bounds of the South and the back of the North Wind ; the quickfoot Seasons at the celestial gate wondered at the strange and unreal day, Dawn trembled, and star Lucifer cried out.
“’ Where are you hurrying, dear boy ? Why have you gone mad with reins in your hand ? Spare your headstrong lash ! Beware of these two companies— both planets and company of fixed stars, lest bold Orion kill you with his knife, lest ancient Bootes hit you with fiery cudgel. Spare this wild driving, and let not the Olympian Whale entomb you in his belly in high heaven ; let not the Lion tear you to pieces, or the Olympian Bull arch his neck and strike you with fiery horn ! Respect the Archer, or he may kill you with a firebarbed arrow from his drawn bowstring. Let there not be a second chaos, and the stars of heaven appear at the rising day, or erratic Dawn meet Selene at noonday in her car !
“As he spoke, Phaethon drove harder still, drawing his car aside to South, to North, close to the West, near to the East. There was tumult in the sky shaking the joints of the immovable universe : the very axle bent which runs through the middle of the revolving heavens. Libyan Atlas could hardly support the selfrolling firmament of stars, as he rested on his knees with bowed back under this greater burden. Now the Serpent scraped with his Writhing belly the equator far away from the Bear, and hissed as he met with the starry Bull ; the Lion roared out of his throat against the scorching Dog, heating the air with ravening fire, and stood boldly to attack the eight claws of the Crab with his shaggy hair bristling, while the heavenly Lion’s thirsty tail flogged the Virgin hard by his hind leg, and the winged Maiden darting past the Waggoner came near the pole and met the Wain. The Morning Star sent forth his straying light in the setting region of the West and pushed away the Evening Star who met him there. Dawn wandered about ; blazing Sirius grabbed the thirsty Bear instead of his usual Hare. The two starry Fishes left one the South and one the North, and leapt in Olympos near Aquarius ; the Dolphin danced in a ring and tumbled about with Capricorn. Scorpios also had wandered around from the southern path until he came near to Orion and touched his sword — Orion trembled even among the stars, lest he might creep up slowly and pierce his feet once again with a sharp sting.” The Moon leapt up at midday, spitting off the half-completed light from her face and growing black on the surface, for she could no longer steal the counterfeit light from the male torch of Phaethon opposite and milk out his inborn flame. The sevenstar voices of the Pleiades rang circling round the sevenzone sky with echoing sound ; the planets from as many throats raised an outcry and rushed wildly against them. Cypris pushed Zeus, Ares Cronos ; my own wandering star approached the Pleiad of Spring, and mingling a kindred light with the seven stars he rose halfseen beside my mother Maia — he turned away from the heavenly chariot, beside which he always runs or before it in the morning, and in the evening when Helios sets he sends his following light, and because he keeps equal course with him and travels with equal portion, astronomers have named him the Sun’s Heart. Europa’s bridegroom the Olympian Bull bellowed, stretching his neck drenched with damp snowflakes ; he raised a foot curved for a run, and inclining his head sideways with its sharp horn against Phaethon, stamped on the heavenly vault with fiery hooves. Bold Orion drew sword from sheath hanging by his glowing thigh ; Bootes shook his cudgel ; Pegasos neighed rearing and shaking the knees of his starry legs — halfseen the Libyan courser trod the firmament with his foot and galloped towards the Swan his neighbour, angrily flapping his wings, that again he might send another rider hurtling down from the sky as he had once thrown Bellerophontes himself out of the heavenly vault. No longer the circling Bears danced back to back beside the northern turningpost on high ; but they passed to the south, and bathed their unwashen feet in the unfamiliar Ocean beside the western main.
Then Father Zeus struck down Phaethon with a thunderbolt, and sent him rolling helplessly from on high into the stream of Eridanos. He fixed again the joints which held all together with their primeval union, gave back the horses to Helios, brought the heavenly chariot to the place of rising ; and the agile Hours that attended upon Phaethon followed their ancient course. All the earth laughed again. Rain from Lifebreeding Zeus cleared all the fields, and with moist showers quenched the wandering fires, all that the glowing horses had spat whinnying from their flaming throats out of the sky over all the earth. Helios rose driving his car on his road again ; the crops grew, the orchards laughed again, receiving as of yore the life-giving warmth from the sky.
“But Father Zeus fixed Phaethon in Olympos, like a Charioteer, and bearing that name. As he holds in the radiant Chariot of the heavens with shining arm, he has the shape of a Charioteer starting upon his course, as if even among the stars he longed again for his father’s car. The fire-scorched river also came up to the vault of the stars with consent of Zeus, and in the starry circle rolls the meandering stream of burning Eridanos,”
“But the sisters of the charioteer fallen to his early death changed their shape into trees, and from the weeping trees they distil precious dew out of their leaves.”
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