Cygnus the Swan

In light of the exceptionally cold and dreary weather overhead, I've been thinking of a story I read once in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Phaeton finds out that he is the demigod son of Helios, the Greek god of the sun. Helios grants Phaeton one request, anything he wants, in a show of power and fatherly love of sorts. Phaeton quickly requests to drive the Sun Chariot to the disappointment of his father. After an ominous warning that not even Zeus could command the Chariot, Phaeton is undeterred.

For those well-informed this story should start to remind you of another young man caught up with hubris, we'll get to that later.

Phaeton takes the Chariot and the horses immediately discover the untrained hand guiding them. They take off in wild flight, flying too high above the Earth, with Phaeton desperately dragging on the reins to prevent the Earth from freezing over. Next, the horses plunge towards the ground, burning up all of Africa's vegetation and water, leaving a swath of desert in their wake. The gods are watching this episode of destruction and begin to fear what might happen next. Zeus, left no other choice, throws a lightning bolt at the chariot which kills Phaeton immediately. His body falls to Earth, landing in a river.

Now, this reminds me all too well of Icarus who flew too close to the sun in excitement. His wax wings melt and he plummets into the modern day Icarian Sea.

Today's weather has felt like Phaeton's journey, flying too far away from Earth. Freezing rain has left a thin layer of slick ice over everything. As I look around, this story reminds me of another character often left out.

Cycnus is a man who shows up in several mythological stories, but in this one he is the best friend of Phaeton. He helplessly watches Phaeton's journey across the sky, and the lightning bolt sent down from Zeus. As Cycnus watches his friend fall into the river Eridanus, he is overcome with grief. Over the next several days he tries in vain to find Phaeton's body in the river, but always comes up empty handed. His efforts weaken him significantly, spending all day and all night searching. It becomes too much for him and he drowns. Before he dies, Helios takes pity on him and sends him to the stars in the shape of a swan.