The myth of Phaethon is said to be the cause of global warming. It has always shown that Phaethon was truly the selfish individual that succumbed to his greed and decided to use the whip. In reality, it was Helios who knew that Phaethon would've used the whip; thus, he allowed his son onto the chariot because he had wished for the destruction of mankind. He knew ahead of time of his son's attitude and character but still decided to seat him on the chariot. Helios always wanted to be free; therefore, he dreamed of having all the planets destroyed. As he could finally go, anywhere he pleases. So Phaethon is allowed onto the chariot and starts to burn the earth due to him being too low, but is then struck down by Zeus. Phaethon becomes mad at Zeus but does not show it. He puts on an act to demonstrate his sadness but is forced to continue working on his tasks. Nonetheless, he works day by day on his chariot, but finally, he goes insane. Helios starts doing circles faster and faster around every planet at a very low height. He spams his whip over and over again as the sun consumes every other planet. Zeus hears about what is going on and unleashes a series of thunderbolts at Helios, but it is too late. Helios had already burnt everything. In a desperate attempt, Zeus uses Helios's body as a catalyst and restores the earth and the rest of the planets (Helios being known as the god of life). Although, there was a catch with Zeus's method. The sun and all the planets had come back, but in due time the sun would eventually explode taking everything with it. Helios had finally fulfilled his wish, but it might take eons upon eons for such a plan to activate again.
People tend to associate light with the feeling of safety. When a child's scared, they turn on the lights; when people walk alone, they like to stay near the light; humans associate light with safety. As we know stars, like to explode, and when they explode, a black hole is created that sucks in everything and devours life nearby. Light is merely an illusion of safety when in reality, it can be the most deadly thing to be reckoned with. As people in greek mythology like to associate Helios as the sun, I did the same but factored in the destructive force that the stars have.
I made Helios evil as many people would pray for the sun and greet it. Helios was often worshipped in a place called Rhodes. Every five years, he would also receive offerings from the people. Chariots would be thrown into the water to please the Sun God. In addition to this, he also had games held at cities named after his grandsons (Camirus, Ialysus, and Lindus), which were held every five years. Helios also had a colossal statue made after him that was over 30 meters.
Helios did not feel sorry for Phaethon. When a sun explodes, it takes everything with it. It shows that it has a true sense of selfishness. Therefore, we can conclude that Helios used his son as a pawn. Much like the sun would do the same. When I learned of Helios, I imagined him to be much more destructive and less civil. The sun by nature is quite an aggressive lifeform. As it beams down radiation towards that earth and also is hot to touch. Even if someone was to look at the sun, their eyes would hurt, so I imagined Helios would be somewhat of a representation of that. So in my myth, I decided to make him a twisted lunatic who'll take everyone with him.
Furthermore, I did let Helios win in my myth by destroying everything, but Zeus had used his body to restore life to everything. Instead of using Helios's son as the reason for global warming, I decided to use Helios instead. The star is a ticking bomb, so is helios. Since Zeus decided to use Helios to bring back the life he had destroyed, it would be all destroyed again in due time. Just like in the real world, we are all on a time limit. Humanity will eventually cease to exist in our current solar-system once the sun goes off and creates a supernova.
Citations:
Dr. Karen. “The Sun in Greek Astronomy.” Quatr.us Study Guides, April 23, 2018. https://quatr.us/greeks/sun-greek-astronomy.htm.
Cartwright, Mark. “Helios,” March 8, 2021. https://www.ancient.eu/Helios/.
Britannica. “Phaethon.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed March 11, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Phaethon-Greek-mythology.
Greek Mythology “Helios.” Greek Mythology. Accessed March 11, 2021. https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Helios/helios.html
HELIOS.” HELIUS (Helios) - Greek Titan God of the Sun (Roman Sol). Accessed March 11, 2021. https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Helios.html.
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