Skip to main content

The tragic myth of the Sun God's son - Iseult Gillespie

2,144,180 Views

5,273 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Every morning, Helios unleashed his golden chariot, and set out across the sky. As the Sun God transformed dawn into day, he thought of his son, Phaethon, below. To prove to Phaethon that he was truly his father, Helios decided to grant him anything he wanted. Unfortunately, what Phaethon wanted was to drive Helios’ chariot for a day. Iseult Gillespie shares the tragic myth of the charioteer.

When Phaethon veered too far from the Earth, he caused ____.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Iseult Gillespie
  • Director Jagriti Khirwar, Raghav Arumugam
  • Narrator Susan Zimmerman
  • Music Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
  • Sound Designer Amanda P.H. Bennett, cAMP Studio
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Cella Wright
  • Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam

More from Myths From Around the World