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Phaeton, son of Helios the sun, wanted to drive the chariot of the sun across the sky. his father
tried to convince him that the idea was unwise, but Phaeton took the reins and drove the burning
chariot pulled by four fierce horses. The horses felt that the hand at the reins wasn't sure and
rushed through the sky pulling the chariot hastily. First, the horses flew too high and the Earth
was frozen and then the horses flew too low burning everything they found. The people of Africa
were so badly burned that their skin turned dark.
When Zeus saw the damage his son was causing, he threw a thunderbolt at the mischievous boy,
knocking him from the chariot. Phaeton fell to earth as a meteor and landed in the river Eridanus.
Feeling compassion for the boy, the gods placed the river in the sky to commemorate his terrible
experience and it became the Milky Way.