Four Great Adventures - Detailed Notes

PHAËTHON

  • Ovid's telling of the Phaëthon story emphasizes vivid details.

  • The palace of the Sun is described as a radiant place, full of gold, ivory, and jewels, with constant brightness, symbolizing unchanging high noon.

  • Phaëthon, mortal on his mother's side, seeks out the Sun to confirm his parentage due to the doubts of his peers.

  • The Sun acknowledges Phaëthon as his son and promises him any proof he desires, swearing by the Styx, the river of oaths for the gods.

  • Phaëthon requests to drive the Sun's chariot for a single day, a request the Sun regrets due to a previous oath.

  • The Sun warns Phaëthon of the dangers: the steep ascent, the dizzying height, the precipitous descent, and the uncontrollable fiery horses.

  • He also cautions about the fierce beasts in the heavens: the Bull, the Lion, the Scorpion, and the Crab.

  • Phaëthon remains undeterred, excited by the prospect of driving the chariot.

  • The Sun reluctantly concedes, and Phaëthon begins his ride as Dawn opens the gates of the East.

  • Initially, Phaëthon enjoys the exhilarating speed, but he quickly loses control of the chariot.

  • The horses, sensing a weaker hand, run wild, scorching the earth.

  • Mountains such as Ida, Helicon, Parnassus, and Olympus are set ablaze, and rivers like the Nile dry up.

  • Mother Earth cries out to the gods for salvation.

  • Jove (Zeus) intervenes by striking Phaëthon with a thunderbolt, ending his disastrous ride.

  • Phaëthon falls into the river Eridanus, where the naiads bury him and inscribe on his tomb: "Here Phaëthon lies who drove the Sun-god’s car. Greatly he failed, but he had greatly dared."

  • His sisters, the Heliades, are transformed into poplar trees, their tears becoming amber.

PEGASUS AND BELLEROPHON

  • The story's elements are sourced from Hesiod (Chimaera, Anteia's love) and Pindar (most of the remaining story).

  • Glaucus, King of Ephyre (later Corinth) and son of Sisyphus, angers the gods by feeding his horses human flesh and is devoured by them.

  • Bellerophon is rumored to be the son of Poseidon, due to his exceptional qualities.

  • Bellerophon desires Pegasus, the winged horse born from the Gorgon's blood.

  • Pegasus created the Hippocrene spring on Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses, by striking the earth with his hoof.

  • The seer Polyidus advises Bellerophon to sleep in Athena's temple.

  • Athena appears in Bellerophon's dream and provides a golden bridle to tame Pegasus.

  • Bellerophon finds Pegasus at the Pirene spring and successfully bridles him.

  • Bellerophon accidentally kills his brother and seeks purification from King Proteus in Argos.

  • Anteia, Proteus' wife, falsely accuses Bellerophon of wrongdoing after he rejects her advances.

  • Proteus sends Bellerophon to the King of Lycia with a letter requesting his death, avoiding direct violence due to guest-host obligations.

  • The Lycian king, bound by similar customs, tasks Bellerophon with slaying the Chimaera, a fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.

  • Bellerophon, riding Pegasus, defeats the Chimaera by shooting arrows from above.

  • The Lycian king sends Bellerophon on further expeditions against the Solymi and the Amazons, which he successfully completes.

  • Impressed, Proteus befriends Bellerophon and gives him his daughter in marriage.

  • Bellerophon's ambition leads him to attempt to ride Pegasus to Olympus, angering the gods.

  • Pegasus throws Bellerophon, who then wanders the earth, hated by the gods, until his death.

  • Pegasus finds a place among Zeus's steeds on Olympus and is tasked with bringing Zeus his thunderbolts.

OTUS AND EPHIALTES

  • The story appears in the Odyssey and the Aeneid, but Apollodorus provides the most complete account.

  • Otus and Ephialtes are twin Giants, sons of Iphimedia (or Canace) and Poseidon, known as the Aloadae.

  • They were exceptionally tall and handsome.

  • They imprison Ares, the god of war, until Hermes frees him.

  • The twins threaten to pile Mount Pelion on Mount Ossa to reach heaven, surpassing the Giants of old.

  • Zeus prepares to strike them with a thunderbolt, but Poseidon intervenes, promising to control them.

  • Otus desires Hera, and Ephialtes desires Artemis; however, their strongest devotion is to each other.

  • They pursue Artemis, who leads them to Naxos.

  • Artemis transforms into a white hind, causing the brothers to separate while hunting her.

  • Each brother throws his javelin at the hind, unknowingly killing the other, thus fulfilling Artemis's vengeance.

DAEDALUS

  • Both Ovid and Apollodorus tell the story, but Apollodorus's version is favored for its less sentimental approach.

  • Daedalus was the architect of the Labyrinth in Crete and aided Theseus in his escape.

  • King Minos imprisons Daedalus and his son Icarus in the Labyrinth as punishment.

  • Daedalus creates wings made of feathers and wax to escape by air.

  • Daedalus warns Icarus to fly a middle course to avoid the sun melting the wax or the sea wetting the feathers.

  • Icarus disregards his father's advice and flies too high, causing the wax to melt and the wings to fail.

  • Icarus falls into the sea and drowns.

  • Daedalus safely flies to Sicily and is welcomed by the King.

  • Minos attempts to find Daedalus by posing a challenge: threading an intricately spiraled shell.

  • Daedalus solves the puzzle by attaching a thread to an ant and guiding it through the shell.

  • Minos discovers Daedalus's location but is killed in the ensuing conflict with the Sicilian King.