Week 2: The Untold Tale of Pyro Storytelling

                                The Untold Tale of Pyro

My name is Pyroïs, but my friends call me Pyro and I am a stallion with a mane and wings as bright as gold. I am extremely strong and when I get excited fire escapes my chest with every breath I take. I want to tell you a story that my friends Eoüs, Aethon, Phlegon, and I usually get a lot of grief over. This is the story of Phaethon and the Sun.

(What Pyro could look like found on Pinterest)

Phaethon was the son of Phoebus, the god of the sun. We have a regular job in which we pull the chariot of Phoebus and the sun behind us every day. The pay is great and we are treated like royalty most days. However, Phoebus had a son that was half mortal and he was tired of being teased by his friends when he would say that his father was Phoebus. So Phaethon decided to come to the house of our master and, of course being his father, Phoebus felt that he owed him a gift. He made an oath upon the river Styx that he would give him whatever he asked… and that is where this story takes a turn for the worse.

My friends and I were having our morning brew preparing ourselves for another long day at work and we walked out to our stations. I took the lead as any other day, the servants placed harnesses over us, and the doors opened up for us to start the day. We pulled the chariot and began our ascent into the sky. Usually Phoebus does a phenomenal job of keeping us on the right path, because as you can imagine it is incredibly difficult to focus all of our attention and strength to pull the sun across the sky. However, this day was strangely different. My friends and I could not feel the weight of Phoebus in the chariot and we couldn’t turn our heads to look due to the harnesses. We began to worry as we neared the constellations, because the only thing we could hear was Scorpio laughing as it prepared to attack my friends and me. Usually Phoebus would guide us just outside of Scorpio’s reach, but Scorpio promised that one day he would catch us and that the world would be thrown into perpetual darkness.

(Phaethon and the Chariot)

Naturally, we wanted to save our lives because without us there would be no other mythical being in the universe that could pull the sun across the sky, not even the Great Zeus. We descended rather rapidly, but unfortunately we were far too close to the earth. All I can remember is the horrifying screech of the Earth as she began to burn, and I remember I felt as if the fire in my stomach was going out due to the pain I felt for the Earth. We did not know what to do and we feared that the end of everything that depended on the warmth and energy of the sun was near, until I saw a bright flash of lightning and when I looked down I saw young Phaethon falling to the ground. Zeus then guided us to the end of our journey, but I knew that we would be blamed for the tragedies that occurred that day.

(Fall of Phaethon)

Phoebus mourned the loss of his son and he blamed us for it. He beat us for hours that day and every day for the next week. I will never understand the logic of parents who believe their children are completely faultless. Phoebus’ son was a reckless young man who could not guide my friends and me through our daily path. We tried our best to follow the path without guidance, but we had to avoid the dangerous pincers of Scorpio, pull the sun on our backs, and hear the screams of the earth simultaneously. We must now live with the blame for the rest of eternity, but I wanted to share my story with you so that you could understand that it was Phaethon's fault that this situation occurred. However, I believe that the most blame lies with our master Phoebus for his inability to deny his son the privilege of leading my friends and me across the sky knowing that an event like this was inevitable without him leading.

Author’s Note:

I focused my story around Phaethon and the Sun, but I chose to place it in the perspective of the mythical horses. I chose this style of writing because when you read the story you immediately believe that the horses caused everything. However, people overlook how difficult a task they performed everyday and the necessity of someone guiding them as they pulled the immense sun. The original story focused around young Phaethon trying to prove to his friends that he was the son of the god Phoebus. He travels to Phoebus’ kingdom and after a discussion with his father Phoebus promises to fulfill any wish he asks of. Of course, Phaethon asks to be in charge of his chariot for the day and ignored all opposition from his father of the dangers. Phoebus could not refuse his son and placed him on the chariot. Phaethon could not handle the fear that came from the height of the journey and the menacing stance of Scorpio. The horses could not feel the guidance of the reins and made their own path resulting in the burning of the earth and cities. Zeus luckily saved the day by killing Phaethon and bringing the horses to the end of their journey. However, Phoebus was extremely upset and it is said that he did not bring the sun the next day. I focused on the main character being Pyro, because of the name's relation to English words like pyromaniac and pyrotechnics and the fact that the horse was in charge of leading a ball of fire (our sun) across the sky.

Bibliography:

 “Phaethon and the Sun” by Publius Ovidius Naso, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses I. Translated by A.S. Kline (2000) Web Source