Apollo and Phaeton
In this dramatic scene, the sun god Apollo—radiating light in the upper left—reluctantly hands the reins of his celestial chariot to his son Phaeton. The young man had begged to drive the sun across the sky to prove his divine heritage, completely ignoring his father's warnings about the unruly horses. It’s the ultimate 'be careful what you wish for' myth; Phaeton immediately loses control and scorches the earth until Zeus strikes him down with a lightning bolt. The artist, Edward Francis Burney, was the brother of famous novelist Fanny Burney, and his elegant, theatrical style here perfectly captures the high-stakes drama of classical mythology.
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