This masterwork by Sir Peter Paul Rubens tells the story of Phaeton, son of Apollo. Having convinced his father to let him drive the chariot of the sun across the heavens, Phaeton proved too weak for the task as the chariot flew erratically too close and then too far from earth, alternately burning and freezing it. Ultimately Zeus was forced to unleash a thunderbolt to kill the boy to save the seasons (represented here by winged figures called Horae) and celestial cycles.