Fall of Phaëthon

The ride of Phaëthon in the sun chariot of his father Apollo becomes a disastrous journey. The horses have set the earth on fire. Riverbeds dry up and river nymphs lament their fate. Neptune with his trident rises from the sea and stretches his arm to heaven. Mother Earth, depicted as Cybele with a city crown, sticks her head out of the earth and protects her eyes with one hand. Atlas struggles to bear the celestial vault. Jupiter hurls lightning bolts and Phaëthon falls with his chariot from the sky. Below the image, two times two lines of Latin text. This print is part of a series of 52 prints depicting stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses. This series is divided into three numbered sequences: two of 20 prints and one of 12 prints. This print belongs to the second sequence.