Edith Hamilton’s retelling of the Greek myth “Phaethon” shows the world to be a place where people find themselves in dangerous situations because they neglect admonitions when they see a glimpse of their dreams. Phaethon is the son of a mortal and Apollo, the Sun God, who finds his father in order to find out if he really was the son of Apollo. He then is granted one wish, and wishes to ride in his father’s sun chariot, despite the warnings of danger from Apollo. Hamilton uses the language “glorious”, “proud”, “wondrous,” and “triumphant” to describe how Phaethon feels when imagining driving the chariot. She uses this diction to emphasize how enthusiastic and excited Phaethon is about his wish being granted. In the end of the excerpt, Hamilton
