Phaeton

Phaėton in Greek Mythology is the Son of Helios, the Sun God.

3200 Phaethon is a small asteroid, or possibly a comet with some characteristics normally associated with asteroids. Fragments from this body shed when it approaches the Sun are responsible for the Geminids meteor shower occurring in mid-December.


A mid-19th century engraving of a Phaeton,
from a carriage-builder's catalog
Phaeton is the fanciful early 19th-century term for a sporty rig drawn by a single horse or a pair, with extravagantly large wheels, very lightly sprung, with a minimal body, fast and dangerous (illustration, right). The rather self-consciously classicizing name refers to the disastrous ride of mythical Phaėton. Phaetons rarely appear in movies, but a very glamorous one, painted yellow and driven by Mr. Willoughby, made an appearance in Sense and Sensibility, 1995. It perfectly exemplified Mr. Willoughby's reckless and dashing character. Those who grew up with Walter R. Brooks' Freddy Goes to Florida (1928, as To and Again) will remember that Hank the farmhorse drew the old phaeton that carried the animals from the Bean Farm to Florida and back.

see also Car body style.

Phaeton is one of the carriage-builder's names taken up by the automobile industry. Currently, the VW Phaeton is a model of automobile manufactured by VW
. Phaeton was a villainous Adolf Hitler-esque character in the cartoon Exosquad. He was the leader of the Neosapians and very nearly destroyed Earth.
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