Phaëthon
The sun, Helios, had a son named Phaëthon who yearned to drive his father's fiery chariot across the sky. Helios made the mistake of promising the boy anything he wanted and could not go back on his word. Despite. Helios' warnings Phaëthon insisted. The boy began to climb through the sky easily enough, but the horses soon knew they had an inexperienced driver and began racing wildly, careening against the stars and then swooping toward the earth, setting the world in flames. To save the earth Zeus struck the terrified boy with a thunderbolt, killing him instantly. The horses rushed into the sea.
Sisyphus
Renowned for his cleverness and knavery, Sisyphus lived by thieving. When the famous thief Autolycus began stealing his cattle Sisyphus marked the hooves and caught him, and then seduced his daughter. He treacherously ousted his brother from the Thessalian throne. But he overreached himself in telling the river god Asopus where Zeus had abducted his daughter Aegina. Asopus nearly avenged himself on Zeus, so Zeus ordered his brother Hades to fetch Sisyphus to the underworld. But Sisyphus tricked Hades into putting on his own handcuffs and kept him captive until Ares released the god of death. Sisyphus had told his wife not to bury him, and when he went to Hell he complained of this dishonor and was allowed to return to the land of the living to avenge himself. But he refused to return, and finally Hermes had to drag him back. In the underworld for good, Sisyphus was sentenced to roll a huge boulder up a hill, one which kept rolling back down after reaching the top. This was his eternal punishment.
Tithonus
Eos, the dawn, had slept with Ares, the lover of Aphrodite. So Aphrodite revenged herself by giving Eos an insatiable desire for young men. She took the Trojan prince Tithonus, among others, as her lover, and she asked Zeus to grant him immortality. Zeus did, but Eos had forgotten to request eternal youth as well, so Tithonus was fated to live forever and grow increasingly older. In time he withered into a parody of a man. His voice became shrill. And Eos shut the loathsome creature away in a closet, where it turned into a grasshopper.
