Apollo was one of the greatest gods of ancient greek mythology. One of the stories about him concerns his human son Pheaton. Each morning Phaeton's mother, Clymene would point out to the boy the rising of the sun and it's passing through the sky. This was his father Apollo riding his chariot through the sky. Clymene's descriptions of Apollo were so magnificent that Pheaton became very conceited, boasting loudly and often of his divine parentage.
Tired of these boastings, Pheaton's friends urged him to provide proof. Stung by their insults, Pheaton learned from his mother how to find Apollo and set off to find him. When he finally encountered Apollo, he told him the story of his friends' demands of proof. Apollo swore an oath to grant his son any proof he wished. Pheaton asked to drive the sun chariot across the sky, sure that his friends would see him and be convinced that Apollo was indeed his father. Apollo patiently explained to Pheaton that the four fiery steads would be beyond Pheaton's control, that he would kill himself if he attempted to drive the chariot. He begged Pheaton to chose another form of proof.
Pheaton refuses to change his mind. He wanted to drive the sun chariot and because Apollo had had sworn an oath, he could not deny the boy his wish. The hour came when the fiery steeds were ready to rise the sun. Apollo annointed his son with cooling oil to protect him from the suns heat and rays.He gave him directions and urged him to watch the steads with greatest care.
Pheaton impatiently listened and then lept onto the chariot. For an hour or two he paid heed to his fathers advice and all went well. But, with growing confidence and recklessness he drove the horses faster and faster and lost his way. In trying to get back on course, he drove the horses too close to the earth, with disasterous results. The plants shrivelled up, the fountains and rivers went dry and the earth blackened. Terrified at what he'd done, Pheaton drove the chariot so far away from the earth that all the vegetation that had survived the scorching suddenly died on account of the cold that followed.
The people of the earth cried out so loud that the supreme god Zeus was aroused from his sleep. Surveying what had been done, he grew furious and struck the conceited and boastful Pheaton down from the chariot with a lightning bolt. Pheatons sisters, the Haliades gathered along the bank of the river and wept as his body fell. Their grief is so great that their tears turn to amber and they turn into trees rooted into the bank of the river. This is how the swaying trees became known as the Weeping Willow.