“Instead, he was more like Phaeton whose ego drove him to attempt the leap to Godhood and drive the Chariot.”
Good one but was Phaeton being an egotist or just challenged by such an adventure (not unlike many a young man today) while Apollo was a full-blown narcissist who could suddenly turn into a vindictive sadist. There was no way Phaeton was going to outdo the self-absorbed Apollo - who also had the most male lovers of all the Greek gods. The similarities are leaning toward Apollo...
“Earth and Demeter-Ceres screamed out in pain.”
Hillary the masochist.
“Poseidon and the Naiads cried for the destruction of their oceans and creatures.”
Hillarys partner Poseidon-Neptune was a god who showed avoidant tendencies in his desire to hide away in the deep parts of the sea with his mermaids - some say to avoid Demeter.
“Finally Eros warned that if the sea and land and sky were annihilated, the universe would return to chaos.”
Al Gore. :)
Zeus’ judgement was that ego was the motivation. I’ll go with Zeus.