This is a manifest indication of Phaethon's death, and it also describes his fate while using various poetic techniques. First of all, anaphora and repetition is used. The word “his" starts off both lines 3 and 4 and is repeated throughout those lines, which adds rhythm and readability to the epitaph. Additionally, Phaethon's courage and pride is described as “hot”, which is a metaphor. Ovid is saying that Phaethon was inert because he was half-mortal. His mother was a mortal, while his father was the sun god Phoebus. Because of this, Phaethon lacked the strength needed to conduct the ride properly, even though he was so confident that he wouldn’t fail. Phoebus had lectured Phaethon on how a chariot ride would be too dangerous for a person
