We don't see too much of Phaeton's mom in this tale, but she seems like a cool lady to us. Rather than getting all offended when Phaeton won't take her word that Helios is his Dad, she tells him to journey to the Palace of the Sun to ask Helios himself. Far from overprotective, Clymene inspires her son to pursue a life of adventure. Of course, this turns out to be a pretty bad choice, since Phaeton's adventure climaxes in a flaming plummet from the sky. In the end, we're guessing Clymene wishes she'd been a little more overprotective after all.