Rubens chose to depict the myth at the height of its action, with the thunderbolts hurled by Zeus to the right.

The thunderbolts provide the light contrast to facilitate the display of horror on the faces of Phaeton, the horses and other figures while preserving the darkness of the event.

The butterfly winged female figures represent the hours and seasons, who react in terror as the night and day cycle becomes disrupted.

The assemblage of bodies form a diagonal oval in the center, separating dark and light sides of the canvas.

Rubens also painted other Greek mythological subjects, such as The Fall of Icarus, Perseus Freeing Andromeda, and The Judgement of Paris.