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THE SUN
Throughout the history of mankind, no form of idolatry has
been more widely practiced than that of the worship of the
sun. It may well be described as universal; for there is
scarcely a nation in which the worship of the sun in some form
has not found a place.
Deification and adoration of the sun occurred primarily in
agrarian societies. When man became a farmer, and thus
dependent upon daily and seasonal changes of weather, he often
turned to worship the great force that regulated these
changes—the light and heat of the sun. The worship of the sun,
although not peculiar to any one time or place, received its
greatest prominence in ancient Egypt.
Today, most cultures still honor the sun in some form. The
Amazon Indians wear head-dresses made from feathers during
special occasions, which aim to represent the sun's rays. The
written religious traditions also honor the light and fire
which is brought by the sun. Christianity speaks of "the Light
of God," and candles are lit to represent God's divine
presence. Hinduism describes the Fire god Agnee and celebrates
the Festival of Light, while in Buddhism fire is regarded as a
sacred and purifying element. |
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Here is a list of some of the important sun deities from around the world
(by no means a complete list), in fact, what is most
surprising is that some countries/cultures have multiple sun
deities:
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AFRICAN SUN GOD FON / MOON GOD MAWU: the Fon tribe tell of the male
sun god Lisa and
his twin sister, the moon goddess Mawu.
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AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL: They believed the sun was discovered by
Bamapama, one of the ancestors of man today. Bamapama's people
once lived underground, but when the no-good Bamapama went
hunting a great kangaroo on the surface, he discovered a new
way to live: to hunt during the day, while the sun shone, and
sleep at night when it passed over.
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AZTEC GOD QUETZALCOATL: The Aztecs believed that
the sun was home to the great god Quetzalcoatl, and
moved in his breath.
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CELTIC RITUALS:
The sun was a very powerful device in the cosmology of the
Celts. Often confused for a gorgon head in ancient sculpture,
the sun was seen as the giver of life, healer, and promoter of
fertility.
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EGYPTIAN GOD HERCULES: The
Egyptians thought that Hercules
had his seat in the sun and that he traveled with it
around the moon. The author of the hymns ascribed to
Orpheus fixes still more strongly the identity of
Hercules with the sun. He calls Hercules the god who produced time, whose
forms vary, the father of all things, and destroyer of
all. He is the god who brings
back by turns Aurora and the
night, and who, moving onward from east to west, runs
through the career of his twelve labors; the valiant Titan
who chases away maladies, and delivers man from the evils
which afflict him.
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EGYPTIAN GOD RA:
The ancient Egyptians knew
the sun as their chief god Ra (also known as Re or Amun-Ra),
who rides across the sky in a boat called Sektet and is often
represented by the falcon. The scarab beetle was thought to be
sacred in Egypt, as it was believed that it carried the sun
across the sky on its back legs.
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GREEK GOD APOLLO: He rode across the sky on a fiery chariot drawn by wild horses
and is among the most famous of sun deities in human history.
Apollo, also the god of love, hunting and music, was said to
be favored among women for his handsome features and immortal
strength. He also had a mortal son, named Phaeton, whose
arrogance and audacity lead him to his death by falling from
the sun chariot which he tried to control despite his father's
warning.
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GREEK GOD HELIOS: The personified Greek god
of the sun, completely identical to the Roman Sol.
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GREEK GOD PROMETHEUS:
The Greek legends also recount the tale of Prometheus, the
skillful giant who created humans from clay. However,
Prometheus was too clever for his own good - after out witting
the emperor of all the gods, Zeus (later known to the Romans
as Jupiter), mankind was punished by the extinguishing of all
fire on Earth. But Prometheus was unwilling to let humanity
suffer. He crept up Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, and
stole a piece of the burning sun. Thus, the gift of fire was
once more restored to mankind.
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HINDU GOD SURYA: In the Hindu pantheon, Surya
is the sun god. He is one of the twelve Adityas,
the guardians of the months of the year. Surya is depicted
as a red man with three eyes and four arms, riding in a
chariot drawn by seven mares.
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INCA GOD INTI:
Another Amerindian culture which practiced sun worship were
the Incas of pre-Columbia. They said that a couple were sent
to bring civilization to humanity by their father, the sun god
Inti. Inti was honored in the silverware of the
Incas, and depicted as a formidable face surrounded by
blazing rays.
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JAPANESE SHINTOISM: The Japanese believed that both deities of the
sun and moon are female; the shy but
extraordinarily beautiful sun goddess Amaterasu, who was later
to be associated with the Buddha, and the goddess of the moon,
Tsuki-yomi. Both were created from the tears of the higher
god, Izanagi.
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MEXICAN GOD KINICH AHAU: His name means the sun
eyed lord. He was associated with the jaguar, the most
powerful denizen of the Mayan forests. He was shown as a
young man, full of life and vigor like the rising sun
itself.
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NAVAJO GOD TSOHANOAI: The god of the sun
to the Navajo tribe of North America. He is strikingly
similar to the Greek and Roman Apollo. Tsohanoai is said to
carry the sun on his back and hang it on the west wall of his
house before unraveling the dark rug of Night. He also has
children, two fearless sons named Killer of Enemies and
Child
of Water, whom he helped to overcome some of the evil spirits
which once inhabited the world.
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PHOENIX:
The myth of the Phoenix, the fabulous bird of the sun and
fire, may have been hatched by the Egyptian belief in the Bennu, a magnificent heron which was born within fire. The
Phoenix is also found in Oriental beliefs, where it is known
as Feng-Huang in China and Houou in Japan, and was thought to
be born in the sun.
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ROMAN GOD APOLLO: God of sun and music. Apollo
would transform his dead lovers into sunflowers and
sun-loving herbs.
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ROMAN GOD SOL: The personified Roman god of the
sun, completely identical to the Greek Helios. He
was possibly worshipped as Sol Indiges in his
temple on the Quirinalis. A second temple was
located at the Circus Maximus, near the
race-tracks, where he was considered to be the protector
of the four-in-hands which joined the races. The emperor
Heliogabalus imported the cult of Sol Invictus
("the invincible sun") from Syria and Sol was made
god of the state.
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SYRIAN GOD SOL INVICTUS: The invincible sun. |
Turn your face to the sun and the
shadows fall behind you.
Maori Proverb
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