Sun Mythology
| Oh Sun, thou hast made
the heavens that thou may rise therein..."
- Akhenaton's Hymn |
The only important god who was worshiped with consistency was Ra, chief of cosmic deities, from whom early Egyptian kings claimed descent. Beginning with the Middle Kingdom (2134-1668 BC), Ra worship acquired the status of a state religion, and the god was gradually fused with Amon during the Theban dynasties, becoming the supreme god Amon-Ra. During the 18th Dynasty the pharaoh AmenhoteTp III renamed the sun god Aton, an ancient term for the physical solar force. Amenhotep's son and successor, Amenhotep IV, instituted a revolution in Egyptian religion by proclaiming Aton the true and only god. He changed his own name to Akhenaton, meaning “Aton is satisfied.” This first great monotheist was so iconoclastic that he had the plural word gods deleted from monuments, and he relentlessly persecuted the priests of Amon. Akhenaton's sun religion failed to survive, although it exerted a great influence on the art and thinking of his time, and Egypt returned to the ancient, labyrinthine religion of polytheism after Akhenaton's death. |
Each civilization has its
own story of why the sun seems to rise in the East and set in the West while
changing the length of the days. In Hawaii they tell of how Maui tied down the
sun until it agreed to move slower during part of the year so that Maui's mother
could dry out the bark she used for making paper.
The Greeks, Romans and others thought the sun, the Roman god Sol, Helios (HEE
lee us) in Greek, was a god on a chariot of fire pulled by four horses. After
waking up to the roosters crowing he would ride across the sky until reaching
his palace in the west then take a golden ferry boat on the ocean back to his
eastern palace.
Even though we know that the Earth's polar tilt relative to the plane of its
orbit causes the illusion we still say the sun comes up and goes down
| Native
American Indians, from many tribes, have a legacy deeply rooted in the
Sun. There were the Anasazi Sun watchers, the Priest of the Sun in the
Zuni , and in Hopi villages, solar observations were made by the head of
the society responsible for upcoming ceremonies to determine the date
for rituals. The Blackfoot tribe of North America reveres Creator Sun. He made the Universe and his children of Mother Earth. Creator Sun sent a piece of himself in the form of a disciple, Napi, to teach his children and look over them after their parents, Mudman and Ribwoman, passed on to the Happy Hunting Grounds. I n China, worship of the Sun is part of the State religion and is symbolized by the raven in a circle. In Chinese mythology, the Sun is the palace of Shen I, the Divine Archer. On the fifteenth day after the new moon, Shen I visits his wife, Heng O, who resides on the Moon.According to myth, this conjunction of the male and female principles, the yin and the yang, is said to cause the brilliant full moon. In Hawaiian mythology, the Sun was created by one of the three gods, Kane, with the other celestial bodies and was not of major significance. It is represented in myth as habitations or divine bodies for gods who are worshiped by their descendents. A ritual form of worship of the Sun is the Ka la i ka lolo (Sun on the brain). Perhaps the suppression of the Sun in Hawaiian mythology is due to its ties to sorcery and secrecy or possibly because it is phallic in nature. I n African cultures, the Sun was depicted as fierce and harsh, the Moon was revered for its coolness and wisdom. Generally, the Sun did not have a prominent role in African mythology or worship. The Ashanti, however, knew the Sun as Nyankopan or Lisa, the king of the Universe.The Sun was important to ancient peoples, not only for light and warmth, but the heritage it gave them. Stories of the Sun abound through the ages. They are, however, only one aspect of many tales about celestial objects in myth and legend. |
