Solar deity: Encyclopedia - Solar deity

Solar deity

A solar deity is a deity who represents the sun, or an aspect of it. People have worshipped the sun and solar deities for all of recorded history. Hence, many beliefs and legends have been formed around this worship, most notably the various myths containing the "missing sun" motif from around the world. Although many sources contend that solar deities are generally male, and the brother, father, husband and/or enemy of the lunar deity (usually female), this is not cross-culturally upheld, as sun goddesses are found on every continent. Some mythologists, such as Brian Branston, therefore contend that sun goddesses are more common worldwide than their male counterparts. They also claim that the belief that solar deities are primarily male is linked to the fact that a few better known mythologies (such as those of ancient Greece and Egypt) sometimes break from this rule. The dualism of sun/male/light and moon/female/darkness is found in many (but not all) European traditions that derive from Orphic and Gnostic philosophies, with a notable exception being Germanic mythology, where the Sun is female and the Moon is male.

Sun worship is a possible origin of henotheism and ultimately monotheism. In Ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, Akhenaten's heretical Atenism used the old Aten solar deity as a symbol of a single god. The neolithic concept of a solar barge, the sun as traversing the sky in a boat, is found in Ancient Egypt, with Ra and Horus. Indo-European has a solar chariot, the sun as traversing the sky in a chariot. In Germanic mythology this is Sol, in Vedic Surya and in Greek Helios. Mesopotamian Shamash plays an important role during the Bronze Age, and "my Sun" is eventually used as an address to royalty. Similarly, South American cultures have emphatic Sun worship, see Inti. See also Sol invictus.

Solar deity - Missing sun

The "missing sun" motif is a theme in the myths of various cultures. It may have served to explain any of several natural phenomena, including the disappearance of the sun at night (the Egyptian version of the motif described below is an example), the shorter days during the winter (for example, the Japanese one mentioned below), or even solar eclipses. Most myths following the motif involve the disappearance of a solar deity, through imprisonment, exile or death.

Some other tales are similar, such as the Sumerian story of Inanna's descent into the underworld. These may have parallel themes but do not fit in this motif unless they concern a solar deity.

Solar deity - Examples

• In Egyptian mythology, Ra passes through Duat (the underworld) every night. Apep has to be defeated in the darkness hours for Ra and his solar barge to emerge in the east each morning.
• In Japanese mythology, the sun goddess Amaterasu is angered by the behavior of her brother, Susanoo, and hides herself in a cave, plunging the world into darkness.
• In Norse mythology, both the gods Odin and Tyr have attributes of a sky father, and they are doomed to be devoured by wolves (Fenrir and Garm, respectively) at Ragnarok. Sol, the Norse sun goddess, will be devoured by the wolf Skoll.

Solar deity - Chinese mythology

Unlike many other cultures, the Chinese do not personify nor worship the sun or the moon. The most likely reason is the heavy influence of Taoism and I Ching in Chinese culture because the moon represents Yin and the Sun represents Yang which are the basis of everything in nature. (See Yin and yang.)

In Chinese mythology (cosmology), there were nine suns in the sky in the beginning. The world was so hot that nothing grew. A hero called Hou Yi shot down eight of them with bow and arrows. The world became better ever since. In another myth, the solar eclipse was caused by the dog of heaven biting off a piece of the sun. There was a tradition in China to hit pots and pans during a solar eclipse to drive away the "dog".

Solar deity - Hindu mythology

In Hindu religion, sun worship has been practised from about 4000 B. C. In fact, the most sacred of the Hindu texts, Mahabharat describes its warrior hero Arjun as being the son of Kunti and the Sun God. The Ramayan, another sacred Hindu text, has its protagonist Ram as being from the Raghu Kul or the clan of kings as bright as the sun. The Vedas, being some of the most ancient scriptures in the world, contain numerous verses praising the Sun God - Surya or Aditya (the first one).

See also

• List of solar deities
• Phoenix
• Solar barge
• Solar chariot
• Stonehenge
• Trundholm Sun Chariot

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Solar deity", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki