Solar myths are myths about the sun in the ancient world. These include the mythological origin of the heavenly body, its role, the cult of the sun, the determination of the place of the sun. Also examples of solar myths are the deification of the heavenly body and the representation of the moon and the sun in the form of a pair of lovers, as well as the idea of the sun as a divine eye or a chariot, which was widely used in ancient mythological consciousness.
Mythological picture of the world
When human society was just emerging, the first way of knowledge was myth. Man tried to explain to himself the phenomenon of the phenomena surrounding him. Mythological consciousness feeds on fantasies about how the world works. There is no logical connection there yet. But at the same time, this is a huge leap towards the formation of society as we are used to seeing it.
The mythological picture of the world may seem bizarre and surprisingly fabulous to a modern person. However, it should be understood that at the dawn of mankind, such a picture was the only one. Unlike later folklore,which was not necessarily perceived as true, the content of the myth was accepted unconditionally.
Types of myths
Myth is, in fact, a folk tale about natural phenomena, legendary heroes, gods, expressed in metaphorical figurative language. All myths can be divided into several types, depending on the phenomena they describe:
- Cosmogonic myths are myths about the origin of the universe and this world.
- Calendar myths are myths about the end of the world.
- Heroic myths - tales of the exploits of various heroes, superhumans or demigods.
- Cult myths - myths that explain the meaning of a particular cult or ritual.
- Astral myths are legends related to celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena.
The so-called solar and lunar myths that explain the origin or existence of the sun and moon in this world are precisely astronomical.
Myths in the ancient world
Solar myths appeared in the ancient world, and they often played up the interaction of the sun and the moon as a relationship of a married couple who cannot be together. At the same time, in the most ancient myths, no matter how surprising it sounds now, the moon played the role of a man, and the sun was a woman. The sign of the sun is the definition of the word solar. Myths about the moon, respectively, are called lunar.
At the same time, ancient people simply associated the sun with the day and did not identify them as a separate object. First, the moon appeared as a separate object in the minds of the ancients. Much later, from the whole picture of the world, the sun also began to isolate as a heavenly body. In the future, with the strengthening of the cult of the monarch, the cult of the sun also arose among different peoples. At the same time, in many cultures it was considered one of the main gods in the pantheon.
Myths about the sun in Ancient Russia
Slavs were adherents of the solar cult for a very long time, until the introduction of Christianity. The Slavs have always worshiped the sun and idolized it, while also considering themselves involved in it. This identity also explains the further development of Russian mythological thought. Also, the sun was considered the fiery chariot of life, from which the Slavs themselves originate. However, he was called by different names. Svarog is considered the first pagan god of the sun. In the future, his role in Slavic mythology changed. And the place of the sun god was taken by Ra. Dazhbog, the son of Svarog, was also considered the god of the sun, personifying both light and fertility.
Myths about the Sun in Daytime China
China's solar myths are also of interest. The myths of the Celestial Empire consistently tell about the creation of the world and people. At the same time, the world arose in Chinese mythology from an egg in which the great Pan Gu was located, hatched from it and separated heaven and earth with his body. At the same time, he got tired of holding heaven and earth, and as soon as the earth hardened, he crumbled into thousands of small pieces. His left eye became the sun and his right eye became the moon.
The sun in the earliest Chinese mythology was an inanimate object,divine eye and was associated with heat and drought, as evidenced by the myth of the giant Kua Fu, who chased the sun to save people from drought and hunger. The solar and lunar myths of China also formed the basis of ancient Japanese mythology.
Japanese myths about the sun
The solar myths of Japan are of central importance to ancient Japanese mythology and culture. At the same time, the origin of the sun and moon echoes the mythology of Ancient China. The god of creation Izanagi, after staying in the underworld of the dead Yemi, decided to perform a rite of purification. He, removing clothes from the body, dropped jewelry. At the same time, the jewels, falling on the ground, gave rise to the gods of the Japanese pantheon. When washing the face of Izanagi, the gods of the moon and the sun were born. The Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, emerged from the left eye. The moon god, Tsukuyomi, appeared from the right eye. Also, while washing the nose, the lord of the sea Susanoo appeared.
At the same time, the god of creation divided the whole world between the gods generated by him. Amaterasu becomes the goddess of the high sky, Tsukuyomi becomes the god of the moon, and Susanoo becomes the master of all earth and water elements.
Amaterasu
Amaterasu is the most famous sun goddess in Japan, the head of the Japanese pantheon of gods. When she appeared, she received possession of the entire daytime sky, but her brother, Susanoo, began to oppose the will of his father and refused to rule the sea waters, deciding to return to his mother in the world of the dead. When he went to say goodbye to his sister, a conflict ensued between them, as a result of which Susanoo destroyed fertile lands and crops, and also frightened one of the goddess's helpers.
The goddess decidedhide in the cave. At the same time, darkness fell on the earth. But the gods came up with a way to bring Amaterasu back. They placed a mirror in front of the grotto and found a rooster whose crow heralded the dawn. The goddess Amaterasu, hearing the singing, was unable to restrain her curiosity and looked out of the grotto. She saw her reflection in the mirror and walked out, unable to contain her desire to contemplate her own beauty.
Eclipse and mirrors in Eastern mythological cultures
Interesting significance in Japanese and Chinese mythology was attached to mirrors, which also symbolized the gods of the sun and moon, as they were able to reflect their light. The mirror often appears in the solar myths of China and Japan as a way to call the heavenly body. It has both solar and lunar symbolism, personifying the solar disk and simultaneously reflected moonlight.
The eclipse scared the ancient people, in China it was considered a harbinger of disaster. Mirrors were taken out into the streets during eclipses, thereby trying to quickly return the luminary to the sky. In China, it was believed that a huge dragon devoured the sun and moon during an eclipse, and then spit it out.
In ancient India, the eclipse was also associated with devouring the sun and moon. An interesting myth about an eclipse in ancient India, when the demon Rahu steals the elixir of immortality. But he is noticed behind the sinful deed by the Moon and the Sun, reporting everything to the supreme god. He cuts off the demon's head. But he, having already managed to become immortal, is forced to continue living with the severedhead. And Rahu devours the Moon and the Sun. It is at this moment that the eclipse occurs. It ends at the moment when the Sun and Moon fall back out of the severed neck of the demon.
In some cultures, the eclipse, on the contrary, symbolizes a meeting. This is especially expressed in those myths in which the sun and moon are depicted as a married couple. In this case, the eclipse most often symbolizes the meeting of two lovers or a date.
