The sun is perceived as a divine being in many cultures, with some having solar mythology to answer questions about it. Ancient Egypt and Rome had important solar deities, while Norse religion focused on other gods. The Inca and Aztecs also had sun gods. Anthropologists once believed many religions were based on sun deities, but this is now regarded as incorrect. Female solar deities also exist in some cultures.
The mythology of the sun, or solar mythology, is an important part of the mythology of several human cultures. Many cultures perceive, or have perceived, the sun as a divine being. Given the sun’s prominence in the sky and importance in everyday life, the role it plays is often significant. Many cultures have or have had some form of sun mythology that attempted to answer basic questions about the sun. For example, the question of where the sun goes at night is a common topic, as is the question of how it moves across the sky.
The mythology of the sun is more central to some religious systems than others. In ancient Egypt, for example, many deities had solar attributes and the sun god, Ra, was a central figure. When King Akhenaten attempted to reform Egyptian religion in the 14th century BC, he instituted the cult of a new god, Aton, the sun disk. Similarly, in later Roman paganism, solar deities became increasingly important, with the cult of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, becoming one of the most important faiths. Early Christianity drew on the symbolism of Sol Invictus.
In other areas, solar mythology is less important. Archaeological finds from Bronze Age Denmark seem to suggest that the image of the sun being driven across the sky by a horse chariot was important, but the limited written records describing Norse religion in the early medieval period give limited importance to solar deities instead focusing on the exploits of Odin, god of royalty and magic, and Thor, god of thunder.
The mythology of the sun was also important in the Americas. The Inca empire of Peru had Inti, the sun god, as their patron deity. Similarly, in Aztec cosmology, Tonatiuh, god of the sun, was the ruler of the sky, a powerful deity who demanded sacrifices in exchange for his continued patronage.
The presence of sun mythology in so many cultures around the world has led anthropologists and folklorists, particularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, to look for examples of sun deities in all cultures. Some argued that many religions, including Christianity, were based on the foundational story of the sun descending into the underworld at sunset and returning at sunrise. This view is now widely regarded as an incorrect generalisation. Similarly, the model of a male sun god, such as the Greek god Apollo, and a female earth goddess were believed to be central to the religion, despite the fact that many cultures, including Japan and pre-Christian Scandinavia, had female solar deities.
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