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Sun god)
A solar deity is a deity who represents the Sun. People have worshipped the Sun and solar deities for all of recorded history. Hence, many beliefs and legends have been formed around this worship. 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. The dualism of sun/male/light and moon/female/darkness is indeed found in European traditions that derive from Orphic and Gnostic philosophies, but many other European cultures saw the sun as a maternal force, as did many other cultures. In some cultures, such as the Scandinavian (whose sun goddess Sunnu gives us the English word for Sun), some scholars have misread the primary texts in order to declare a male divinity the "sun god."
Here is a list of solar deities:
See also Phoenix, Stonehenge
Chinese Mythology
Unlike many other cultures, Chinese people 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 represent Yang which are the basis of everything in nature.
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 (后毅) shot down eight of them with bow and arrows. The world became better ever since. In another myth, 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".
External Links
- The Worship of the Sun Among the Aryan Peoples of Antiquity by Sir James G. Frazer http://members.aol.com/zoticus/bathlib/helios/
- "The Sun, A Universal Deity" from The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly Palmer Hall http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta11.htm
- The Great Myth of the Sun Gods by Alvin Boyd Kuhn http://www.tphta.ws/ABK_GMSG.HTM
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55
