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Sunny deities

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They rightfully call it the light, reason, ruler of the universe. Hermes Trismegistus names it the visible god, and Sophocles’ Electra says it is all-seeing. Thus the Sun sits on the royal throne, ruling over its children, the planets that orbit around it…
Nikola Copernicus

From an early age, people of the 21st century learn that the planets orbit the Sun, that its radius is 109 times larger than Earth’s, that it consists of hydrogen and helium in a plasma state…

We know that without the Sun’s energy, there would be no basic life processes on Earth. Ancient civilizations were aware of the importance of the Sun for the Earth and all beings on it. However, the meaning of the Sun is not only related to physical survival, but also to spiritual development. Sun-dedicated deities held a central place in the pantheon of many ancient cultures…

Egypt

Hymn to Ra

Powerful is Ra, exalted is Ra, alive is Ra, great is Ra.
Oh benevolent, radiant, blazing,
You rise in the east and ascend to the zenith of the sky,
gods and humans rejoice in You.

p>You have created the Earth and the food for cattle and plants that feed people.
People have sprung forth from Your eyes.
We greet You, we praise You because You dwell among us;
we are on our knees before You because You have created us.
You are blessed by all creatures, everything that lives worships You,
throughout the vastness of the Earth, in the air, in the depths of the sea.

The gods bow down before Your holiness.
Hearts rejoice to appear before the one who created them
and to say: go in peace, father of all gods,
You who stretched out the sky, spread out the Earth,
creator of beings, builder of things,
sovereign king, chief of the gods…

The Sun god in ancient Egypt was Ra (Re or Phra), and he represented the Sun as the creator. Ra is the one who gives light and life to the Earth and mankind, and the pharaoh is his representative on Earth, which is why he was called the Son of Ra or the Sun.

The myth says that Ra emerges behind the Manu, the mountain of the Sun’s rising, and during twelve daylight hours, he begins his journey in the boat Manjet – the boat of a million years.

During…

Twelve hours during the night Ra travels in another boat called Mesektet, while his enemy Apep, the snake that lives in the depths of the celestial Nile, tries to swallow his celestial boat. Ra always defeats and throws Apep back into the abyss. This is how Ra appears every morning as the newborn Sun.

The Egyptians worshipped the Sun in different manifestations: Khepri is the rising Sun and is depicted as a scarab beetle or as a man with a head in the shape of a scarab.

They called the invisible spirit of the Sun Amun. They depicted the Sun deity, Amun-Ra, in the form of a winged disc, and they called the Sun’s disc itself Aten and depicted it as the Sun with hands at the ends of its rays.

Greece

Helios (Greek: Helios, Latin: Sol) is an older sun deity in Greece. He was considered the sharp-eyed son of Zeus.

Legend has it that he would rise in the morning from his golden palace on the eastern coast of the ocean in golden chariots pulled by four winged horses and would travel across the celestial vault. In the evening, he would In the west, he descended into the waters of the ocean, where he rode back to his palace on a golden ship. Later, he was worshiped as a sunny deity, Apollo. He was the son of the highest god, Zeus, and the titaness Leto. He was born on the island of Delos, where his mother took refuge, fleeing from Python, a terrifying serpent with a dragon’s head sent by Zeus’s wife, Hera. When he grew up, armed with weapons, a golden lyre, and a silver bow, he went to the land where Python lived to avenge his mother’s persecution. He defeated the monster and buried its body in the ground. He changed the name of the land (Pito) to Delphi. At the site of his victory, he established a sanctuary and an oracle, through which the will of Zeus is revealed to people through the mouth of the Pythia, the Delphic prophetess. He spends spring and summer in Delphi, and when winter approaches, he goes to the land where eternal spring reigns in his chariot. Apollo also travels through the sky in his chariot, pulled by swans. He was considered the god of light and the sun, the guardian of life and order, the initiator of beauty and harmony without A life without meaning. Apollo loves and rewards the good, and punishes the evil.

Mesopotamia – Babylon

All the nations of the earth, so different in their languages,
You know their concerns, You see their comings and goings,
All living beings shout in unison before You, O Shamash,
The whole universe thirsts for Your light.

Shamash (Sumerian Utu), the god of the Sun, is the enemy of darkness and all the evils that darkness symbolizes. Every morning he appears behind the mountains in the east and embarks on his daily journey in his sunny chariot pulled by four powerful horses. In the dazzling light, he slowly ascends the sky. When evening falls, Shamash directs his chariot towards the mountains in the west. The western gates open and he enters the depths of the earth and disappears. During the night, Shamash continues his underground journey to reappear in the east before dawn. In his hand, he holds the key to the eastern gates.

He is the great god of justice and demands righteousness from rulers. His main qualities are strength and courage, he triumphs and over the nights and winters. Its radiant rays dispel the shadows of evil, and its vast golden net captures all those who do wrong. That is why it is called the Judge of Heaven and Earth or the God Judge. Its temple in Babylon is called the House of the Judge of the World. It is depicted as a judge sitting on a throne, holding a scepter in hand.

India

Let the truth of these words protect me from everywhere,
as long as worlds and days stretch:
everything that moves rests, except for it,
but the waters and the Sun never rest.

No sinner ever resists You
when you are on your winged chariot.
To the East, another wave turns, O King,
and from the wave of brightness, You come, O Sun!

With the light that you protect darkness, O Sun,
with the ray that moves the whole world,
with it drive away hunger from us,
and forgetfulness of rituals, illness, bad dreams.

The truth, Rg-Veda, X, 37

Glorious rays now bring the god
who knows everything that is born,
and everyone will be able to see the Sun.

Stars are stolen like thieves,
followed by the darkness of the night,
at the moment when the all-seeing Sun arrives.
…
You rise towards the day of the week) koji su se svakodnevno izmjenjivali na nebu. Međutim, Sunca su bila toliko jaka da su sušila zemlju, topila stijene i palila biljke. Zemlja je bila pogođena sušom i gladom. Tada je legendarni strijelac Houyi, sa svojim lukom i strijelama, odlučio riješiti problem. On je uspio pogoditi devet Sunaca i sačuvati samo jedno na nebu. Nakon toga, život se vratio u normalu i ljudi su živjeli sretno. Stoga se svake godine u Kini slavi Dan strijelca kako bi se sjetili ovog herojskog čina.

U kineskoj mitologiji, Sunce je personificirano kao božanstvo Zhu Rong, koji je bio odgovoran za vatru, svjetlost i energiju. Smatrali su ga bogom koji je donosio toplinu i svjetlost u svijet.

(during the day) they would bathe in the Valley of Light, on the eastern border of the world where a gigantic tree named Po or Fu-Sang (mulberry tree) grew. Nine Suns would spend the night on the branches of that tree, while the tenth would climb to the top and sit in a chariot pulled by dragons (or horses), controlled by their mother. During the day, the chariot would slowly cross the sky until it reached the Jo tree at the Yen-Tzu mountain in the far west. At night, the Sun would ride back to the east.

One day, all ten Suns appeared in the sky at the same time, threatening to burn the earth with their heat. Yi, the Perfect Archer, then drew his miraculous bow and destroyed the excess Suns, thus saving the earth from disaster. At the moment of the Suns’ destruction, three sun crows fell to the earth.

Legend has it that multiple Suns appear in difficult and ominous times.

Japan

The original name of Japan is Nippon – Land of the Rising Sun, which is also depicted on the Japanese flag. It is believed that the Japanese imperial lineage directly descends from origin from Amaterasu-o-mi-kami, the goddess of the Sun. She is the most significant Shinto deity and represents the power of light, growth, and fertility.

The myth tells that due to the conflict with her brother Susanoo, the god of thunder, storms, and rain, Amaterasu retreated into a celestial cave, causing the world to fall into darkness and cold. Numerous troubles befell all beings, and a council of eight million deities decided to lure Amaterasu out of the cave. They succeeded in doing so by using a mirror and pearls. As a result, these objects, along with a sword, became the three greatest emblems of imperial power.

Mexico

At the moment of the creation of the fifth generation of humanity, in the darkness of the cosmos, a council of gods gathered to decide which one of them would sacrifice and become the Fifth Sun. The only one to step forward without hesitation was Nanautzin – the ugliest of all gods. Due to his appearance, it was the hardest for him to become a beautiful star that would guide humanity. Following Nanautzin’s example, Tecuciztecatl – the beautiful god of creation and fertility – also volunteered.

The sacrifice was made, stood firm in the idea that the candidate should be thrown into the stake and emerge from it as a new star. Tecuciztecatl backed out several times, while Nanautzin threw himself without hesitation. Then Tecuciztecatl did the same. In the east, Nanautzin appeared as the new Sun and Tecuciztecatl as the Moon. Legend says that the power of their love was not enough, so the other gods also threw themselves into the fire to enable the new Sun and Moon to begin their cosmic mission.

According to the Nahua legend, we live in the era of the Fifth Sun. Before that, there were four suns: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. The Fifth Sun is Ollin Tonatiuh – the Sun of Movement. The myth says that the creation of the world aimed to build itself from within or, as the Aztecs would say, to create a wise face and a strong heart.

Maya:

In the classical Mayan civilization, the Sun god was called Ah Kin. His name literally means the One from the Sun. He is also mentioned as Kinch-Ahau (Master Sun). His representations on the walls of temples are characterized by large bulging eyes, Oh, connected to symbols of descent into the underworld, it is associated with overcoming trials after which one becomes a warrior: Jaguar Sun. His sacrifice and victory are symbolically depicted in the holy ball game – the game of pelota.

Incas

Viracocha touched the bird Inti with his hand, which carried day and night in its eye, and said to it, “Make it equal light and darkness!” The eyes of the Inti bird, which until then were colorless, were colored so that a yellow color appeared on one half of its pupils, and blue on the other. Then everything shone. The Sun sparkled in the sky, and the Moon, round and bluish, took its place next to the new star…

Viracocha and the creation of the world

Viracocha created the Earth and the Sky and populated the Earth with people. There was no Sun, and people moved in darkness. Therefore, he created the Sun, Moon, and stars and commanded them to go to the island of Titicaca on the lake of the same name and ascend to the Sky from there. When Inti, the Sun, in human form ascended to the Sky, he addressed the Incas and their leader Mancu Capac: “You and your people Descendants, you will be the masters and it is up to you to subdue numerous nations. Consider me your father and you will be my children and you will worship me as your father.” With these words, he gave Mancu Capac a head covering and placed a battle axe in his hands.

Inti is considered the divine ancestor of Inca kings. Before death, they would say, “My Father calls me to go to him to rest.”

The sun was depicted as a large golden disk with rays and a human face, which was called Apu-Punchau (Head of the Day).

Interestingly, the Incas had Sun Virgins (Acllas), young girls who guarded the sacred fire and were led by older women called Mama-Cuna. The girls began their training with the Virgins at the age of eight and were led and taught by older women until they left at the age of fourteen or fifteen, that is, until they got married.

The Incas believed that Inti, the Sun, after passing through the sky, descended into the ocean and returned by swimming beneath the earth, rejuvenated and renewed with vitality every morning.

Rome

Mithra (Latin: Mithras) is an ancient Indo-Iranian deity whose name derives from the root mihr’, which according to some sources means “contract”. He was brought to Rome by Roman legionaries who readily embraced this eastern god and his mysteries. Mithras should not be equated with the sun disk (which was called Mithra’s Eye), but rather he represents the invisible, inner power of the Sun. Mithra is therefore the Sun, but also the protector god of justice and oath. In ancient Rome, he was most commonly depicted in the scene of tauroctony or the sacrifice of the bull, which has symbolic and astronomical meaning. Mithras was portrayed standing behind the bull, holding it by the nostrils with one hand and piercing its neck with the other hand. The sacrifice of the bull symbolizes the sacrifice of the lower, animalistic self, resulting in the liberation of the higher self within a person.

The cult of Mithras, in which only men could participate, was widespread and practically the last major Roman cult before the adoption of Christianity.

Mithras was

Usually depicted with a red Phrygian cap and a cloak sprinkled with stars, the folds of which spread out in a semicircle like the celestial vault. According to legend, he was born on December 25th, when the sun’s power begins to grow again. That day was celebrated in Rome as Sol Invictus – Invincible Sun.