sun worship
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What is sun worship?
Sun worship, or veneration of the sun as a deity, has been relatively rare across cultures, despite the frequent use of solar motifs. When it has occurred, it's often associated with advanced urban civilizations and ideologies of sacred kingship. The sun is seen as a bestower of light and life, a guarantor of justice, and a source of wisdom.
In ancient Egypt, the sun god Re was paramount, and Pharaoh Akhenaten promoted the cult of Aton, the sun's disk, glorifying its creative and nourishing qualities. Other cultures with developed solar religions include those in India, where Surya is revered as an all-seeing god, and in ancient Persia with the deity Mithra. In Japan, the sun goddess Amaterasu is central to Shinto, and in Peru, the Inca ruler was believed to be the sun incarnate, Inti.
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Why did some ancient cultures worship the sun?
Ancient cultures worshipped the sun for several key reasons, primarily due to its life-giving properties and symbolic power. The sun was seen as the bestower of light and life, essential for the growth of crops and the sustenance of all living things. Its all-seeing eye was often interpreted as a symbol of justice and truth.
Furthermore, the sun's daily journey across the sky represented power, beneficence, justice, and wisdom, qualities highly valued in elite religious groups and often associated with divine rulers and kingship. In many civilizations, rulers claimed descent from the sun, reinforcing their authority and divine right to govern. The sun's consistent presence and predictable cycles also made it a natural marker of time and a central figure in state religions.
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Which ancient civilizations practiced sun worship?
Sun worship was a significant practice in several ancient civilizations. In ancient Egypt, the sun god Re was a dominant deity, with pharaohs claiming descent from him. The cult of Aton, the sun's disk, was also reformed by Akhenaton.
In India, Surya was revered as an all-seeing god in the Vedas. The Inca of Peru considered their ruler an incarnation of the sun god Inti. In Mesoamerica, the Maya and Aztecs also venerated sun deities, with the Maya priests known as Ah Kin, meaning "He of the Sun".
In later Roman history, sun worship gained prominence, culminating in the cult of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun). Many cultures also incorporated solar motifs, even if not developing full solar religions.
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How was the sun represented in these religions?
In various religions, the sun has been represented as a supreme deity, a source of life, justice, and wisdom, and a divine ruler.
Ancient Egyptian Religion
In ancient Egypt, the sun god Re was a dominant figure, believed to travel across the sky in a solar bark and through the underworld at night. He was also seen as a creator god, engendering other deities from the primordial waters of chaos. The sun disk, Aton, was also worshipped, emphasizing the sun's role as creator and nourisher.
Hinduism
In Hinduism, Surya is the Sun and the Sun god, revered as the giver of life, health, and energy. He is invoked in daily prayers and is considered the father of many mythological figures. Surya's power is seen as dispelling darkness, curing disease, and illuminating the world.
Roman Religion
During the later Roman Empire, sun worship gained prominence, with deities like Apollo and Mithra acquiring solar qualities. The "Unconquered Sun" (Sol Invictus) was celebrated, and this date was later adopted as Christmas.
Mesoamerican Civilizations
In Aztec religion, the present universe was considered the fifth Sun, and humans were known as "People of the Sun." Their duty was to wage cosmic war to provide nourishment for the Sun, ensuring its survival and the continuation of the universe. The Sun was believed to be doomed to disappear in an earthquake.
Greek Religion
In Greek religion, Helios was the sun god who drove a chariot across the sky daily. He was particularly worshipped in Rhodes and became increasingly identified with other deities, including Apollo.
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What rituals or ceremonies were involved in sun worship?
Sun worship encompassed various rituals and ceremonies, often tied to solar deities and their perceived roles. In many cultures, the sun was seen as a mythical being, celebrated through events like sun dances, particularly among prairie-dwelling Native Americans. These rites could be remnants of older local cults or influenced by them.
In state cults, the sun often held a significant position, sometimes replacing older sky gods. This was evident in ancient Egypt, where the sun god Re was a dominant figure, and in the religion of Mithra in Persia. In Japan, the sun goddess Amaterasu was central to state Shinto, considered the ancestor of the imperial clan.
The sun's qualities of bestowing light, life, justice, and wisdom were central to elite religious groups. Kings often claimed descent from the sun, and solar deities were frequently identified with the Supreme Deity. In some instances, like among Siberian peoples, sun goddesses were worshipped with sacrifices, and their symbols were incorporated into women's clothing, often for fertility or prosperity.
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How has sun worship influenced modern beliefs or traditions?
While direct worship of the sun as a deity is rare today, its influence persists in modern traditions and beliefs. Many cultures historically associated the sun with life-giving power, justice, and wisdom, qualities often reflected in secular or spiritual contexts. For instance, the Roman festival of Sol Invictus on December 25, celebrating the Unconquered Sun, was later adopted by Christians as Christmas. Additionally, astronomical observations of the sun, crucial for ancient calendars and timekeeping, laid the groundwork for our modern understanding of time and seasons. The sun's symbolism as a source of light and enlightenment continues to resonate in various cultural expressions.
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sun worship, veneration of the sun or a representation of the sun as a deity, as in Atonism in Egypt in the 14th century bce.
Although sun worship has been used frequently as a term for “pagan” religion, it is, in fact, relatively rare. Though almost every culture uses solar motifs, only a relatively few cultures (Egyptian, Indo-European, and Meso-American) developed solar religions. All of these groups had in common a well-developed urban civilization with a strong ideology of sacred kingship. In all of them the imagery of the sun as the ruler of both the upper and the lower worlds that he majestically visits on his daily round is prominent.
The sun is the bestower of light and life to the totality of the cosmos; with his unblinking, all-seeing eye, he is the stern guarantor of justice; with the almost universal connection of light with enlightenment or illumination, the sun is the source of wisdom.
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These qualities—sovereignty, power of beneficence, justice, and wisdom—are central to any elite religious group, and it is within these contexts that a highly developed solar ideology is found. Kings ruled by the power of the sun and claimed descent from the sun. Solar deities, gods personifying the sun, are sovereign and all-seeing. The sun is often a prime attribute of or is identified with the Supreme Deity.
In ancient Egypt the sun god Re was the dominant figure among the high gods and retained this position from early in that civilization’s history. In the myth relating the voyage of the sun god over the heavenly ocean, the sun sets out as the young god Kheper; appears at noon in the zenith as the full-grown sun, Re; and arrives in the evening at the western region in the shape of the old sun god, Atum. When the pharaoh Ikhnaton reformed Egyptian religion, he took up the cult of the ancient deity Re-Horakhte under the name of Aton, an older designation of the Sun’s disk. Under Akhenaton, the sun’s qualities as creator and nourisher of the Earth and its inhabitants are glorified.
The sun god occupied a central position in both Sumerian and Akkadian religion, but neither the Sumerian Utu nor the Semitic Shamash was included among the three highest gods of the pantheon. The sun was one of the most popular deities, however, among the Indo-European peoples and was a symbol of divine power to them. Surya is glorified in the Vedas of ancient India as an all-seeing god who observes both good and evil actions. He expels not only darkness but also evil dreams and diseases. Sun heroes and sun kings also occupy a central position in Indian mythology, where Vivasvant, the father of Yama, corresponds to the Iranian Vivahvant, the father of Yima. There is a dynasty of sun kings, characteristically peaceful, that is quite distinct from the warlike moon kings. In medieval Iran, sun festivals were celebrated as a heritage from pre-Islamic times. The Indo-European character of sun worship is also seen in the conception of the solar deity, drawn in his carriage, generally by four white horses, common to many Indo-European peoples, and recurring in Indo-Iranian, Greco-Roman, and Scandinavian mythology.
During the later periods of Roman history, sun worship gained in importance and ultimately led to what has been called a “solar monotheism.” Nearly all the gods of the period were possessed of solar qualities, and both Christ and Mithra acquired the traits of solar deities. The feast of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) on December 25 was celebrated with great joy, and eventually this date was taken over by the Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Christ.
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The most famous type of solar cult is the Sun Dance of the Plains Indians of North America. In the pre-Columbian civilizations of Mexico and Peru, sun worship was a prominent feature. In Aztec religion extensive human sacrifice was demanded by the sun gods Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca. In both Mexican and Peruvian ancient religion, the Sun occupied an important place in myth and ritual. The ruler in Peru was an incarnation of the sun god, Inti. In Japan the sun goddess, Amaterasu, who played an important role in ancient mythology and was considered to be the supreme ruler of the world, was the tutelary deity of the imperial clan, and to this day the sun symbols represent the Japanese state.