Solar deity

:Sun god redirects here. For other uses, see Sun God (statue)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A solar deity is a deity who represents the sun, or an aspect of it. People have worshipped the sun and solar deities for all of recorded history. Hence, many beliefs and legends have been formed around this worship, most notably the various myths containing the "missing sun" motif from around the world. 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. Some mythologists, such as Brian Branston, therefore contend that sun goddesses are more common worldwide than their male counterparts. They also claim that the belief that solar deities are primarily male is linked to the fact that a few better known mythologies (such as those of ancient Greece and Egypt) sometimes break from this rule. The dualism of sun/male/light and moon/female/darkness is found in many (but not all) European traditions that derive from Orphic and Gnostic philosophies, with a notable exception being Germanic mythology, where the Sun is female and the Moon is male.

Related Topics:
Deity - Sun - History - Legend - Lunar deity - Brian Branston - Ancient Greece - Egypt - Europe - Orphic - Gnostic - Germanic mythology

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sun worship is a possible origin of henotheism and ultimately monotheism. In Ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, Akhenaten's heretical Atenism used the old Aten solar deity as a symbol of a single God. The neolithic concept of a Solar barge, the Sun as traversing the sky in a boat, is found in Ancient Egypt, with Ra and Horus. Indo-European has a Solar chariot, the Sun as traversing the sky in a chariot. In Germanic mythology this is Sol, in Vedic Surya and in Greek Helios. Mesopotamian Shamash plays an important role during the Bronze Age, and "my Sun" is eventually used as an address to royalty. Similarly, South American cultures have emphatic Sun worship, see Inti. See also Sol invictus.

Related Topics:
Henotheism - Monotheism - Akhenaten - Atenism - Aten - Solar barge - Boat - Ancient Egypt - Ra - Horus - Indo-European - Solar chariot - Chariot - Sol - Surya - Helios - Shamash - Bronze Age - Inti - Sol invictus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~