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In ancient times, worship of Sun gods was fairly common. Some elements of this heritage are still with us.
Japan’s royal family still traces its ancestry back to the Sun goddess Amaterasu. People who speak English still call the first day of the week Sunday, as Sun-worshiping Europeans once did. Many beliefs and customs related to the Sun are universal.
The first calendars were based on the Moon’s cycles. Today we use the 365-day Gregorian calendar. It’s based on the time it takes Earth to orbit the Sun. Researchers think the Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico was a giant solar calendar. All its steps add up to 365. During the spring and fall equinoxes, shadows on the northwest steps seem to form a giant snake. ▶
◀ The first timepiece in history was a stick in the ground. By following the stick’s shadow through the day, people could figure out the time. Over the centuries, people created fancier sundials that, if positioned correctly, gave highly accurate time. Until pocket watches were invented in the 1500s, people carried around portable sundials.
“All mankind rejoices in you, O Shamash [the Sun god], all the world longs for your light.” That prayer comes from ancient Babylon in the Middle East. But something like it could have been spoken in ancient Rome, China, or North America. When the ancient Greeks made a vow, they swore by the Sun. That’s because the Sun god saw everything. The chief Egyptian god, Ra, sent out rays in the form of flowers. Ra had his own town called Heliopolis, meaning “City of the Sun.” The Sun can have religious significance even when it’s not worshiped. During the Middle Ages, many English Christians believed the Sun danced on Easter morning to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. To see this happen, people would gather at a pool of water and look at the Sun’s reflection. ▶
◀ This totem pole comes from a village in British Columbia, Canada. It portrays sacred ancestors of the tribe. Totem poles played an important role in seasonal festivals, such as the Lakota Sun Dance. They were believed to provide a way to communicate with ancestors and priests.
Check It Out!
What famous invention was first called heliography, or “sun drawing”?
Photography was first called heliography by its inventor, Joseph Niépce (NEE-EPS), in 1827. It took Niépce eight hours of exposing a picture to sunlight to get an image. Later inventors changed the name to photography, which means “drawing with light.”
◀ This is a Plains Indian painting of a Sun dance. It shows dancers hanging from thongs that pierced their chests. They believed that the dancers’ suffering would guarantee a big supply of buffalo next year.
◀ The Sun is often used as a political symbol. France’s powerful King Louis XIV called himself “the Sun King” because the Sun was the life-giving center of everything. His palace at Versailles (vehr-SY) was decorated with images of the Sun and of Apollo, a Greek god associated with the Sun. The gardens at Versailles trace the path of the Sun in the sky.
Sun Facts
Makeup
About 72 percent hydrogen, 26 percent helium, and 2 percent other elements
