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In ancient times, worship of Sun gods was fairly common. In fact, parts of that heritage remain.
Japan’s royal family still traces its ancestry back to the Sun goddess Amaterasu. English-speakers 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, but today we use the 365-day solar Gregorian calendar. It is based on the time it takes Earth to orbit the Sun. Researchers think this 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 serpent. ▶
◀ The first timepiece in history was a stick in the ground. By following the stick’s shadow through the day, people could approximate the time. Over the centuries, people created sophisticated 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 because the Sun god saw everything. And 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. In England, many Christians in medieval times believed the Sun danced on Easter morning to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. To watch the event, 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. In seasonal festivals, such as the Lakota Sun Dance, totem poles played an important role. 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 expresses the belief that the suffering the people experience (symbolized by dancers hanging from thongs fixed to their chests) will guarantee a plentiful supply of buffalo next year.
◀ The Sun is often used as a political symbol. France’s powerful King Louis XIV dubbed himself “the Sun King” because the Sun was the life-giving center of all things. 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 out the path of the Sun in the sky.
Sun Facts
Makeup
About 72 percent hydrogen, 26 percent helium, and 2 percent other elements
