Religions of the Sun
[quote]The Sun is the bestower of light and life to the totality of the cosmos; with its unblinking, all-seeing eye, it is the stern guarantor of justice; with the almost universal connection of light with enlightenment or illumination, the sun is the source of wisdom.[/quote]
No matter what your views toward religion may be, I think we can all agree on the above statement. Each of those qualities mentioned are central to any organized religious group and it is within these contexts that a majestic solar ideology can be found. Monarchs ruled by the power of the Sun, deities personifying the Sun are sovereign and omniscient, the Sun itself is almost always a prime attribute of a supreme deity. Given all of these factors, you would think there would be a lot more religions out there that worship the Sun!
Almost every culture in the world has themes pertaining to the Sun, but only a few cultures in the world ever had religions involving direct worship of the Sun or a solar deity. The biggest ones being Ancient Egyptian, Indo-European and Meso-American. But they all shared two things in common - each were highly developed civilizations with a profound ideology of sacred kingship and each feature prominent imagery of the Sun as supreme ruler of mortal and spirit worlds.
[center][big]Ancient Egypt[/big][/center]
[center]![]()
[i]Ra/Re, Egyptian god of the sun.[/i][/center]
Egypt was host to many religions involving worship of solar deities. There were many Egyptian deities that were associated with the Sun, but one of the important gods of all was the deity of the sun, Re or Ra. Re was considered the most dominant of the high gods and was believed to have ruled over the upper and lower worlds. During the height of Re's supremacy over Egyptian religion, Sun temples became common in Egypt. Many of these were open spaces rather than enclosed like most places of worship. Perhaps it was deemed necessary for proper worship of Re and the Sun.
[center]![]()
[i]Egyptian sun temple[/i][/center]
During the Middle Kingdom period of Egypt, Re would lose his prominence as he started becoming increasingly associated or merged with two other Egyptian deities Amun and Osiris. But during the Amarna period, worship of the Sun would see a resurgence when Atenism became the chief religion in Egypt. Atenism was one of the earliest monotheistic religions in history as it centered on the worship of Aten, depicted as the disc of the Sun that was originally an aspect of Re. But the Atenism era was short-lived, only lasting about 20 years before worship of the traditional deities was brought back in Egypt.
[center][big]Greco-Roman world[/big][/center]
The Sun was one of the most popular deities among the Indo-European peoples and was held as a symbol of divine power - especially in the Greco-Roman world. In Greek mythology, Helios is the personification of the Sun. Though his position was rather low on the Greek god hierarchy (he was sometimes referred to as a titan), his worship would grow a significantly larger following in late antiquity after being identified with Apollo. Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians - major deities in Greek mythology - and was recognized as the god of many different things, but he also became associated with the Sun. Despite conflation between Helios and Apollo, many make the distinction that Apollo represents the Sun, but Helios is the Sun itself.
[center]![]()
[i]Helios, Greek god and personification of the sun[/i][/center]
Since Helios was considered a minor deity to the Greeks, his worship wasn't that prominent. The island of Rhodes, however, was one of the very few places in Greece where he was worshipped as a major deity. The Rhodians held rituals of reenactment, annual tournaments and festivals all in Helios' honor. The Colossus of Rhodes was erected in dedication to Helios as well. The Dorians also seemed to have held Helios in high regard, having cults of the sun god scattered in various places of Greece. It's believed the Dorians could have been the ones to have brought worship of Helios to Rhodes.
[center]![]()
[i]Apollo, Greek god of sunlight[/i][/center]
Over time, Helios would become conflated with Apollo who came to be known as the god of sunlight, among other things. Being one of the major deities, Apollo had places of worship all over Greece, but his two primary temples were located in Delphi and Actium. In the mystical land of Hyperborea, Apollo was worshipped above all other gods. Hyperborean worship of Apollo bears the strongest marks of him being worshipped as the Sun god. Apollo would be worshipped throughout the Roman Empire as well, as unlike several other Greek deities, he had no direct Roman equivalent.
[center]![]()
[i]Sol, Roman god and personification of the sun[/i][/center]
However, Ancient Rome did have their own personification of the Sun named Sol. The worship of Sol Indiges was introduced after the earliest foundations of Rome. Though this first sun god was thought to have been far less important than the better-known Sol Invictus who was a Syrian sun god and whose cult became established in the later Roman Empire. Today, scholars are in disagreement over whether Sol Invictus was a foreign state-supported deity or if he and Sol Indiges are actually one in the same. Regardless, Sol was considered the official Sun god of Ancient Rome.
[center]![]()
[i]Artist's impression of one of Rome's temples of the sun[/i][/center]
There were at least four temples of the sun in Rome that were active throughout the days of the empire. They were located in Circus Maximus, the Campus Agrippae, Quirinal Hill and Trastevere. During the later periods of the Roman Empire, sun worship became increasingly important and led to what has been called a solar monotheism. Nearly all deities from that period became associated with solar qualities, including Jesus and Mithra. Though disputed, it's believed that the Festival of Sol Invictus was celebrated on December 25 with jubilation and that this date was taken over by Christians to celebrate what we know today as Christmas.
[center][big]Mesoamerica[/big][/center]
Perhaps the most extreme example of sun worship exists in Aztec religion. In Aztec mythology, Tōnatiuh was the sun god and the ruler of heaven. Tōnatiuh was also known as "the fifth sun" as they believed each sun was a god that had its own cosmic era and Tōnatiuh was the fifth and final sun. Other Aztec deities associated with the Sun are Huītzilōpōchtli and Tezcatlipoca. The former was a god of war and human sacrifice while the latter was a god of providence, darkness and the invisible.
[center]![]()
[i]Tōnatiuh, Aztec god and personification of the sun[/i][/center]
The Aztecs believed extensive human sacrifice was demanded by each of the aforementioned gods in order for the sun to move through the sky. Tōnatiuh was believed to have made a daily journey as the present sun from East to West and that he could only be sustained by human sacrifice or else he would be unable to move through the sky. Another variation involves Huītzilōpōchtli and Tezcatlipoca being lord of the day and night, respectively. The cycle of day and night is only possible by Huītzilōpōchtli constantly chasing after Tezcatlipoca and his other sibling deities and that human sacrifice was required to keep him sustained..
[center]![]()
[i]Reconstruction of Templo Mayor, the Aztec temple of capital their city Tenochtitlan[/i][/center]
For places of worship, Aztecs often had a whole area of a city dedicated to religious activities. Many temples dedicated to worshipping their gods were in the form of large pyramid-like structures with a shrine at the top of them where the human sacrifice rituals would often be performed. The most notable example of this is Templo Mayor located in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The human sacrifices would be performed at the top of these temples. While human sacrifice is the most well-known ritual, there were many others the Aztecs used to worship their gods such as ritual blood-letting, burning of copal and music of worship.
There are a few other examples of solar deities from other cultures but those are the three main ones where sun worship was most prominent. But solar deities and Sun worship have been recorded throughout history. Even if other cultures didn't take it to the same extent as those mentioned above, as I said in the beginning, the Sun is still commonly depicted as an aspect for any major deity regardless of what religion they belong to. The inherent qualities of the Sun - sovereignty, power of beneficence, justice, and wisdom - are synonymous with the principles of any elite religion.
Thank you for reading and praise the sun! 🙌🌞
No matter what your views toward religion may be, I think we can all agree on the above statement. Each of those qualities mentioned are central to any organized religious group and it is within these contexts that a majestic solar ideology can be found. Monarchs ruled by the power of the Sun, deities personifying the Sun are sovereign and omniscient, the Sun itself is almost always a prime attribute of a supreme deity. Given all of these factors, you would think there would be a lot more religions out there that worship the Sun!
Almost every culture in the world has themes pertaining to the Sun, but only a few cultures in the world ever had religions involving direct worship of the Sun or a solar deity. The biggest ones being Ancient Egyptian, Indo-European and Meso-American. But they all shared two things in common - each were highly developed civilizations with a profound ideology of sacred kingship and each feature prominent imagery of the Sun as supreme ruler of mortal and spirit worlds.
[center][big]Ancient Egypt[/big][/center]
[center]
[i]Ra/Re, Egyptian god of the sun.[/i][/center]Egypt was host to many religions involving worship of solar deities. There were many Egyptian deities that were associated with the Sun, but one of the important gods of all was the deity of the sun, Re or Ra. Re was considered the most dominant of the high gods and was believed to have ruled over the upper and lower worlds. During the height of Re's supremacy over Egyptian religion, Sun temples became common in Egypt. Many of these were open spaces rather than enclosed like most places of worship. Perhaps it was deemed necessary for proper worship of Re and the Sun.
[center]
[i]Egyptian sun temple[/i][/center]During the Middle Kingdom period of Egypt, Re would lose his prominence as he started becoming increasingly associated or merged with two other Egyptian deities Amun and Osiris. But during the Amarna period, worship of the Sun would see a resurgence when Atenism became the chief religion in Egypt. Atenism was one of the earliest monotheistic religions in history as it centered on the worship of Aten, depicted as the disc of the Sun that was originally an aspect of Re. But the Atenism era was short-lived, only lasting about 20 years before worship of the traditional deities was brought back in Egypt.
[center][big]Greco-Roman world[/big][/center]
The Sun was one of the most popular deities among the Indo-European peoples and was held as a symbol of divine power - especially in the Greco-Roman world. In Greek mythology, Helios is the personification of the Sun. Though his position was rather low on the Greek god hierarchy (he was sometimes referred to as a titan), his worship would grow a significantly larger following in late antiquity after being identified with Apollo. Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians - major deities in Greek mythology - and was recognized as the god of many different things, but he also became associated with the Sun. Despite conflation between Helios and Apollo, many make the distinction that Apollo represents the Sun, but Helios is the Sun itself.
[center]
[i]Helios, Greek god and personification of the sun[/i][/center]Since Helios was considered a minor deity to the Greeks, his worship wasn't that prominent. The island of Rhodes, however, was one of the very few places in Greece where he was worshipped as a major deity. The Rhodians held rituals of reenactment, annual tournaments and festivals all in Helios' honor. The Colossus of Rhodes was erected in dedication to Helios as well. The Dorians also seemed to have held Helios in high regard, having cults of the sun god scattered in various places of Greece. It's believed the Dorians could have been the ones to have brought worship of Helios to Rhodes.
[center]
[i]Apollo, Greek god of sunlight[/i][/center]Over time, Helios would become conflated with Apollo who came to be known as the god of sunlight, among other things. Being one of the major deities, Apollo had places of worship all over Greece, but his two primary temples were located in Delphi and Actium. In the mystical land of Hyperborea, Apollo was worshipped above all other gods. Hyperborean worship of Apollo bears the strongest marks of him being worshipped as the Sun god. Apollo would be worshipped throughout the Roman Empire as well, as unlike several other Greek deities, he had no direct Roman equivalent.
[center]
[i]Sol, Roman god and personification of the sun[/i][/center]However, Ancient Rome did have their own personification of the Sun named Sol. The worship of Sol Indiges was introduced after the earliest foundations of Rome. Though this first sun god was thought to have been far less important than the better-known Sol Invictus who was a Syrian sun god and whose cult became established in the later Roman Empire. Today, scholars are in disagreement over whether Sol Invictus was a foreign state-supported deity or if he and Sol Indiges are actually one in the same. Regardless, Sol was considered the official Sun god of Ancient Rome.
[center]
[i]Artist's impression of one of Rome's temples of the sun[/i][/center]There were at least four temples of the sun in Rome that were active throughout the days of the empire. They were located in Circus Maximus, the Campus Agrippae, Quirinal Hill and Trastevere. During the later periods of the Roman Empire, sun worship became increasingly important and led to what has been called a solar monotheism. Nearly all deities from that period became associated with solar qualities, including Jesus and Mithra. Though disputed, it's believed that the Festival of Sol Invictus was celebrated on December 25 with jubilation and that this date was taken over by Christians to celebrate what we know today as Christmas.
[center][big]Mesoamerica[/big][/center]
Perhaps the most extreme example of sun worship exists in Aztec religion. In Aztec mythology, Tōnatiuh was the sun god and the ruler of heaven. Tōnatiuh was also known as "the fifth sun" as they believed each sun was a god that had its own cosmic era and Tōnatiuh was the fifth and final sun. Other Aztec deities associated with the Sun are Huītzilōpōchtli and Tezcatlipoca. The former was a god of war and human sacrifice while the latter was a god of providence, darkness and the invisible.
[center]
[i]Tōnatiuh, Aztec god and personification of the sun[/i][/center]The Aztecs believed extensive human sacrifice was demanded by each of the aforementioned gods in order for the sun to move through the sky. Tōnatiuh was believed to have made a daily journey as the present sun from East to West and that he could only be sustained by human sacrifice or else he would be unable to move through the sky. Another variation involves Huītzilōpōchtli and Tezcatlipoca being lord of the day and night, respectively. The cycle of day and night is only possible by Huītzilōpōchtli constantly chasing after Tezcatlipoca and his other sibling deities and that human sacrifice was required to keep him sustained..
[center]
[i]Reconstruction of Templo Mayor, the Aztec temple of capital their city Tenochtitlan[/i][/center]For places of worship, Aztecs often had a whole area of a city dedicated to religious activities. Many temples dedicated to worshipping their gods were in the form of large pyramid-like structures with a shrine at the top of them where the human sacrifice rituals would often be performed. The most notable example of this is Templo Mayor located in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The human sacrifices would be performed at the top of these temples. While human sacrifice is the most well-known ritual, there were many others the Aztecs used to worship their gods such as ritual blood-letting, burning of copal and music of worship.
There are a few other examples of solar deities from other cultures but those are the three main ones where sun worship was most prominent. But solar deities and Sun worship have been recorded throughout history. Even if other cultures didn't take it to the same extent as those mentioned above, as I said in the beginning, the Sun is still commonly depicted as an aspect for any major deity regardless of what religion they belong to. The inherent qualities of the Sun - sovereignty, power of beneficence, justice, and wisdom - are synonymous with the principles of any elite religion.
Thank you for reading and praise the sun! 🙌🌞
