The dawn in life represents the announcement of a new beginning. Let it be the clock that strikes midnight to mark one’s birthday or the day of a special occasion, such as an anniversary or a wedding. Dawn brings hope and as a very popular Indian saying goes, “Every night is followed by dawn”, which means that every period of darkness and trouble is followed by a dawn, which will bring a solution and a time to celebrate.
The sunrise and the sun gods have played important roles for centuries through the mythologies of various cultures. The Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Egyptians and many more have attached great importance to the Sun, so let’s take a look at the impact the Sun has had on humanity for centuries, showing its importance to everyone.
chinese mythology
The Chinese believed that there were ten suns and one arrived as the other went out to bathe. There are many versions of this story, but this is the most popular version. This is from the chapter called “The Systems of the Heavens” by Huai-nan Tzu, with a small addition from other scholars of the time. The ten suns used to bathe in the valley of T’iang, where the leaning mulberry (the tree) stood. The nine suns remained on its lower branches while the tenth sun resided on its upper branch. Another version says that in the middle of a large wasteland, there was a mountain called Neih-yao Chun-ti, next to which was the Yang Valley. Next to the Yang valley was the Leaning Mulberry, which was an old tree three hundred leagues high with mustard leaves. In this tree came a sun, carried by a crow (sometimes three-legged) while the other sun went away. The whole process from sunrise to sunset from Yang (sunny) valley or Yu Yuans riverside to Meng valley covers nine provinces and seven stops, representing the times during the day.
Greek mythology
In Greek mythology, Helios personified the sun. The Greek poet Homer often called him just the Titan or Hyperion. He wrote that Helios was the son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and described him as the brother of Selene, the goddess of the moon, and Eos, the goddess of dawn. This is also what is believed to have given rise to the common Greek words for sun, moon, and sunrise. Helios was believed to be a handsome god who had a crown of brilliant sun halo and would drive the chariot of the sun every day through the sky towards the earth after going around Oceanus and after passing the world ocean, he would return east at night. The chariot of the sun was believed to be drawn by solar steeds or fire dart-steeding steeds which were later called Phlegon, Aeos, Pyrios and Aethon.
egyptian mythology
The sun god in ancient Egypt was called Ra (pronounced Rah or sometimes even as Re). He became a major deity in the fifth dynasty and was primarily identified as the god of the midday sun, as there were other deities representing other positions of the sun. Ra changed over time and soon came to be recognized as the god of all moments of the day. The cult of Ra was based on Heliopolis, which means the City of the Sun. Ra was also later merged with another god, Horus, and was called Re-Horakhty. It was believed that he ruled the earth, the sky and the underworld. He is associated with the Falcon, which was the symbol of the solar deities and is represented by the sun disk as his symbol.