The Sun, Sun Myths, and Sun Worship

Abstract

Most of us take the sun for granted. We know it to be a heavenly body subject to the same laws of physics that govern events on earth. For example, we know that the earth’s axis is not vertical to the earth’s orbit around the sun; that the resultant oblique angles at which the sun’s rays strike the earth cause seasonal variation in radiation (as Figure 1:1 shows); and that the quantity is greatest when the days are longest. We have confidence that the sun will rise each morning and set each evening. We know, as Figure 1:2 demonstrates, that the length of the day will vary regularly; that in the Northern Hemisphere it is maximal at the summer solstice (June 21) and minimal at the winter solstice (December 22); and that the length of day is equal to the length of night at the vernal equinox (March 21) and the autumnal equinox (September 22). The sun presents us with our major cues to time and season, and figures prominently in agricultural practices as well.