The Indo-European character of sun worship is also seen in the conception of the solar deity, drawn in his carriage, generally by four white horses, common to many Indo-European peoples, and recurring in Indo-Iranian, Greco-Roman, and Scandinavian mythology. In medieval Iran, sun festivals were celebrated as a heritage from pre-Islamic times. There is a dynasty of sun kings, characteristically peaceful, that is quite distinct from the warlike moon kings. Sun heroes and sun kings also occupy a central position in Indian mythology, where Vivasvant, the father of Yama, corresponds to the Iranian Vivahvant, the father of Yima. He expels not only darkness but also evil dreams and diseases. Surya is glorified in the Vedas of ancient India as an all-seeing god who observes both good and evil actions. The sun was one of the most popular deities, however, among the Indo-European peoples and was a symbol of divine power to them. The sun god occupied a central position in both Sumerian and Akkadian religion, but neither the Sumerian Utu nor the Semitic Shamash was included among the three highest gods of the pantheon. Under Akhenaton, the sun’s qualities as creator and nourisher of the Earth and its inhabitants are glorified. When the pharaoh Ikhnaton reformed Egyptian religion, he took up the cult of the ancient deity Re-Horakhte under the name of Aton, an older designation of the Sun’s disk. In the myth relating the voyage of the sun god over the heavenly ocean, the sun sets out as the young god Kheper appears at noon in the zenith as the full-grown sun, Re and arrives in the evening at the western region in the shape of the old sun god, Atum. In ancient Egypt the sun god Re was the dominant figure among the high gods and retained this position from early in that civilization’s history. The sun is often a prime attribute of or is identified with the Supreme Deity. Solar deities, gods personifying the sun, are sovereign and all-seeing. Kings ruled by the power of the sun and claimed descent from the sun. These qualities-sovereignty, power of beneficence, justice, and wisdom-are central to any elite religious group, and it is within these contexts that a highly developed solar ideology is found. The sun is the bestower of light and life to the totality of the cosmos with his unblinking, all-seeing eye, he is the stern guarantor of justice with the almost universal connection of light with enlightenment or illumination, the sun is the source of wisdom. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
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