Last week we told you about some legends about the origin of the Sun and the Moon.
Today, however, we are going to talk about several different stories, although they are also the protagonists. It is about eclipses, that event in which a celestial body loses its light when it is blocked by another.
Since ancient times, eclipses, both of the Sun and the Moon, have been the subject of thousands of legends and superstitions, the result of fear and ignorance. It is impossible to count them all, but we have made a small selection of some of the most curious.
What really is an eclipse?
As I was saying, an eclipse is a phenomenon by which light from one celestial body is blocked by another. In the case of the Sun and the Moon it takes place when align with the Earth and, depending on the position, they will give rise to two different types of eclipses:
The lunar eclipse: It takes place when the Earth stands between the Sun and the Moon, generating a shadow that darkens the Moon.
The solar eclipse: Occurs when the Moon hides the Sun from Earth’s perspective, so a similar situation occurs at dusk. Depending on perspective, it can only be seen for a short period of time from a reduced area of the planet, unlike that of the Moon, which can be observed in all areas of the Earth where it is night.
Legends about eclipses
There’s a lot legends behind the eclipses.
Devouring animals of the stars
Some cultures thought that solar eclipses were due to wild beasts that devoured the Sun. For example, vikings they claimed to see Wolves fighting to take over the Sun while Vietnamthey thought it was a toad the one that eats both the Sun and the Moon, generating the two types of eclipses.
On the other hand, Inca they thought it was a Cougar that it attacked the Moon, so they made a lot of noise to try to chase away the predator.
The Legend of the Hind Demon
According to the Hindus, the demon Rahu dressed up to try a elixir that immortality could give him, with fatal consequences. However, the sun and the moon they discovered it and told it to the god Vishu, who punished the devil, cutting off his head before the pima reached his throat. Since then, his head roam the sky, trying to capture the two stars that gave him away and causing eclispes when he succeeds.
The history of the eyes of Horus
According to the Egyptians, the Sun and the Moon were the horus eyes, the father of their civilization. One day, he was caught up in a fight with Set, an evil god that ended tearing out an eye, giving rise to the eclipse.
As you can see, the legends around this topic are many and very varied. Do you know any other?
