The end of the world as we know it? Myths about the solar eclipse

(NewsNation) — The solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, will be the last opportunity to view a total solar eclipse from the mainland U.S. for 20 years.

States and cities are preparing for an influx of people visiting the path of totality and that fascination is nothing new. Eclipses show up in historical records and mythology dating back millennia.

History of eclipses

The oldest definitive solar eclipse on record dates to around 1200 B.C.E., when scribes in China recorded eclipses on oracle bones made from ox bones and tortoise shells. But it’s possible there’s an even earlier record in a series of spiral-shaped and circular petroglyphs found in Ireland that date to 3340 B.C.E.

Records of eclipses have been recorded in petroglyphs made by the early Pueblo people as well as the Maya, who kept extensive records on astronomical events. Religious texts also mention eclipses, including the Bible and the Quran, and connect them with significant events.

The description of a red moon following the crucifixion of Jesus appears to depict a lunar eclipse and in the Quran, a solar eclipse is said to have occurred before the birth of Muhammad.

Swallowing the Sun

While ancient people may not have understood the science behind eclipses the way we do in modern times, there were plenty of explanations offered in myth and folklore.

For many ancient cultures, a solar eclipse was a sign of doom or destruction. Ancient Greeks saw a solar eclipse as a sign the gods were angry at the king.

Other cultures had legends related to the disappearance, many describing a deity or other entity as swallowing the sun to explain the sudden darkness.

In ancient Egypt, the serpent Apep, a spirit of evil and chaos, was said to swallow the sun god Ra, requiring an army of other deities to fight Apep and cut him open to release Ra and prevent the world from being plunged into darkness.

Vikings believed an eclipse occurred when the wolf Skoll, who pursues the sun goddess Sol across the sky, finally catches up with her. If Skoll succeeds in swallowing Sol and plunging the world into darkness it heralds the start of Ragnarok, a battle between the gods and the end of the world.

In Hindu mythology, the battle between Surya, the sun, and demigod Rahu who is attempting to obtain immortality. In one version of the myth, Rahu is beheaded for his efforts and his head continues to chase Surya, attempting to devour him.

In ancient China, myths told of a dragon swallowing the sun, while South American myths say it was a leopard. In Vietnam, it’s a giant frog who swallows the sun and in Korea, a pack of dogs.

One thing many of these myths have in common is the response, urging people who are viewing the eclipse to beat drums, bang on pots and pans and otherwise make a big commotion to scare away the entity trying to swallow up the light.

Argument and reconciliation

Not all explanations for the eclipse are so negative. The Tlingit tribes in North America believed the sun and moon were having more children, a reference to stars and planets that appear visible during the eclipse but can’t otherwise be seen.

In Africa, the Battammaliba people saw an eclipse as the sun and moon fighting and took it as a sign to put aside grudges and end feuds.

The Inuit, the sun and moon were brother and sister who were fighting with each other. An eclipse meant the moon, Annigan, had caught up with Malina, the sun.

In Suriname, the Kalina also believe the sun and moon are quarreling siblings and an eclipse means the fighting has become violent, with one knocking the other out.

In German mythology, the sun and moon are married and an eclipse is a moment when the couple unite. Tahitians have a similar myth, telling of the sun and moon of lovers who get lost in the moment.

Modern superstition

While ancient myths attempted to explain eclipses without having the same scientific knowledge we have today, superstitions around the phenomenon still exist.

Modern superstition around eclipses include the idea that pregnant women should not look at an eclipse, food shouldn’t be made during an eclipse or that it’s unsafe to be outside.

Of course, even with scientific knowledge, some still see an eclipse as a sign of the end times, including those who believe it will lead to the Rapture and those who think it will herald the collapse of a simulation we are all living in.

One eclipse myth remains true, however: Don’t look directly at the sun to view the eclipse or you’ll risk damaging your eyes. Make sure to use eclipse glasses instead.