Solar Eclipse Myths

Solar Eclipse Activity: Eclipse Myths Around the World

Learning Objectives

▪ Compare several eclipse myths and explore common themes.

▪ Understand how these myths relate to our current understanding of natural phenomena.

▪ Promote creativity, empathy, and an understanding of cause-and-effect relationships.

What Happens During a Total Solar Eclipse?

o The moon slowly covers the sun.

o The sky gets dark.

o When the sun is fully covered (totality), we can see the corona.

o Animals may behave strangely.

Solar Eclipse Myths

Ancient China

According to ancient Chinese myth, there were dragons living in the sky eating stars and clouds. But one dragon was so greedy and hungry that he would try to eat the sun.

Usually, the sun is too quick for the dragon to catch, but he occasionally manages to take little bites of the sun. However, when the dragon gets too hungry, he’s able to move fast enough to eat the whole sun in one bite, blocking out its light completely. Ancient Chinese people even referred to eclipses as shi, which means “to eat.”

Ancient China

To keep the dragon from swallowing the sun and losing it forever, people decided they needed to make a bunch of noise to scare off the dragon. They would start shouting and banging on pots and pans, and later they started banging on drums, setting off firecrackers—even firing cannons! If the people managed to make enough noise, they would scare the dragon so much he would cough out the sun and return it to the sky.

Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians worshipped the god Ra. Ra was the falcon-headed god of the sun, and every day he would travel across the sky with the sun in his boat. When the sun went down at night, it was because Ra was traveling through the underworld, shining light on the dead as he made his way back to the east to start a new day.
Ra made this trip over and over, but it wasn’t without its challenges. Apep (AH-pep), Ra’s worst enemy, was a giant serpent god of chaos and darkness that lived in the Nile River. Apep was constantly trying to catch up to Ra so he could eat him.

Ancient Egypt

Usually Ra was too fast for Apep, but sometimes Apep was able to catch Ra and swallow him and his boat whole. When this happened, the sun would go dark and disappear as if it was night in the middle of the day.

Fortunately, Ra had powerful claws and a strong beak, so he always managed to fight his way out of Apep’s stomach, throw him back into the Nile, and resume his journey across the sky.

Germania

Germanic people believed that the Sun was a woman, the Moon was a man, and they were married. Although they loved each other, they had very different personalities. The Sun was fiery and passionate while the Moon was cold and sleepy, and they were constantly fighting

because of this. The Sun and Moon decided to make a bet that whoever woke up first would rule the day and whoever slept in would rule the night. They both fell asleep, but the Sun was so mad at the Moon she couldn’t sleep, so she decided to get up early. This meant the day was hers and the night was his.

Germania

The Sun swore she would never spend another night with the Moon, but soon she began to miss him, and the Moon missed her, too. They decided to get back together, and when they embraced, the Moon blocked out the Sun. But before long, they started to fight again, and the Sun and Moon went their separate ways, though they still come back occasionally.

The Pomo Tribe

The Pomo Tribe are a group of Native Americans from Northern California. According to tribal legend, there was a huge Bear who lived in the sky and walked along the Milky Way. One day as the Bear was walking in the sky, it bumped into the Sun, who was walking the

opposite way. The Sun told the Bear to move out of his way, but the Bear insisted the Sun was the one who should move. Because both were stubborn, they yelled at each other for a while, but neither one would move.

The Pomo Tribe

Eventually their tempers boiled over and they started to fight. The Bear tackled the Sun and bit him, blocking his rays to the Earth below. Eventually the Sun was able to wrestle free from the Bear, bringing light back to the Earth. After their fight, the Bear and the Sun resumed their walks. But every once in a while, the Bear and the Sun will bump into each other again and have another fight.

The Pomo name for a solar eclipse means “Sun got bit by a bear.”

Eclipse Mythology Sources

Littmann, M., & Espenak, F. (2024). Totality: The Great North American eclipse of 2024. Oxford University Press.

Berkowitz, B. (2017, August 16). The strangest, scariest eclipse myths throughout history. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/lifestyle/eclipse-myths/

Eclipse legends around the world | exploratorium. exploratorium. (2023).

https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/eclipse-stories-from-around-the-world

Poll

Which myth did you like the most?

• Ancient China

• Ancient Egypt

• Germania

• The Pomo Tribe

Multiple Choice

What was the theme of the Ancient Chinese myth?

• The sun is being eaten

• The sun and the moon are fighting

• The sun and the moon are in love

Multiple Choice

What was the theme of the Ancient Egyptian myth?

• The sun is being eaten

• The sun and the moon are fighting

• The sun and the moon are in love

Multiple Choice

What was the theme of the Germania myth?

• The sun is being eaten

• The sun and the moon are fighting

• The sun and the moon are in love

Multiple Choice

What was the theme of the Pomo Tribe myth?

• The sun is being eaten

• The sun and the moon are fighting

• The sun and the moon are in love