Sun Gods and their worshipers
In Sophocles Oedipus the king, The Sun God Apollo has a significant influence on his worshipers during the plague. Despite the city of Thebes being punished by their beloved Sun God, people looked their sun god for Mercy and seek any appeasement to their cherished God. From a historical point of view sun worship has been the ultimate form of worship in early societies. With the influence of sun god worship, the daily lives of man have altered.
Sun worship was a primarily performed in Agrarian societies. “The sun was recognized as a life-giving force for the Iroquois and Plains peoples. They would perform the ritual known as the Sun dance in order to keep the warmth and light of the sun strong” (About.com Religion
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& Spirituality). “Most worshipers were cultivators who heavily depended upon the sun for the crops. The suns repeated birth, life and death demonstrate its greater power of immortality or God like abilities” (sun worship: Columbia). Most Sun gods are the gods of creation like Ra in ancient Egypt. “Ra was the first Egyptian king who fathered the Pharaoh the representative of the earth. Later in the era, Ikhnaton, the sun god Aton gained complete supremacy in what was Egypt's only monotheistic period. As the years lingered on more sun gods and Goddesses where worshiped” (sun worship: Columbia). Corresponding to Ra, “Kinich Ahau was the Mayan sun god who would descend down to earth to consume the offerings. Many of the cultivators from different cities would Travel to his temple to receive information on the calendar” ("Mayan Gods." - Religion of the Mayans). The act was one of the most important aspects of life as a farmer. “The priest would instruct the citizens on what days to cultivate and plant. As a form of dedication the worshipers created a gargantuan pyramid of the Sun in honor of Kinich Ahau (Mayan Gods." - Religion of the Mayans). In the Case of Sophocles Oedipus the, Apollo contained the power of plague to go with his light.
Apollo used the devastating force to influence his worshipers to seek out the great wrong that stirred his anger. Inducing a great tragedy or outstanding miracles were the common way that Sun Gods get recognition. Worshipers will present gratitude towards acts performed by the sun god; sacrifice and construction of monuments were believed to pay homage to the Gods. Helios was the sun god of Greek mythology. Like Ra Helios gave light and life to those on Earth and in the heavens. His power was greatly honored by man that a Cult of Helios was formed (Cult of Helios). The Members of the cult went to the far extremes to appease Helios. Each year a giant horse drawn chariot was driven off a cliff into the vast ocean along with an enormous bronze statue of Helios holding the sun, which over looked the island of Rhodes. It was renounced as one of the Seven Wonders of the World even after its destruction.
The cult believed that Helios overlooking the island was a physical embodiment of his influential power. The worshipers raved from the outstanding representation of their Sun God, They assumed that they ritual and statue amused Helios since the crops and life flourished, although the island was invaded twice, and the statue received irreversible damage. With damage to the island and depleting population the island could not afford to rebuild it a third
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time. With substantial power Sun gods possess other attributes which directly draws their followers to them. In the Case of the Pagan Sun God Mirtha is considered the kindhearted sun god, his obvious deeds are providing light and warmth, but he is also I charge of giving man Fire like Prometheus(Mirtha they Pagan Christ). His worship purified and freed the devotee from sin and disease. Mirtha later was associated as a Warrior than a provider of life and freer of sin. The change came from the worshipers themselves, they wanted to make Mirtha to represent great strength compared to a gentle deity. The Worshipers inserted the warrior tittle in order to have respect sustained in the belief of Mirtha. Gods being warmhearted back then were usually interpreted as weak and easily manipulated. To sustain his title as a powerful god the worshipers gave him the attribute of a top notch warrior. In Sophocles Oedipus, Apollo was given other attributes such as art, plague, prophesy, and healing, in order to maintain a proper balance of his power and mercy. In Sophocles Oedipus, Apollos curse was set in to punish Oedipus for his crimes, which intensified when Oedipus fell into an argument with the Oracle of Delphi. Since the Oracle was a direct voice of Apollo, Apollo’s raft intensified, something more than just the plague taking over the city of Thebes. Apollos display of power is far superior when compared with the power of Mirtha. Although Apollo’s power is great, it is nothing compared to the Japanese Goddess of the sun. “Amaterasu was the Japanese sun goddess who ruled the sun and the rice fields of the japan. She was classified as one of the supreme siblings of 8 million Gods and Goddesses” (Amaterasu (japan).”About.com). Amaterasu was the goddess of rice because it was a staple food on a global scale, in addition to her power of the sun and rice “She and her two Brothers were also in charge of the universe where they would keep peace in both dimensions (Amaterasu (japan).”About.com).” In today’s society Amaterasu is immortalized on the Japanese flag. Amaterasu’s worshipers still exist today, but not as grand as the worshipers of Apollo. Her beauty and role as a god is what kept the balance of harmony. In another region of Asia lived the sun gods of China. “Chinese believed ten suns existed in the sky during the Chinese ten-day week. They believed that each God would visit their mother goddess Xi He, who dwelled in the valley of light in the east. There Xi He would was her suns one at a time each day” (Windows to the Universe). The pattern was simple one sun per day every single day. Although the pattern became troublesome to the suns. “One day the suns grew tired of the routine and decided to come all at once, which made the heat unbearable. emperor Yao asked Di Jun, the father of the ten suns to convince his sun’s to only come one at a time and not all at once.”(Windows to the Universe). His actions only made the situation worse, when an archer was instructed to only scare his suns with magical arrows, ended up killing 9 of his suns leaving just the one. The sun that the worshipers of china saw the survival of one sun was a symbol of gratitude. The one sun was spared in order to keep life on earth in balance. Across the border there were another sibling pair of sun gods who mimicked that of Apollo and Artemis “Sol or soul was depicted as the sun god while his sister Mani was the moon goddess.
They were created with the universe but did not know what their purpose was. “("Sol and Mani - Norse Mythology for Smart People). They lived their life in constant fear due to wolves chasing their chariots, compared to Apollo who just raised the sun and tended to human affairs. “When the earth was created they were the Gods of day and night” ("Sol and Mani - Norse Mythology for Smart People). Unfortunately they were still chased by the wolves Mockery and Hate, eventually the wolves corrupted the pair. After an extensive attempt to save them, Mani and sol were purified bringing back balance to earth and the Heavens. Norse worshipers appreciated the action of sacrifice Sol and Mani commit every day and night. “So while we don’t know much about Sol and Mani, we can be sure that the basic conception they indicate is not only authentic, but was a part of pre-Christian Germanic religion from the earliest times
(Norse-Mythology).” Apollo was the influential force of Sophocles Oedipus the king. From a historical point of view, sun worship has been the iconic form of worship in all early societies.
Greeks are known for many things. We know them for their poetry, for their philosophy, their politics--and also we have come to know them for their childish, petty, lustful, little gods. These gods, vengeful in the extreme, have been a source of much literature. However, not all the gods have the same publicity agent, and have suffered in obscurity for much too long. One of these gods, one of the Twelve Olympians, has been obscure in the least. He is different in most ways from the other gods, and I am here to illuminate him further to you. His name? Hephaistos.
My research paper will investigate the Greek God Apollo. The reason I chose Apollo was I have never had a chance to look into other Gods or Goddess’ other than Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. The next seven paragraphs are paraphrased depictions, stories and relational information directly related to the god Apollo The information was compiled by author: Atsma, Aaron J., on the website: Theoi.com. Theoi Project Copyright © 2000 – 2011. 12 May 2014. Each paragraph is a separate encyclopedia reference and is noted in the following footnotes reference.
In ancient times, the Greeks had absolute and undeniable respect for their gods. They demonstrated their admiration by putting in place many rituals and celebrations to reverence the gods that they loved and feared in order to ensure harmony with them. In particular, the focus will be on the religious beliefs of the Greeks, including prayer and sacrifice, as well as on festivals and the arts, such as the ancient Olympic games and theatre. These aspects of their culture made a significant contribution to their quality of life. Moreover, these topics will be examined in relation to the twelve Olympian gods and their associates.
The myths which prove the contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.
Responsibility was a big deal in the story Oedipus Rex. Even though the gods knew what he was going to do, he still had the free will to do so. This is quite similar to the beliefs of the Christian religion. Christians are accustomed to the idea that God is all knowing, yet we as humans have the gift of free will and that makes us responsible for our own actions. It seems to be similar in the tale of Oedipus Rex and in Greek mythology as a whole.
One example was the sun god who was recognized the most in the Egyptian religion. At dawn he could be a Khepri, a god that was in a form of a beetle that rolled the sun disk toward the eastern horizon (Hart 24).
In Ancient Greece the existence of gods and fate prevailed. In the Greek tragedy King Oedipus by the playwright Sophocles these topics are heavily involved. We receive a clear insight into their roles in the play such as they both control man's actions and that challenging their authority leads to a fall.
In the tragic play, Oedipus Rex, the Gods and religion greatly influence the social structure which in turn has a profound effect upon how the events unfold. Oedipus is the head of the state. There is a direct parallel in the demise of his household and city state which eventually comes to a full circle to destroy him. Even though Oedipus is praised by his people for being a responsible and honest king, he possesses a major character flaw in his attitude towards the gods which causes the tragic torture he faces in the end. Over the duration of the play, there is a strong sense of contamination towards the state, because it is facing a time of plague, and towards the leader Oedipus, because he is unknowingly in a relationship with his own mother. The cleansing of the state can only occur if the ruler, Oedipus, and his ignorant ways are put to rest. The state and the household are directly linked to Oedipus. His incestuous ways are the outcome of anger from the gods for being intelligent and because the leader of the state is plagued with such a flaw the state must suffer for the wronging of the leader. This sense of contamination ultimately leads the gods to cleanse the state, household, and Oedipus by revealing the flaw to everyone and Oedipus at the same time.
Throughout Oedipus the King, Sophocles employs one continuous metaphor: light vs. darkness, and sight vs. blindness. A reference to this metaphor occurs early in the play, when Oedipus falsely accuses Tiresias and Creon of conspiracy: Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me... so hungry to overthrow me he sets this wizard on me, this scheming quack, this fortune-teller peddling lies, eyes peeled for his own profit—seer blind in his craft!
Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his escape, he marries the widowed queen of Thebes, his mother Jocasta. Many events in the story should lead to suspicion of their marriage, but out of pride and ignorance Oedipus stubbornly refuses to accept his fate. Together, these sins represent the highest taboos of Greek society, revealed by Socphocles’s depiction of the already pervasive story. Before the Thebian plays, the myth centered more around Oedipus’s journey of self-awareness; meanwhile, Sophocles shows Oedipus’s struggles with his inevitable desire toward his mother throughout these stages of psychological development.
Solar and Sirius, two great gods of our solar system. Goddess of the moon, Hydra, and god of the stars, Sirius. An ancient greek couple who would create the goddess of the sun, Solstice. She would grow up to live in the sky and bring everlasting light to all and not only the gods. Our sun would be placed in the sky and earn its spot for centuries to come.
Here is a story where Oedipus the King, who has accomplished great things in his life, discovers that the gods were only playing with him. He has everything a man of that time could want; he is king of Thebes, he has a wonderful wife and children, and great fame through out the lands. He has lived a good life, but in the end everything is taken from him.
“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of Thebes with a dreadful plague. Fundamentally, by utilizing fate, prophecies, the oracle of Apollo, and the plague, the gods played a significant role in the destruction of Oedipus and his family.