Summer Cool July: Fables of summer
Share
🌞 Ever wondered how people in the past dealt with a heatwave?
Across cultures, the sun has long been an important part of fables and mythology. Whether referring to it as a source of life, an all-seeing God, or a ruler of light, the stories reflect the importance of the sun in everyday life.
💎 In Tagalog myths, the sun and the moon, a kind and sweet Araw and a cruel and mean Buwan, were two sisters belonging to a fairy. One night, the fairy came home and saw Buwan mistreating Araw. The fairy prayed to God for help in disciplining her unruly daughter. God had long before prepared bright diamonds that could light up the universe for the sisters. He descended on earth disguised as a beggar, only to find Buwan mistreating their sister and decided to give the larger diamond to Araw. This infuriated Buwan, so she went to heaven to steal one of God’s diamonds, only to find that it was less bright than her sister’s.
God learned of Buwan’s misdeeds and commissioned two angels to punish Buwan. These angels didn’t do their job right. Instead, they dropped both sisters into the sea and threw both diamonds into the sky. Araw’s diamond, being the brighter one, became day, while Buwan’s smaller one became night.
🏹 Moving on to a famous Chinese myth, the sky was once filled with ten suns who, in some myths, are the sons/grandsons of the universe's God, the Jade Emperor. The suns are supposed to cross the sky one by one, but one day, they decided to come out together for a play date. This made the land fatally hot. Hou Yi, also known as Lord Archer, was called to shoot them down. Each day, a sun was shot down until only one was left. King Yao and the sun's mother, Xihe, asked Hou Yi to spare one sun for human prosperity. This sun became the one that shone on the land and provided for humankind.
🏛️ Finally, we come to Greek and Helios’ blazing, fire-breathing chariot. The myth goes that Helios’ sister, Eos, would open the gates and allow Helios to drive his chariot pulled by four winged horses: Aethon, Aeos, Pyrois, and Phlegon through the sky, reaching his peak at midday and descending into the western ocean, where he sailed back to the east at night. As the God who is present during the day, he sees into every happening, making him an all-knowing spy. He has seen it when Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and when the love affair between Aphrodite and Ares.
Heatwave might not be a thing, but the respect (or fear) that ancient people had for the sun sure shone through in these myths. Which one is your favourite?