Solar Eclipses Were not Always Enjoyed

Ancient societies would act wild in order to free the Sun from the animal. Click on image for full size (143K JPG) Windows Original

Ancient people were convinced a solar eclipse was a sign of something horrible. Some civilizations believed that the Sun was being eaten by some sort of animal, such as a dragon or wolf. They felt the only way to free the Sun was to be chaotic. So, the people would make noises called hullabaloos while dancing around and acting crazy. They continued this until the Sun was "free" from the animal.

Others believed an eclipse was a sign of disease and death. In South America, they believed a hidden Sun was the source of smallpox and the Spanish influenza. They also believed it led to immoral acts such as incest. This lead to stories such as the Maorian myth about the Sun and Moon. The Moon god, Anningan, would chase his sister Malina, the Sun goddess, across the sky. She runs away from him because he tried to sleep with her. When he catches up with her, he rapes her before she gets away again.

Throughout history, people were terrified of what we now know as an amazing coincidence. Fortunately, society now knows the truth behind eclipses.

Ancient societies would act wild in order to free the Sun from the animal. Click on image for full size (143K JPG) Windows Original

Ancient people were convinced a solar eclipse was a sign of something horrible. Some civilizations believed that the Sun was being eaten by some sort of animal, such as a dragon or wolf. They felt the only way to free the Sun was to act wild. So, the people would make noises called hullabaloos while dancing around and acting crazy. They continued this until the Sun was "free" from the animal.

Others believed an eclipse was a sign of disease and death. In South America, they believed a hidden Sun was the source of smallpox and the Spanish influenza. Some thought the Moon was evil, and chased after the Sun. In some stories, the Sun goddess was being chased by her brother, the Moon god. When he caught up with her, he would do evil things. People thought this meant evil things would happen on Earth.

Ancient societies would act wild in order to free the Sun from the animal. Click on image for full size (143K JPG) Windows Original

Solar eclipses are really great to watch! But in the past, people were very scared of them. They didn't understand what was going on. Some people thought that a monster or animal was eating the Sun! They would dance around and yell to try and scare the animal away.

Others thought that an eclipse brought diseases. Many people died from the flu, which they blamed on the eclipse. Some also thought that the Moon was an evil brother, chasing his sister across the sky.