User:John0552/Eclipse

Eclipses in Mythology & Religion
Before eclipses were understood as well as they are today, there was a much more fearful connotation surrounding the seemingly inexplicable events. There was very considerable confusion regarding eclipses before the 17th century because eclipses were not very accurately or scientifically described until Johannes Kepler provided a scientific explanation for eclipses in the early seventeenth century. Typically in mythology, eclipses were understood to be one variation or another of a spiritual battle between the sun and evil forces or spirits of darkness. The phenomenon of the sun seeming to disappear was a very fearful sight to all who did not understand the science of eclipses as well as those who supported and believed in the idea of mythological gods. The sun was highly regarded as divine by many old religions, and some even viewed eclipses as the sun god being overwhelmed by evil spirits. More specifically, in Norse mythology, it is believed that there is a wolf by the name of Fenrir that is in constant pursuit of the sun, and eclipses are thought to occur when the wolf successfully devours the divine sun. Other Norse tribes believe that there are two wolves by the names of Sköll and Hati that are in pursuit of the sun and the moon, known by the names of Sol and Mani, and these tribes believe that an eclipse occurs when one of the wolves successfully eats either the sun or the moon. Once again, this mythical explanation was a very common source of fear for the majority of people at the time who believed the sun to be a sort of divine power or god because the known explanations of eclipses were quite frequently viewed as the downfall of their highly regarded god. Similarly, other mythological explanations of eclipses describe the phenomenon of darkness covering the sky during the day as a war between the gods of the sun and the moon.

In most types of mythologies and certain religions, eclipses were seen as a sign that the gods were angry and that danger was soon to come, so people often altered their actions in an effort to dissuade the gods from unleashing their wrath. In the Hindu religion, for example, people often sing religious hymns for protection from the evil spirits of the eclipse, and many people of the Hindu religion refuse to eat during an eclipse to avoid the effects of the evil spirits. All food that had been stored before the eclipse is to be thrown out to avoid contamination by spirits, and Hindu people living in India will also wash off in the Ganges River, which is believed to be spiritually cleansing, directly following an eclipse to clean themselves of the evil spirits. In early Judaism and Christianity, eclipses were viewed as signs from God, and some eclipses were seen as a display of God's greatness or even signs of cycles of life and death. However, more ominous eclipses such as a blood moon were believed to be a divine sign that God would soon destroy their enemies.