Gallery: Sun Gods and Goddesses

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Ra the Sun God

The Egyptian sun god Ra

(Image credit: public domain)

Freyr

The Norse fertility and sun god Freyr.

(Image credit: Johannes Gehrts, 1901)

Freyr, the Norse god associated with sunlight, fertility and prosperity.

Aztec Sun God

The Aztec sun God Tonatiuh.

(Image credit: public domain)

The Aztec sun god Tonatiuh depicted in the 16th century Codex Telleriano-Remensis. The Aztec believed that human sacrifice was necessary to keep the sun moving through the sky.

Amaterasu in Her Cave

Amaterasu emerges from her cave.

(Image credit: Utagawa Toyokuni III, Kunisada, 1857)

In Japanese myth, the sun goddess Amaterasu hid in a cave after becoming angry with her brother. With Amaterasu hidden, the world plunged into darkness. The other gods hung a mirror outside her cave to lure her out, bringing light back again.

Surya

The Hindu solar deity Surya.

(Image credit: Tanjore School, 19th Century)

The Hindu solar deity Surya. Yoga devotees will recognize Surya's name from "Surya namaskara," the "sun salutations" practiced as a way to worship the sun.

Apollo

The Greek God Apollo with a lyre.

(Image credit: Photo by Ricardo André Frantz, distributed under a Creative Commons License)

In Greek mythology, the lyre-playing God Apollo became associated with the sun. This statue of Apollo is at the Musei Capitolini in Rome.

Shamash the Sun God

Shamash the Babylonian sun god

(Image credit: public domain)

Shamash was the god of the sun in the Babylonian tradition of ancient Mesopotamia. Shamash was also associated with justice and was said to be the inspiration for the Babylonian king Hammurabi to codify laws into Hammurabi's Code, one of the first written legal documents in history.

Head of Helios

Helios the Greek Titan sun god.

(Image credit: public domain; Middle Hellenistic period)

Helios, sometimes associated with Apollo in Greek myth, was the personification of the sun. This statue includes holes which would have once held a metal crown symbolizing the sun's rays.

Live Science Staff
Live Science Staff
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