Something about the Sun

There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.”

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Throughout history, the sun is the symbol of power. Because the sun gives out light and energy, bring us the day, so the ancient people perceived the sun as the god who has eternal power. The sun appears in the history of many countries.
In Vietnam, the sun is transformed into “banh day” which is made from rice (rice cake). Banh day cake usually appeared in Tet holidays. Banh day is the symbol of the sky and the sun. Banh day has a round shape and its color is white. The sun is very important. It plays an important role in VietNam . It is quite simple and familiar.

Banh Day

http://www.nguoivienxu.vietnamnet.vn/dataimages/original/images765874_Banh-day.jpg

The Greece perceived the sun as the God whose name Helios. He was the brother of Eos (the dawn goddess) and Selena (the moon goddess). Helios causes the sun to rise by riding his golden, 4 horses chariot. The chariot has a fire tail which is the fire of the sun. In the illustration of the ancient Greeks, the sun god has a shining light around his head just like any other god. This time, the sun is like a fire.

Helios

http://www.theoi.com/image/img_helios.jpg

The sun in the illustration of the ancient Egyptian is very simply. It is a circle with many hands around. I think that the ancient Egyptian perceived the sun as strength and power, the Giver of life and goodness. The hands are the light of the sun. The sun light is turned into many hands. This gives the sun a different meaning.

http://www.bluedolphinpublishing.com/Egyptian/Aten.jpg

I found out that the most interesting images of the sun are from the Aztec and Celtic. The sun in these 2 countries has many details. People draw the sun in many different ways according to their imagination. The sun can be an eye that can see anything on Earth. The sun can also be a head of a man or a head of a lion. Especially, the Japanese’s sun god is female. . Amateras-Ohmikanmi is the female representation of the sun.

Celtic sun

http://www.nonduality.com/12742.jpg

Aztec sun

http://www.lythastudios.com/misc/jd/pics/jd42.jpg