Most people would consider a solar eclipse a very exciting event. Recently, we had the chance to see one for ourselves. Most people were quite excited to see it, and some even traveled to get a better view of it. The reason people are so excited about eclipses now is because we know how they work: the moon passes in front of the sun for a few minutes, creating what looks like a giant hole in the sun. There is nothing supernatural about this, it is simply a natural phenomenon. But we didn’t always have this information to explain it, so what did people think about eclipses before we did?
Most ancient civilizations came up with their own mythology to try to understand or explain what was happening. In many cultures, an eclipse was seen as a bad omen, whether it was meant to predict a terrible event, such as the death of a king, or as a “punishment” for humans doing something wrong. Some believed that an eclipse meant that the sun was fighting the moon. Another common belief was that an animal was consuming the sun. Many cultures even went so far as to perform rituals to “save the sun”.
Some beliefs about eclipses were influenced by real-life events. There have been several occasions in which an important figure, such as a king, has died near an eclipse. For example, King Charles I’s son died near an eclipse, and King Henry I did as well. Events like these only add to the superstitions built around a solar eclipse.
People held very strange beliefs about eclipses, and these superstitions still exist today, although much less prominent. Today, most people are very excited to see an eclipse. But hundreds of years ago, they were considered a terrifying experience.