On Sunday, a solar eclipse will blot out the sun for viewers
across much of Asia, the Pacific and western North America.
These days, eclipses aren't a big mystery — they occur when the
moon passes between Earth and the sun. But throughout history,
the sun's significance, along with its mysteriousness, have
yielded an array of solar myths. From the fearsome figures that
try to devour the sun to nine lost suns of the Chinese sky, here
are the stories that have sought to explain our nearest star.
How Hou Yi shot the sun In ancient Chinese mythology, the sky
had not one, but 10 suns. Every day, the solar goddess Shiho
would pick up one of these suns (also her sons) and wheel him
across the sky in her chariot. In the meantime, the other nine
would play among the leaves of the mythical Fusang tree,
believed to be more than 10,000 feet tall. [ Gallery of Sun Gods
and Goddesses ] This system worked well until the day that the
suns grew bored of their responsibility. They decided to run
across the sky all at once, pla