How ancient cultures explained eclipse

Posted 2021-05-01 时间的朋友时间的力量

eclipse 来自时间的朋友时间的力量 00:00 07:50

On August 21, a total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the United States.

eclipse美 [ɪ'klɪps] vt. 使黯然失色；形成蚀n. 日蚀，月蚀；黯然失色

As the Earth and moon sweep through space in their annual journey around the sun, the three bodies align in such a way that the Earth passes into the shadow of the moon. Observers then witness a sun that is gradually covered and uncovered by the moon’s disk – a spectacular celestial event.

spectacular美 [spɛk'tækjəlɚ] adj. 壮观的，惊人的

celestial美 [sə'lɛstʃəl] adj. 天上的，天空的

But until astronomers were able to explain this phenomenon, a solar eclipse could be a terrifying event. In many cultures throughout human history, the sun was seen as an entity of supreme importance, crucial to their very existence. It was regularly worshipped as a god – Amun-Ra to the Egyptians and Helios to the Greeks – or as a goddess, such as Amaterasu for the Japanese and Saule for many Baltic cultures.

astronomer美 [ə'strɑnəmɚ] n. 天文学家

Amun-Ra, ruler of the sun, is the greatest of the Egyptian gods. 

阿蒙-拉，太阳神，埃及神话最伟大的神。

Egyptian英 [ɪ'dʒɪpʃ(ə)n] adj. 埃及的；埃及人的n. 埃及人；古代埃及语

Helios英 ['hi:liɔs] n. 赫利俄斯（太阳神）

Baltic英 ['bɔ:ltik] adj. 波罗的海的 n. 波罗的海

One reason the sun served as a god or goddess in so many cultures was its awesome power: Looking directly at it would severely damages the eyes, a sign of the sun deity’s wrath.

deity美 ['deəti] n. 神；神性

wrath美 [ræθ] n. 愤怒；激怒

So the idea that the sun deity could be temporarily extinguished in a total eclipse inspired a number of imaginative explanations. Most involve some sort of evil entity trying to devour the sun. Such myths undoubtedly arose from the fact that during the early stages of a solar eclipse, the sun appears to have a bite taken out of it.

devour美 [dɪ'vaʊɚ] v. 吞食；毁灭

The various creatures include the Vikings’ sky wolves Skoll and Hati, a Chinese dragon, a Vietnamese frog and assorted Roman demons. In many cultures, it was believed that such creatures could be driven off by creating as much loud noise as possible: yelling, ringing bells, and banging pots and pans.

Vietnamese美 [ˈvjɛtnəmiːz] n. 越南人；越南语 adj. 越南的；越南人的

assort美 [ə'sɔrt] vi. 协调；交往 vt. 把…分级；把…归为一类

banging英 [bæŋɪŋ] n. 消音器内爆炸

pots and pans坛坛罐罐；炊事用具

Perhaps the most creative version of this strand of mythologies comes from certain branches of Hindu culture. In that version, the mortal Rahu is said to have attempted to attain immortality. The sun and moon told the god Visnu of Rahu’s transgression. As punishment, Visnu decapitated Rahu.

strand美 [strænd] n. 线；串；海滨 vt. 使搁浅；使陷于困境；弄断；使落后vi. 搁浅

mortal美 ['mɔrtl] adj. 凡人的；致死的；终有一死的；不共戴天的n. 人类，凡人

immortality美 [,ɪmɔr'tæləti] n. 不朽；不朽的声名；不灭

decapitate美 [dɪ'kæpɪtet] vt. 斩首

Ever since, Rahu has sought to exact vengeance on the sun and the moon by pursuing them across the sky to eat them. Once in a while – at the time of an eclipse – Rahu actually catches the sun or the moon. In the case of a solar eclipse, Rahu slowly devours the sun, and it gradually disappears into Rahu’s throat – only to reappear from his severed neck.

vengeance美 ['vɛndʒəns] n. 复仇；报复；报仇

sever美 ['sɛvɚ] vt. 割断，断绝；分开；使分离vi. 断；裂开；分离

In other branches of Hindu culture, the “sun eater” took the more traditional form of a dragon. To fight this beast, certain Hindu sects in India immersed themselves up to the neck in water in an act of worship, believing that the adulation would aid the sun in fighting off the dragon.

adulation美 [,ædʒə'leʃən] n. 奉承；谄媚

Other cultures had equally ingenious explanations for – and defenses against – a total solar eclipse. Eskimos thought an eclipse meant that the sun and moon had become temporarily diseased. In response, they’d cover up everything of importance – themselves included – lest they be infected by the “diseased” rays of the eclipsed sun.

ingenious美 [ɪn'dʒinɪəs] adj. 有独创性的；机灵的，精制的；心灵手巧的

Eskimo 英 ['eskiməu] n. 爱斯基摩人；爱斯基摩语adj. 爱斯基摩人的

lest美 [lɛst] conj. 唯恐，以免；担心

rays美 [rez] n. 射线；光线（ray的复数）；日光浴v. 辐射（ray的三单形式）；照射

For the Ojibwe tribe of the Great Lakes, the onset of total eclipse represented an extinguished sun. To prevent permanent darkness, they proceeded to fire flaming arrows at the darkened sun in an attempt to rekindkle it.

rekindle美 [,ri'kɪndl] vi. 重新点燃 vt. 重新点燃；再点火

Amidst the plethora of the myths and legends and interpretations of this strange event, there are seeds of understanding about their true nature.

plethora美 ['plɛθərə] n. 过多；过剩

For example, the famed total solar eclipse of May 28, 585 B.C., occurred in the middle of a battle between the Medes and the Lydians in what is now the northeast region of modern-day Turkey. The eclipse actually ended the conflict on the spot, with both sides interpreting the event as a sign of the displeasure from the gods. But based on the writings of the ancient Greek historian Heroditus, it’s thought that the great Greek philosopher-mathematician Thales of Miletus had, coincidentally, predicted its occurrence.

the medes【网络】米底王国

·         Lydian ['lidiən] adj. 吕底亚的；吕底亚人的；吕底亚语的 n. 吕底亚语；吕底亚人

Chinese, Alexandrian and Babylonian astronomers were also said to be sophisticated enough to not only understand the true nature of solar eclipses, but also to roughly predict when the “dragon” would come to devour the sun. (As with much knowledge back then, however, astronomical and astrological findings were relayed only to the ruling elites, while myths and legends continued to percolate among the general population.)

astronomical美 [,æstrə'nɑmɪkl] adj. 天文的，天文学的；

astrological英 [,æstrə'lɔdʒik,-kəl] adj. 占星的；占星学的，占星术的

percolate美 ['pɝkəlet] vi. 过滤；渗出；浸透vt. 使渗出；使过滤n. 滤过液；渗出液

Advances in modern astronomy have given us detailed explanations for solar eclipses, to the extent that their time and location can be predicted centuries into the future and reconstructed from centuries ago.

Of course, mythologies surrounding total solar eclipses still exist today. Some conspiracy theorists say this year’s eclipse will cause the end of the world – perhaps a testament to the endurance of the superstitious side of the human psyche.

conspiracy美 [kən'spɪrəsi] n. 阴谋；共谋；

testament美 ['tɛstəmənt] n. [法] 遗嘱；圣约；确实的证明

superstitious美 ['sʊpɚ'stɪʃəs] adj. 迷信的；由迷信引起的

psyche美 ['saɪki] n. 灵魂；心智