Sensationalizing the Sun

The relationship between the Earth and the sun is important. It’s the light and heat the Earth receives from the sun that’s responsible for the changing seasons and growth of various life forms, including plants and humans. The sun has been worshiped by many cultures throughout the centuries, some of which remain to this day. This relationship has spread into other genres as knowledge about it has become more widespread, featuring in movies, books, and games.

Worshiping the Sun

Although the sun is worshiped by many cultures, only a few actually developed solar religions. These were Egyptian, Indo-European, and Mesoamerican. Their imagery of the sun was as a ruler of the upper and lower worlds that the sun visited in its travels around the world.  

Generally speaking, the sun was seen as the provider of light and life, that would mete out justice and through its illumination was considered the source of wisdom. The ancient Egyptians saw Re, the sun god, as the dominant figure amongst the other high gods. In Indian mythology, sun heroes and kings had a central position. 

In Hinduism, Surya is both the sun and the sun god, being able to observe the good and evil actions of everyone. The sun is also said to destroy death and disease in one of the Mantras of Atharvaveda, with many Indo-Europeans believing it to be a divine power. 

The Sun Shining Everywhere

The sun has been featured in many works of fiction, like Rescue Party by Arthur C. Clarke. In this story, a spaceship crew realizes Earth is in imminent danger as they see its sun start exploding. There’s also David Brin’s Sundiver whereby Expedition Sundiver makes the most dangerous voyage of its career by diving into the intense inferno that is the sun.

The sun also takes center stage in the film Sunshine. It’s dying out, which means the end of humanity. In a desperate attempt to save it, a crew sets out with a device they hope will rejuvenate it. However, there’s an accident along the way which could spell disaster for the crew and humankind.

There are also games that feature the sun, such as Apollo the God of the Sun, which has an intense wild sun symbol that can be single, double, or triple stacked on the ten reels included in the game. There’s also the Sun of Fortune which has a vibrant sun as the star of the game. Players can land on mini, minor, and major jackpot symbols of it to win prizes of varying amounts. These slots are available on gaming sites where there are other games, such as poker, bingo online, and roulette for people to choose to play as well.