The beginnings
Civilization as we know it today has been around for centuries. Therefore, the original myths and legends have been modified and adapted to evolve with the continuous flow of certain societies. The legend of the sun and the moon is perhaps one of the oldest legends that exist that speak of forbidden love.
Upon hearing this song, we immediately think of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. However, the legend of these stars tells an even more tragic story than the end of that love, as they could find no salvation in any poison.
Versions of the same story
As has been said before, there are many different versions of this myth, the most important and recognized in fact, are only three: The Christian version, which talks about how God decided to create two heavenly bodies to illuminate the earth, both beautiful in their own virtue. God wanted these two stars to never coincide, causing one to illuminate the day and the other the night.
On the other hand, the second most well-known version is the Mexican version, where the culture adapted this story during the Empire of the Sun, modifying it enough to make it more humane. The legend explains how these stars came down from the sky, transformed into a man and a woman, who fell in love during the celebration of a popular dance in Mexico. This same version also has other different ones and in fact you will discover them later.
Despite these stories, the last known version is, in fact, the Greek version, or according to several experts, the original version. Today we'll share two versions of this wonderful myth. If you're interested in reading more content like this, we invite you to read Myths and Legends of the World in the Myths and Legends category.
The legend of the sun and the moon
For many, talking about these two stars simply represents an affirmation of their existence. In reality, few people research them, not only from a scientific perspective, but also from a historical perspective. Myths and legends, although today known as fanciful stories, were once created to explain certain natural events.
Additionally, it sought to create a connection between the people who lived at that time and the events that occurred. It is then that the stories evolve to explain and teach several generations a specific topic.
The original legend of the sun and the moon revolves around a Greek myth, this is the first reference in history about this. Explain the legend, that in ancient times there were two young people whose love was worthy of being a legend.
The sun and the moon in Greek mythology
Aphrodite, who was the goddess of beauty and love, felt jealous to see how this couple of mortals, without any special attribute, felt love as intensely as they did. Envious of the couple, Aphrodite comes down from Olympus to face this couple and let them see how her love was not sincere.
Trained in the art of conquest and seduction, she tried to conquer the young sun, the man of the relationship, however, he rejected her, since in his heart there was only room for his young lover and her attempts would not make him seek love in the arms of another. This sign of contempt was the last straw for Aphrodite, who, angry and vindictive, condemned the two mortals to suffer a rather cruel fate.
Turning the young into stars, he sent the young sun to the sky, so that it would illuminate the day while the young moon would only dedicate itself to illuminating the night, without being able to see each other or have any contact. Aphrodite believed that this would be the end, the young lovers could not keep their love at such a distance.
Zeus, embarrassed by Aphrodite's actions, decided to intervene by letting the Sun caress the Moon's face, seeing her like this from time to time. During the eclipses, these two loves manage to spend time together, becoming one body and maintaining their love eternally.
If you'd like to read more stories like this, we recommend reading Argentine legends in our myths and legends category.
Mexican version
One of the best known versions of the legend of the sun and the moon is its Mexican version. Next, we will explain how the legend of the sun and the moon explains their origin, from Mexico it is said that there was a time, after the creation of the earth, that it was submerged in a terrible darkness.
The most powerful beings, entities with incredible abilities, decided to meet in Teotihuacan and create the sun, a celestial body of great power that would illuminate the Earth. This meeting place was, in reality, a city in the sky, whose reflection fell upon the earth, creating a city of the same name.
In the middle of the ceremony, they lit a bonfire and explained that any powerful person could become the Sun, they just had to have faith and throw themselves into the bonfire. Only two candidates presented themselves to fulfill such a mission, the first of them was a beautiful, strong and rich being, his clothing showed how he was full of luxuries, within his offerings, he offered gold and jewels to his companions.
On the other hand, the second participant was quite different, short, ugly and dirty. His poverty was evident, however, he offered his companions a gift that many appreciated, above the jewels, his good and humble feelings and the blood of his pure heart.
More of the Mexican version of the sun and the moon
Both opponents were very anxious when it came time to jump into the bonfire, the first, despite being rich and big, chickened out at the last second and ran away, instantly regretting it. The second participant, decided and with his heart in his hand, took a leap of faith and very bravely threw himself into the bonfire, there he became the sun.
When the first participant saw what the second had done, he felt very embarrassed and decided to jump as well, thus becoming another sun. The powerful found this situation very difficult, since there should not be two suns in the sky.
They agreed that the first sun was the true sun, so they decided they had to extinguish the second. To do this, they used a rabbit and threw it strongly at the second sun. Its brightness diminished upon contact, and little by little, it became a dimmer star, so the powerful decided to leave it alone, and it became the moon.
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