The Myth of the Sun
Maui was a boy on Hawaii who, while flying his kite, noticed the sun set too quickly for him to enjoy his day. He made a rope, tied it into a lasso, walked up a volcano at night, and lassoed the sun as it rose one morning. He then proceeded to use his war club to break all of the sun’s legs in requesting for it to slow down and make the days longer. Once he broke every leg, the sun had no choice but to slow down. This allowed for more time to for children to play, fisherman to fish, and crops to grow.
The Greeks believe that the sun god, Helios, would ride his golden chariot across the sky to give light to the mortals on earth and the gods on Olympus. The horses that were used on Helios’ golden chariots were fire horses that could only be wielded by Helios. When his son Phaëthon drove the chariot, he lost control and died. Helios is also assimilated with Apollo. Including being the god of light, Apollo is well known as the god of medicine and prophecy. The Greek hold festivals in his honor and often prayed to Apollo.
These two very different avenues of explaining the sun have quite a bit in common. They both have someone in control of the sun. They both have violence, although one more mild than the other. They both have undertones of strength. Maui is strong enough to tame the sun and Helios is the only one that can drive the chariot that controls the sun.
Clearly they’re also very different. You have a god that’s in control of the sun going up and down through driving a chariot. The other has a one-time encounter of a violent act to permanently slow the sun. Maui, although strong and magical, was never a god. He was a boy. Helios and Apollo are immortals who live up on Olympus watching or controlling the mortals. Maui is a story of one man with one completed task whereas Apollo is known for many things beside the sun/light.
Apollo. (2013). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. EBSCOhost.
Tune, S. C. (1988). How maui slowed the sun. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.
Helios. (n.d.). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. EBSCOhost.
