The journey of the sun across the sky

The journey of the sun across the sky was an important element in The Bronze Age religion. We find the motif on bronze objects such as razors and on rock carvings in large parts of Scandinavia, but the finest example of them all is The Sun Chariot. The pictures can be interpreted as a narrative about the sun’s journey across the vault of the heavens by day and through the darkness of the underworld by night. The framework of existence was the eternal cycle with its constant alternation of light and darkness. This was illustrated by The Sun Chariot, where a divine horse pulls the sun. The horse was not the sun’s only helper. The imagery of the period is full of ships. On its journey the sun was also transported by the Sun Ship. Other mythological helpers of the sun were fish, snakes and swimming birds.