Heliomachy
The Heliomachy is the mythic battle between planetary deities and the sun. Ancient sources that discuss the Heliomachy generally refer back to an epic poem by the same name, but the poems themselves have been lost. Only fragments of them exist, found indirectly though quotations and references in other stories.
The Heliomachy is a battle for dominion over the Sol System, which was ultimately won by the planets. As a divine succession myth, it is often interpreted as a symbolic story about the triumph of the romanic faith over earlier forms of sun worship. Most scholars today believe that the Heliomachy is a retelling of Sol Invictus, a prehistoric extreme solar event that happened over two hundred thousand years ago.
The Heliomachy is a battle for dominion over the Sol System, which was ultimately won by the planets. As a divine succession myth, it is often interpreted as a symbolic story about the triumph of the romanic faith over earlier forms of sun worship. Most scholars today believe that the Heliomachy is a retelling of Sol Invictus, a prehistoric extreme solar event that happened over two hundred thousand years ago.
There are many different versions of the Heliomachy. While the ancient world seemed to agree on the epic poem as the dominant version, other stories were also recorded. The lost epic was likely written thousands of years ago, and the other versions seem to be recorded later. However, scholars agree that all of these versions reflect a much older oral tradition.
The differences can be quite significant. In some versions, the moons rise up in battle alongside the sun. In other variants they are steadfast planetary allies. These changes likely reflect different cultural attitudes about the moons,
The Bacchian tradition famously has a more esoteric and erotic interpretation of the Heliomachy. According to them, Heliomachy is understood as a godly bacchanalia, where the Sun seeded the planets with divine essence. The product of this is unclear though, with some Bacchians interpreting it as the origin of the keystones, while others believe it is the origin of modern people.
The differences can be quite significant. In some versions, the moons rise up in battle alongside the sun. In other variants they are steadfast planetary allies. These changes likely reflect different cultural attitudes about the moons,
The Bacchian tradition famously has a more esoteric and erotic interpretation of the Heliomachy. According to them, Heliomachy is understood as a godly bacchanalia, where the Sun seeded the planets with divine essence. The product of this is unclear though, with some Bacchians interpreting it as the origin of the keystones, while others believe it is the origin of modern people.
The Heliomachy is a popular motif in romanic art, either depicting the gods in battle, or the sun subdued by the gods.
The imagery of Mars, god of war, impaled upon spears, is common. Mars Impaled is often interpreted as a etiological myth explaining the origin of the tunnels in the planet of Mars.
It is not clear if Mars Impaled depicts a scene from the poems, or if it's a later addition or conflation of the two myths. The scene is not described in any known fragments of the lost epic, but nothing contradicts it either. Mercurian songs that are also associated with Sol Invictus describe the Sun biting Mars, or, in other words, impaling Mars upon its teeth.
The imagery of Mars, god of war, impaled upon spears, is common. Mars Impaled is often interpreted as a etiological myth explaining the origin of the tunnels in the planet of Mars.
It is not clear if Mars Impaled depicts a scene from the poems, or if it's a later addition or conflation of the two myths. The scene is not described in any known fragments of the lost epic, but nothing contradicts it either. Mercurian songs that are also associated with Sol Invictus describe the Sun biting Mars, or, in other words, impaling Mars upon its teeth.
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Notice: This article is a stub. It may be expanded later!
Love love love this. It feels like people could write a thousand theses about this.
Explore Etrea | WorldEmber 2025
thank you! shoutout to all the awesome thesises and theories surrounding our own myths that inspired this one!
Solaris -— a sapphic space opera
Creator of World of Worlds | Camp Chill | Comment Carolers