Mythology / aurora-borealis-in-myth
Facts about Aurora Borealis in Myth
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Scottish Gaelic tradition interpreted the aurora borealis as the Merry Dancers, supernatural warriors engaged in fierce combat across the heavens.
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Ancient Greeks associated the aurora borealis with Eos, the goddess of dawn, seen as an omen of war or disaster.
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Finnish mythology associated the aurora borealis with a cosmic fox whose tail swept sparks across the night sky, giving it the name revontulet, meaning fox fires.
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In Algonquian tradition, the aurora borealis was believed to be the dancing spirits of the dead, a belief shared by several other Indigenous North American peoples.
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The Norse called the aurora borealis the Bifröst bridge, believing it connected the realm of the gods, Asgard, to the world of humans.