Editing Eclipse (section)

=== Eclipses in mythology and religion ===
{{main article|Eclipses in mythology and culture}}
The American author [[Gene Weingarten]] described the tension between belief and eclipses thus: "I am a devout atheist but can't explain why the moon is exactly the right size, and gets positioned so precisely between the Earth and the sun, that total solar eclipses are perfect. It bothers me."<ref>Gene Weingarten, '[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701536.html Me, in a Nutshell]', ''Washington Post'' (USA), 8 March 2009, Page W32 (accessed 9 March 2009).</ref>

The Graeco-Roman historian [[Cassius Dio]], writing between AD 211–229, relates the anecdote that Emperor [[Claudius]] considered it necessary to prevent disturbance among the Roman population by publishing a prediction for a solar eclipse which would fall on his birthday anniversary [1 August in the year AD 45]. In this context, Cassius Dio provides a detailed explanation of solar and lunar eclipses.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lexundria.com/dio/60.26/cy | title=Cassius Dio, Roman History 60.26 }}</ref>

Typically in mythology, eclipses were understood to be one variation or another of a spiritual battle between the sun and evil forces or spirits of darkness.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Littmann|first1=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOnH01tv078C&dq=totality+eclipses+of+the+sun&pg=PR7|title=Totality: Eclipses of the Sun|last2=Espenak|first2=Fred|last3=Willcox|first3=Ken|date=2008-07-17|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-157994-3|language=en}}</ref> More specifically, in [[Norse mythology]], it is believed that there is a wolf by the name of [[Fenrir]] that is in constant pursuit of the Sun, and eclipses are thought to occur when the wolf successfully devours the divine Sun.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jME8hD2UO4QC&dq=norse+mythology+a+guide+to+gods&pg=PR5|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2002-10-17|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|language=en}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=April 2024}} Other Norse tribes believed that there are two wolves by the names of [[Sköll]] and Hati that are in pursuit of the Sun and the Moon, known by the names of Sol and Mani, and these tribes believed that an eclipse occurs when one of the wolves successfully eats either the Sun or the Moon.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Morrison|first=Jessica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbq2DwAAQBAJ&dq=wolf&pg=PA4|title=Eclipses|date=2017-08-01|publisher=Weigl Publishers|isbn=978-1-4896-5814-2|language=en}}</ref>

In most types of mythologies and certain religions, eclipses were seen as a sign that the gods were angry and that danger was soon to come, so people often altered their actions in an effort to dissuade the gods from unleashing their wrath. In the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] religion, for example, people often sing religious hymns for protection from the evil spirits of the eclipse, and many people of the Hindu religion refuse to eat during an eclipse to avoid the effects of the evil spirits.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Musharraf|first1=Muhammad Nabeel|last2=Dars|first2=Dr Basheer Ahmed|title=Eclipses, Mythology, and Islam|date=2021-09-15|url=https://www.alduhaa.com/index.php/al-duhaa/article/view/77|journal=Al-Duhaa|language=en-US|volume=2|issue=02|pages=01–16|doi=10.51665/al-duhaa.002.02.0077|issn=2710-0812|doi-access=free}}</ref> Hindu people living in India will also wash off in the [[Ganges|Ganges River]], which is believed to be spiritually cleansing, directly following an eclipse to clean themselves of the evil spirits.<ref name=":0" /> In early [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], eclipses were viewed as signs from God, and some eclipses were seen as a display of God's greatness or even signs of cycles of life and death.<ref name=":0" /> However, more ominous eclipses such as a blood moon were believed to be a divine sign that God would soon destroy their enemies.<ref name=":0" />