By now we all know about the forthcoming game, “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” So, we also know that it appears to be centered in Mesoamerica. The symbol of the eclipse connected to the new game had me excited. I have no idea at the moment how an eclipse ties into Lara Croft for this new game, or even if it does at all.

But what I do know is what the Maya thought about eclipses, and I thought I would share this fascinating fact and show the glyph connected in the Maya world to that very occurrence.

As in many (not all) ancient cultures, the Maya feared eclipses. They believed that an eclipse was caused by a “star demon” devouring the sun. Maya legends say these monsters are giant snakes or maybe even insects. Maya records clearly illustrate these “star demons” were, in fact, other planets. These planets are more visible when the sky is dark due to the eclipse. They saw something that wasn’t there as far as they knew and then suddenly it was. Not understanding what they were looking at, resulted in it feeding the legend that created fear in the Maya when an eclipse occurred.

Here is a glyph expressing an eclipse.

Thank you for reading this small info piece. A new article will be along in a few days.

Explore the World!

~Emma