It is the drama of Life and Death, of struggle between the power of Light and Lifeand the malignant power of Darkness. The mighty Sun, Lord of All Life spends his nights in mortal combat with his evil brother Set, now disguised as Apep, the huge serpent of mist and darkness. When the sun appears in the morning as the youthful Horus, ever gloriously young, there is rejoicing. Goodhas triumphed over evil. Yet the drama begins again as night falls-always the never ending contest, if Light and Life are to win over Darkness and Death. The same struggle is represented in other mythologies. Apolloslays the python. Zeus defeats the Titans. Thor fights with Sorcerers and giants and Indra with the dragon Vritra.
The return of the sun, too, featured immortality -the Sun that re-news itself. The sun-god as thus figured becomes the prototype of all heroes and dragon-slayers. He is a mighty warrior, young and of incredible beauty, the protector who struggles with sin and chaos, the Great Lover who rescues imprisoned damsels, who conquers demons and wicked tyrants, defeats darkness and death itself, emergingtriumphant in the splendour of renewed life and power. He is the Prince Charming who releases the ice maiden.
Siegfried, St. George, King Arthur-all the heroic dragon-slayers play the immortal part. Cinderella the little fire tender becomes the bride of the Prince of Light. Bluebeard slaying his seven wives is the sun slaying the dawn. Many of the fairy stories that go back to the dawn of human history and are found to be practically the same among widely scattered races, become clear and full of poetic beauty when interpreted as solar myths.