15. Flying chariots appear in myths and legends of many cultures
Variations of flying vehicles and houses appear in the myths of many ancient cultures and religious beliefs. In ancient China, ten suns, the children of the goddess Shiho, occupied the sky. Shiho carried one of her children across the sky each day in her chariot. However, being children and thus prone to mischief, one day all ten crossed the sky together, and their combined heat scorched the earth. Other gods found an archer to kill nine of the errant suns, thus restoring the earth. The ancient Egyptians believed their sun god, Ra, traversed the sky carrying the sun in a ship, crewed by lesser gods. At night his ship brought light to the dead in the underworld. Greek myths included the story of Apollo, riding his chariot across the sky to bring light to the world by day.
Myths of flying chariots appeared in Hindu mythology, including in the ancient Vedas. In the Vimanas both flying chariots and palaces appear, manipulated by various gods and goddesses. In Mesoamerican mythology flying chariots appear in the myths of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans. The North American Iroquois confederation, to whom the wheel remained unknown until contact with the Europeans, had a myth of three brothers chasing the sun, which caused it to flee before them across the sky. The Iroquois also believed their confederation of originally Five, and eventually Six Nations, formed through the actions of a god they called Deganawida, the Great Peacemaker. In some accounts, the Great Peacemaker was an Onondaga, others say he was of Huron descent. Still, others claim him to have been born of a virgin, leading to the matrilineal society of the Iroquois.