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Evidence of these ancient beliefs can be found in modern religions. The Metonic cycle of 235 lunar months, or 19 years, to return full and new moons to the same day in the year, continues to be used to plot the Christian date for Easter and other moveable feasts.
In Judaism, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) falls on the first new moon after the autumn equinox.
At the very centre of most of the world’s ancient belief systems is the idea of creation and a guiding hand behind all the frightening beauty of the world.
'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,' says Genesis in the Old Testament, dating the event to 6,000 years ago. 'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light ... And the evening and the morning were the first day.'
In Native American mythology, the Hero Twins, seen as lesser divinities fathered by the sun-god, are believed to have completed the creation process.
In China a mix of Buddhism and Taoism stretching back hundreds of years before Christ interpreted the vicissitudes of life through belief in numerous gods and spirits ruling different aspects of the world. Likewise in pre-Christian Celtic religion, the existence of various deities explained the constantly changing sea and landscapes.
In many of these cultures the right of a person to rule on Earth was bestowed only by divine right.