Since the existence of human beings, there have been creation myths to explain how life existed on the planet. These creation myths have a huge impact on how people view utopia. Nearly every culture or society has its own creation myth, which is just a version of how humans came to exist on the planet Earth. Many religions also have their own versions, such as the Christians, Islamic, and Jewish. Some cultures with creation myths include the Greeks, the Romans, the Norse, the Chinese, the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Sumerians, the Japanese, the Korean and the Native Americans. Others include the idea of humans and animals living in harmony, but being split up by a sin committed by humans or having it taken away by the gods or heavenly beings.(Murtagh, cs.williams.edu) For example, the Greek creation myth says that Zeus, the leader of the gods, gave a human named Pandora a box and told her not to open it. However, she became curious and opened the box anyway, leading to the release of everything in the box, including sickness, pain, greed, and more. (Murtagh, cs.williams.edu) Another example is in Christian creation myths, where God …show more content…
Myths that include gods becoming part of the land include Greek and Chinese creation myths. According to the Greek creation myths, Gaea, one of the first goddesses, became the goddess of the Earth while Ouranos became the god of the sky. (Murtagh, cs.williams.edu) The Chinese creation myth says that in the very beginning, there was only a large egg that contained a god named P’an Ku. However, P’an Ku eventually grew too big for the egg and burst it. After this, he began to form the Earth, digging out rivers and valleys, and eventually became part of the Earth when he died, with his flesh turning into the soil and his bones turning into rocks. (Shumov,
There are over hundreds of creation stories from many various cultures, religions, or areas. Though we may never know if any are true, creation stories are the basis of every culture and religion. One of the most popular and well-known stories about the foundation of the world is the Catholic creation story about God constructing the Earth in six days and resting on the seventh. Two other recognized legends are the Hawaiian creation myth and the Iroquois creation myth, also known as “The World on the Turtle’s Back.” Each account of creation is diverse in several aspects, but the most interesting thing is they are similar in many points also.
phonetic alphabet was created by The wooden people vs. Creek Myth, “a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon.” (Now that is a dictionary version of what myth is and it makes it seem like myths are just stories that people made in the past and believed in.) Although most myths were made to explain the world around people, myths also have themes or lessons in them that can teach people lots of things even in today’s societies.
The stories, Popol Vuh and the Book of Genesis, are from different cultures. Many individuals believe that ‘different’ means varying opinions. However, each one could display similarities in beliefs. On the other hand, similarities may also reveal some slight differences in each culture. Creation stories have changed significantly throughout each individual culture, but each story may also come with various similarities.
For example in the Greek creation myth there are three creators, Gaia (the world), Prometheus and Epimethius, but in the Chinese, Incan, and Mayan creation myths there are two creators. In the Chinese creation myth the creators are Pan-gu and Nuwa. In the Incan creation myth the creators are Patchacana and Patchamama. Lastly, in the Mayan creation myth the creators are Tepeu and Gucumatz. I think many creation myths used this motif because most times the creators wanted shared power.
When the Puritans got to Plymouth Rock they saw a vast land filled with “red skinned savages. ” They did not agree on whose land this was and there creation stories were a bit different as well. The Native Americans like every civilization in the world have a creation story. The creation stories tell the origins of the world as they believe it begun. Native American stories were not written and kept a record of they were passed down orally, they are essentially the indians version of the bible.
Creation stories tell of how the world was created based on the who the story originates from. In my home state of Washington State, Makah Indians told the story of the Two-Men-Who-Changed-Things creation story. Chelan Indians told the story of a Great Chief above that created the Indians. Both have different cultural backgrounds and live in different places in Washington.
In an effort to explain this came up with creation myths. Unlike the Bible’s one creation story, the Choctaw people have different versions of their creation myth. The Choctaw creation stories are classified as myths because they are “imaginative stories that present events that took place at the beginning.” (Ryan, 2016).
Another example would be the Japanese creation myth which says nothing existed except the ocean. If you were a person living in ancient Japan looking out over the ocean, it would look to be a great nothingness. Thus, the only connection they would be able to even begin to fathom would be that the world came to exist from a great nothingness.
Her and dead souls came together and made air and day. She made three children asexually, these children turned into the stars, moon. One of her offspring assisted her in the production of the rest of the sons. After a generation
Mythology is the collection of myths that denotes commonly cultural and religious beliefs of ancient human beings. The elements of it were usually the involvement of god, goddess and heroes. In addition, it was based on a man’s desire, beliefs and ideas. It also told the natural occurrence and its main purpose was to teach people moral lessons. One of the example of Greek mythology is the divine hero of ancient Greece his name was Heracles, but people knew him as Hercules.
In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the creation myths of Brahma, the Hindu Creator God, and The Ennead of Heliopolis of Ancient Egypt. I will be highlighting the following; how, according to these cultures, did the world begin, how did humans originate, are there any thematic similarities between the creation myths of these two cultures, what are the most striking differences and do they have any beliefs about how the world will end, or do they believe in some kind of cyclical renewal of creation. Brahma is the Hindu Creator god:
The most important way to think about myths is that they are symbolic stories that attempt to answer difficult human questions about the universe. For instance, where did we and the world come from? And what is the meaning of life?. “We all want to know where we came from, but because our earliest beginnings are lost in the mists of prehistory, we have created myths about our forefathers that are not historical but help to explain current attitudes about our environment, neighbors and customs” (6). Myth functions as a guidance that explains everything that we come into contact with in the universe.
Each every creation myth is unique in its own way. Of course, creation myths have their similarities, but each of them has at least one detail that separates them from every other myth. The question is how those similarities came about, considering for some of these groups that didn’t even know that each other existed. It would have nearly impossible and extremely unlikely for them to communicate with each other let alone, share their stories with each other. Yet, despite this there are some extremely common themes and events throughout these myths.
Similarly The Book of Genesisis the first book in the Bible. In the Book of Genesis from the Bible God created the human being: The lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and the man became the living being. (2; 7) Similarly in The Magician Nephew, Aslan the Lion is compared to the God-like being.
Native Americans believed that a woman was the first person on Earth and the first deity because she got dropped on water and upon her arrival she made the land/Earth. As described in Native American Creation Myth a “woman or goddess gradually descended from heaven, even into the water”. This shows that water was created before land. According to the Native American Creation Myth, she also created vegetation and even “fruitful and unfruitful trees began to grow.” Native Americans felt that they must respect the Earth and can not own the Earth.