Common Themes in Creation Myths

7/29/2019 Common Themes in Creation Myths

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Motifs and

Characters

COMMON THEMES IN

CREATION MYTHS


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Eggs,

Mother

gives birthBIRTH


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Japanese creation myth jumbled mass of elements at the

beginning of time was in the shapeof an egg

Greek creation myth Nyx (bird) laid an egg.

From the egg comes the deity oflove, Eros

Shell pieces became Gaia (earth)and Uranus (sky)

Chinese creation myth In the beginning, the universe was

a black egg where heaven andearth were mixed together, and in

this egg was contained Pangu. When Pangu cracked the egg with

a broadax, the clear part of theegg floated up to form heaven andthe cold, heavy part stayed downto form the earth

WHICH CAME FIRST.. THE EGG


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Japanese creation

myth

Izanami gave birth to

her children whobecame the sun and

moon

Mesopotamian

creation myth

Tiamat gives birth to aline of deities ending

in Ea

MOTHER GIVES BIRTH


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Mother isEarth,

Father is

sky

MOTHER AND FATHER


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Japanese creation myth

Two deities created japan

together

After exploring the island,

there were married and

Izanami gave birth to three

children, Amaterasu (sun),

Tsuki-yumi (moon) and

Sosano-wo (chaos)

MOTHER AND FATHER: JAPANESE

CREATION MYTH


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Greek Creation myth

Gaia and Uranus fell in

love.

They had many childrenand grandchildren, who

created the plants,

animals, stars and

springs

The unity of Gaia and

Uranus created a sense

that the universe was

one

MOTHER AND FATHER: GREEK CREATION

MYTH


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Egyptian myth

Nun (water) gave rise to

Ra (sun)

Ra (father) gives birth to

Shu (deity of air) andTefnut (deity (f)of

moisture)

Shu and Tefnut give birth

to Geb(earth deity) and

Nut (Sky deity)

Men were created fromRas tears

MOTHER AND FATHER: EGYPTIAN

CREATION MYTH


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SUPREME BEINGS


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Greek , Japanese,

Egyptian, Hindu

mythology

Many deities

Jewish, Christian,

and Muslim

mythology

1 supreme being

POLYTHEISM AND MONOTHEISM


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2 creatorsACTIVE VS. PASSIVE

CREATORS


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To humans, it seemedamazing for 1 individualto create the universe

Some cultures developed2 creators

Passive creator- there atthe beginning telling theother what to do, andthen fades into thebackground

Passive deity may have tochange shape toaccomplish the role ofthe active creator

WHY DO SOME CULTURES HAVE 2

CREATORS?


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Greek Mythology Zeus called his sons,

Prometheus andEpimetheus, and had themcreate animals and men on

earth Zeus gave them a box of

gifts to give their creations

They followed hisinstructions, thusbecoming active creators.

Zeus, having no direct rolein the shaping of humansand animals, was thepassive creator

POLYTHEISM: GREEK


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Japanese Mythology One deity created all other

deities

Two deities he createdwere Izanagi and Izanami

They created Japan (Onlyland mentioned in themyth)

The deity that created theother deity is the passivecreator because he didnt

have an actual role increating earth. Hiscreations were the activedeities.

POLYTHEISM: JAPANESE


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Egyptian Mythology One deity (Ra) created all other

deities

Ra gives birth to Shu (deity (m)of air) and Tefnut (deity (f) ofmoisture)

Shu and Tefnut give birth toGeb(father earth) and Nut(mother sky)

Ra is the active creator up untilthe men plot against him

He sends Hathor to destroymankind

He leaves a few men, but isdisgusted with mankind, so heretires to the heavens leavingShu to reign in his place

Ra becomes a passive deity.

POLYTHEISM: EGYPTIAN


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Hindu Creation

A giant cobra floated on the

nothingness, and asleep in its

coils was the deity Vishnu

A sound (om ) began to fill the

nothingness and woke Vishnu

As Vishnu work, a magnificent

lotus flower grew from his navel

In the middle of the lotus flower

sat Brahma

Vishnu commanded Brahma to

create the world.

A wind swept the waters and

Vishnu and the serpent vanished

Vishnu is the passive deity and

Brahma is the active deity who

created the earth, sky, heavens,

plant and animal life

POLYTHEISM: HINDUISM


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CREATION FROM ABOVE

AND BELOW


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Some myths imagined a worldcreated from chaos or nothingat al l .

Many myths also i l lustrated aworld that existed beforethere was l i fe on earth

In this world, which wasusually above or below earth,deities and/or people l ivedpeacefully

Diver myths Many myths allude to the earth

being covered by water, and a

being diving into the water thatcovers the earth to retrieve someearth

The earth brought to the surfacebecame land

WHAT WAS IN THE BEGINNING?


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Japanese mythology Creators home was in the land

above the clouds.

In the beginning was a muddyocean which covered the world

Two deities, Izanagi and Izanami,

were curious about what wasbeneath the ocean

Izanagi took his staff and threwit into the ocean

He lifted it back up and somelumps of earth fell off into thewater

Izanagi and Izanami created theislands of Japan and the plants,rivers, brooks, animals and snow

They married and theirdescendants became the peopleof Japan.

ABOVE: JAPAN


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Egyptian mythology

In the beginning, there

was a primal ocean of

chaos that contained

the seeds of

everything to come

The sun (Ra) rose from

the sea of his own

volitionThe sun gives birth to

deities, and creates

man from his tears

BELOW: EGYPT


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Christian and Jewish

mythology

God did not dive into

the water to bring up

mud, but Genesis 1:2

says The Spirit of God

was hovering over the

waters.

According to the Torahand Bible, the earthwas once covered

entirely by water

ABOVE: CHRISTIAN


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AN INSTRUCTION, A SIN,

AND THE CONSEQUENCE


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Many creation myths

consisted of at least

one of three elements

An order or instruction

from the creator to the

creations

A sin

A consequence which

must be faced

Consequence is what

causes pain, hunger,

disease and evils that

plague the earth

ELEMENTS OF MYTH


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Greek Mythology When Pandora was brought to

Epimetheus, she was given abox which Zeus orders her notto open

Zeus gave her the box and

curiosity, which became hertemptation to sin

Pandora took a peek inside odthe box and all of the troublesof the world flew out of the box

For her sin, the whole worldhad to suffer

This was the consequencehumans were forced to face foraccepting Prometheus gif t offire.

PANDORAS BOX: GREECE


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Egyptian Mythology

Ra grew old, and the

ungrateful race of men

plotted against him

Ra called for a council ofthe deities

They decided mankind

must be destroyed, and

sent Hathor to destroy

mankind, leaving a few

men Ra spared these men, and

then retreated to leave Shu

to lead in his place

RESPECT AND RA: EGYPT


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Christian Mythology

Genesis 2:4-3:24 of the

Bible tells the story of how

suffering entered the world

God gave Adam and Evethe Garden of Eden to live

in, with the order never to

eat from the Tree of

Knowledge

They disobeyed him and

the price of this sin wasbanishment from the

garden into the outside

world with all its troubles

TREE OF KNOWLEDGE: CHRISTIAN


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NIGHT, FEAR, FIRE AND

SIN


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In the creation myths ofmany cultures darknessrepresented fear.

After everything was

created, the animalsand people did notexpect the sun to set.

When it did, fearreigned.

Sometimes this fearresulted in sin, whichwas sometimesrepresented as fire.

FEAR IN THE NIGHT


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Greek Mythology

The people Prometheus

creates never become

afraid of darkness

because he bestows thesin which bestows Zeus

anger upon them.

In giving the people fire

to which only the deities

were supposed to haveaccess he had causedZeus wrath to fall on

both him and them.

PROMETHEUS: GREEK


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DEITIES CREATING

SUFFERING


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According to some

myths, the suffering

in the world today

was the result ofhuman folly

Many myths site a

deity as being the

reason earth is not a

paradise

SUFFERING


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Greek Mythology

Fire was a gift from

Prometheus, who

wanted them to havesomething to make

them superior from

animals.

Humans had to pay forthe actions of

Prometheus

SUFFERING: GREEK


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Japanese Mythology The Japanese deities

Izanagi and Izanami, had3 children, one of whomwas a troublemaker.

This deity theysentenced to the seas,so that he would notdamage their islands

His anger appeared in

the form of tidal wavesand storms, which stillthreaten the islands ofJapan

SUFFERING: JAPAN


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Egyptian Mythology

Ra gives orders that Geb (earthdeity (m)) and Nut (sky deity f))cannot marry, but they didanyway.

Ra orders Shu (air deity (m)) toseparate them permanently

Nut was already pregnant, andRa decreed that Nut could notgive birth in any month of theyear.

Thoth (deity (m) of learning)gambled the moon for extra lightand added 5 days to thecalendar

On those 5 days, Nut gave birthto Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis, adNepthys.

Osiris became the incarnation ofgood. Set became theembodiment of evil

SUFFERING: EGYPT

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Common Themes in Creation Myths