Throughout history man has searched for an explanation of our origins and why we are here. Many creation myths are attempts of our ancestors to do just that. I have found in reading many of these creation myths, that there is also an attempt to explain why human existence is imperfect. The following essay will compare and contrast four creation myths and their explanation of how mans imperfection came to be. The first creation myth I will begin with is Hebrew in origin and comes from the Old Testament book of Genesis, specifically chapters one through three. Chapters one and two focus on Jehovah’s (God) creation of the heavens, earth and all living things. After man (Adam) is created Jehovah, gives him a single command: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of he tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (The Revival Study Bible, Genesis 2:16-17).” Jehovah then creates a mate for the man, woman (Eve). Throughout this creation story the reader is given the impression that the creation itself is perfect i.e.: following creation God declares everything good, man has a close friendship with his creator, man and woman were naked and experienced no shame. Unfortunately that perfection ends when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They then felt shame, cast blame to others rather than to themselves and hid from God. As a result of their disobedience God punished them according to his law. Both Adam and Eve and their offspring after them were sentenced to a life of pain, suffering and death. The second creation myth I will examine in this essay is of Greek origin and is known as The Five Ages of Man. This myth begins wit... ... middle of paper ... ...ction to begin with. I therefore assumed that suffering and imperfection were present from the beginning. A common thread that connects most of these myths is the transformation of a seemingly perfect creation to imperfection. This devolution of life from a utopian existence to a dystopian existence varies from myth to myth, but each myth has it. I believe that creation myths contain these explanations because of a psychological desire all people possess. I believe that people desire to know why there is pain and suffering in the world just as much they desire to know the origin of life. Both of these things are essentially unexplainable. Works Cited Sproul, Barbara C.. Primal myths: creation myths around the world. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. Print. The Revival Study Bible. Ed. William Pratney, Steve Hill, Tamara S. Winslow. Singapore: Genesis, 2010. Print.
Creation myths are made to explain how the Earth was created and to introduce information on the relationship a group has with their creator. In both Iroquois and Babylonian creation myths, the gods do not find the Earth below as their first priority. In the Iroquois myth, the gods only help out the Earth when they are needed, but in the Babylonian myth, humans have more of a relationship with gods as the god that created Earth is willing to go beyond what is needed to help better the human experience on Earth.
Creation texts and most early pieces of literature all share many of the same themes, mythology, and to an extent, the same characters. In the days that early texts like The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Bible, and Popol Vuh, epistemology was of high interest to many philosophers and writers. To answer the questions of “How did we get here,” “Why are we here,” “What do we do here,” and other ontological ponderings, texts like these were written to give some reason. One consistent theme from early literature and creation texts is that early people had the tragic flaw of a thirst for knowledge and a lack of willpower, which is shown in The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Bible, and Popol Vuh.
Co. Herzberg, M. J. & Co., Ltd. (1984) The 'Standard' of the 'St Myths and their meanings. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Rouse, W. H. (1957). The Species of the World The Heroes: The Heraclês.
Over the recent centuries, the definition of myth has decayed into a word synonymous with falsehoods and lies. This idea of myths being completely false and therefore useless is a fairly modern one. To combat the rise of empirical science in the 1900s, theologians brought the idea of wholly literal, fundamental religion into being to combat ideas that did not perfectly align with the tenants of the religion (May 24). This was the final death blow to the idea of the metaphysical myth that was already wounded from thousands of years of being denounced as pagan or barbaric. The rise of empirical science also lent to the decay of the meaning of myth. Science was able to explain the natural world far better than a myth ever could; however, it lacked the metaphysical aspect. Due to these rising ideologies, myths hav...
Though the two Creation stories are supposedly intended to be connected - even interchangeable - the only similarity they share is the presence of the omnipotent God and His role in the creation of the earth. Where the first creation describes a detailed, six-day process in which God first delineates day and night, establishes the physical world, and then finally creates man, the second creation is a much simpler process, one almost contradictory to the first story's strict schedule.
The creation myths that I have studied are similar in many ways. They also have differences that show an inherently different way of thinking about the world. All have creators-gods that make the world into what is now. There are conflicts within their world, and these conflicts change the face world. God to god or human to god maybe be involved in these conflicts. Their bloody struggles prove who is more powerful, causing change in the control of the world. Some gods are beneficial to man and others are self-serving, using man only as a tool.
Rosenberg, Donna. "The Creation of the Titans and the Gods." World Mythology. 3rd ed. Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1999. 82-89. Print.
The first similarity between The Iroquois Myth and Hebrew/Christian Myth is the concept of man, woman and punishment. In the Iroquois Story one of the Sky Women became pregnant with twins, which caused her husband to become very angry. As punishment he removed a tree that was located in the center of the island which resulted in a hole. Sky Woman peered into the hole and the husband pushed her. She fell toward the water below, but animals witnessed her falling and saved her. The concept of man, woman and punishment is also portrayed in the Hebrew/Christian Myth. The Lord created Adam and Eve who reside in the Garden of Eden. The Lord warned Adam and the woman not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil or they would die. The woman and man sin by eating fruit Different cultures have provided numerous myths regarding the creation of the world. Two examples of these myths are The Iroquois Myth and the Hebrew/Christian Myth. There are several similarities and differences between The Iroquois Myth and Hebrew/Christian Myth but will only discuss two of each. In addition to comparison and contrast of
Just look at two creation stories side-by-side and you should easily see their similarities. Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to take one unknown creation story and compare it to one from one’s own culture. Below is an example of a Mongolian creation myth:
Concerning creation myths, there are three main motifs: the idea of Earth being created by a bloody struggle, the idea of having more than one attempt to create a human, and the idea of humans being made from organic materials. These are the motifs that I think are the most significant or more of the truth than the rest. There are so many creation myths that have a lot of things in common but aren’t exactly the same story. That is why they are considered motifs. Have you ever thought about the different creation myths that exist? I think that it’s possible that all of the creation myths are real, that there were all of these gods that created the Earth together and there was one higher god that was in charge of all the lesser gods. I don’t think that each myth has one hundred percent truth to it, but maybe more like twenty percent truth or close to the truth.
Creation stories have profound effects on humans. Those associated with ancient cultures/civilizations aim to ensure the successful survival or well-being of themselves and that particular culture/civilization of their association, but not all are beneficial, prosperous, or fortunate. Mesopotamia’s “The Gilgamesh Epic”, Egypt’s “Hymn to the Nile-Documents”, and Mesoamerica’s Mayan and Aztec creation stories/religion are influential to establishing significant relationships within society, whether that is between humans and nature or humans and their “god(s).”
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
The "Genesis, Chapters 1 to 3." Ted Goertzel. 18 Feb 2009 http://crab.rutgers.edu/goertzel/genesis.htm>. Morford, Mark P.O., and Robert J. Lenardon. Classical Mythology.
In both myths the relationship between humans and nature is shown as a positive one but with negative effects from humans’ greed and necessity for more. In the beginning of the Creation Story it is stated in the first few lines “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” God then began to create the Earth in seven days. On the first day he created day and night out of the darkness and light. The second day led to the creation of the sky. The third day was the creation of the land. The fourth day led to the creation of the season. And finally on the fifth and sixth day, animals and humans were created, and the first two were a male and female named Adam and Eve. At the end of everyday during creation the words “and God saw it was good” are written. God is happy with his creation of nature. The phrase shows the positive connotation of...
In this paper I will discuss three similarities and four differences between Enuma Elish-The Epic of Creation (King,1902) and Genesis 1:1-3:24 as described by Michael Fishbane (Fishbane, 1979). These writings are selected to describe the story of creation of the earth and the inhabitants of the earth. However, each author has a very different view and way of explaining what they have interpreted the sacred texts to mean.