COMMON THEMES IN CREATION MYTHS

Motifs and Characters

BIRTH

Eggs, Mother gives birth

WHICH CAME FIRST.. THE EGG

Japanese creation myth
jumbled mass of elements at the beginning of time was in the shape of an egg

Greek creation myth

Nyx (bird) laid an egg. From the egg comes the deity of love, Eros Shell pieces became Gaia (earth) and Uranus (sky)

Chinese creation myth

In the beginning, the universe was a black egg where heaven and earth were mixed together, and in this egg was contained Pangu. When Pangu cracked the egg with a broadax, the clear part of the egg floated up to form heaven and the cold, heavy part stayed down to form the earth

MOTHER GIVES BIRTH

Japanese creation myth
Izanami gave birth to her children who became the sun and moon

Mesopotamian creation myth

Tiamat gives birth to a line of deities ending in Ea

MOTHER AND FATHER

Mother is Earth, Father is sky

MOTHER AND FATHER: JAPANESE CREATION MY TH

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: GREEK CREATION MY TH

Greek Creation myth
Gaia and Uranus fell in love. They had many children and 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: EGYPTIAN CREATION MY TH

Egyptian myth
Nun (water) gave rise to Ra (sun) Ra (father) gives birth to Shu (deity of air) and Tefnut (deity (f)of moisture) Shu and Tefnut give birth to Geb(earth deity) and Nut (Sky deity) Men were created from Ras tears

SUPREME BEINGS

POLY THEISM AND MONOTHEISM

Greek , Japanese, Egyptian, Hindu mythology
Many deities

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim mythology

1 supreme being

ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE CREATORS

2 creators

WHY DO SOME CULTURES HAVE 2 CREATORS?

To humans, it seemed amazing for 1 individual to create the universe Some cultures developed 2 creators Passive creator- there at the beginning telling the other what to do, and then fades into the background Passive deity may have to change shape to accomplish the role of the active creator

POLY THEISM: GREEK

Greek Mythology
Zeus called his sons, Prometheus and Epimetheus, and had them create animals and men on earth Zeus gave them a box of gifts to give their creations They followed his instructions, thus becoming active creators. Zeus, having no direct role in the shaping of humans and animals, was the passive creator

POLY THEISM: JAPANESE

Japanese Mythology
One deity created all other deities Two deities he created were Izanagi and Izanami They created Japan (Only land mentioned in the myth) The deity that created the other deity is the passive creator because he didnt have an actual role in creating earth. His creations were the active deities.

POLY THEISM: EGYPTIAN

Egyptian Mythology
One deity (Ra) created all other deities Ra gives birth to Shu (deity (m) of air) and Tefnut (deity (f) of moisture) Shu and Tefnut give birth to Geb(father earth) and Nut (mother sky) Ra is the active creator up until the men plot against him He sends Hathor to destroy mankind He leaves a few men, but is disgusted with mankind, so he retires to the heavens leaving Shu to reign in his place Ra becomes a passive deity.

POLY THEISM: HINDUISM

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

CREATION FROM ABOVE AND BELOW

WHAT WAS IN THE BEGINNING?

Some myths imagined a world created from chaos or nothing at all. Many myths also illustrated a world that existed before there was life on ear th In this world, which was usually above or below ear th, deities and/or people lived peacefully Diver myths
Many myths allude to the earth being covered by water, and a being diving into the water that covers the earth to retrieve some earth The earth brought to the surface became land

ABOVE: JAPAN
Japanese mythology
Creators home was in the land above the clouds. In the beginning was a muddy ocean which covered the world Two deities, Izanagi and Izanami, were curious about what was beneath the ocean Izanagi took his staff and threw it into the ocean He lifted it back up and some lumps of earth fell off into the water Izanagi and Izanami created the islands of Japan and the plants, rivers, brooks, animals and snow They married and their descendants became the people of Japan.

BELOW: EGYPT
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 volition The sun gives birth to deities, and creates man from his tears

ABOVE: CHRISTIAN
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 Torah and Bible, the earth was once covered entirely by water

AN INSTRUCTION, A SIN, AND THE CONSEQUENCE

ELEMENTS OF MY TH
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

PANDORAS BOX: GREECE

Greek Mythology
When Pandora was brought to Epimetheus, she was given a box which Zeus orders her not to open Zeus gave her the box and curiosity, which became her temptation to sin Pandora took a peek inside od the box and all of the troubles of the world flew out of the box For her sin, the whole world had to suffer This was the consequence humans were forced to face for accepting Prometheus gift of fire.

RESPECT AND RA: EGYPT

Egyptian Mythology
Ra grew old, and the ungrateful race of men plotted against him Ra called for a council of the 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

TREE OF KNOWLEDGE: CHRISTIAN

Christian Mythology
Genesis 2:4-3:24 of the Bible tells the story of how suffering entered the world God gave Adam and Eve the 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 was banishment from the garden into the outside world with all its troubles

NIGHT, FEAR, FIRE AND SIN

FEAR IN THE NIGHT

In the creation myths of many cultures darkness represented fear. After everything was created, the animals and people did not expect the sun to set. When it did, fear reigned. Sometimes this fear resulted in sin, which was sometimes represented as fire.

PROMETHEUS: GREEK
Greek Mythology
The people Prometheus creates never become afraid of darkness because he bestows the sin which bestows Zeus anger upon them. In giving the people fire to which only the deities were supposed to have access he had caused Zeus wrath to fall on both him and them.

DEITIES CREATING SUFFERING

SUFFERING
According to some myths, the suffering in the world today was the result of human folly Many myths site a deity as being the reason earth is not a paradise

SUFFERING: GREEK
Greek Mythology
Fire was a gift from Prometheus, who wanted them to have something to make them superior from animals. Humans had to pay for the actions of Prometheus

SUFFERING: JAPAN
Japanese Mythology
The Japanese deities Izanagi and Izanami, had 3 children, one of whom was a troublemaker. This deity they sentenced to the seas, so that he would not damage their islands His anger appeared in the form of tidal waves and storms, which still threaten the islands of Japan

SUFFERING: EGYPT
Egyptian Mythology Ra gives orders that Geb (earth deity (m)) and Nut (sky deity f)) cannot marry, but they did anyway. Ra orders Shu (air deity (m)) to separate them permanently Nut was already pregnant, and Ra decreed that Nut could not give birth in any month of the year. Thoth (deity (m) of learning) gambled the moon for extra light and added 5 days to the calendar On those 5 days, Nut gave birth to Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis, ad Nepthys. Osiris became the incarnation of good. Set became the embodiment of evil