The Civilian Creation Myth

Who made who? Did God create humans or did humans create god? At first thought one

All people throughout history have strived to explain the unknown. This is reflected best in the creation myth. The creation myth serves to answer that most pervasive of ancient questions: that of the origin of the world. All cultures have tried to answer this question. Two of these cultures are the Aztecs and the ancient Greeks. The Aztecs claimed that the world began with the goddess Coatlicue becoming impregnated by a ball of hummingbird feathers. Her previously born children try to kill her, but she gives birth to the sun god Huitzilopochtli, who kills her attackers and ascends to rule the heavens, leaving Coatlicue to rule the recently created earth. In Greek mythology, the earth goddess Gaia marries the sky god Ouranos, producing the titans, the first gods. One of the titans, Cronos, kills Ouranos with a sickle and rules the world. His children defeat him and send him down to Tartarus, the greek equivalent of hell. This essay serves to demonstrate the profuse similarities between the Aztec and Greek creation myths. The writer will show how the Aztec and Greek creation myths have many intrinsic themes and similarities.

People from early civilizations created myths which they followed in their everyday lives. These myths carried three details to explain how the world was created. Those three details were

Since the beginning of time the people of the world have their share of beliefs. Greek mythology is the arguably the most popular region of study. In Ancient Greece every citizen had a patron that would protect them and pantheism was commonplace. The Romans admired the Greeks in their art and culture and even took different aspects of their gods. Polytheism was widely accepted in all cultures so the seed of mythology bloomed. The time line of the creations of gods to the end of their reign is an important factor in Greek Mythology.

There was only water and bare, empty land. In the center of this nothingness was a great mountain. This mountain stood tall and proud and it reached all the way into the heavens. At the very top of this mountain lived a pair of every kind of animal. In the center of this heaven grew a tree. This tree was not just any tree, it was the sacred tree of life, and it was not to be harmed in any way.

The sin stories in the Book of Genesis address theological, cosmic, social, and ethical questions. These sin stories, The Fall of Man, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the Flood, and The Tower of Babel show the functions of myths and demonstrate man's likeliness to sin. These myths let the readers learn of the culture, beliefs, and foundation of the time.

One of the fundamental questions that religions seek to answer is that of origin. How was man put on earth? Why and from what was he created? Who created him? What does his creation imply about the status of human beings? Some or all of these questions are answered by a religion’s creation stories. Every religion’s creation myths attempt to give solutions to problems present to that religious society. Because of this, each religion may have one or more creation stories, each of those different from one another in the questions they ask and the answers they give.

In contrast to the father, the mother had a connection with their children, often leading to an overthrow of the husband. This materialistic love is easily shown in the myth of Demeter and Persephone. “ The joy of Demeter’s eternal lifetime was her daughter, Persephone, whom she had borne to Zeus “ ( Rosenberg Demeter 94). After Persephone was taken away, Demeter became infuriated and even “ withdrew her life sustaining powers,.. she broke the plows, killed oxen, and caused the earth to shrivel” ( Rosenberg Demeter 96). Seen from Demeter’s reaction to the situation, the bond between mother and child was very strong compared to that of the father. When Persephone returns, she takes comfort in her mother rather than her father. Children usually took the mother’s side and went against their father’s will. In the creation myth of the Greeks, there were two generations in which the mother wanted to protect her children from the grasps of the father. Gaea was afraid of what Uranus would do to their fearful children, and sought to protect them ( Rosenberg Creation 86). The wives of Cronus and Uranus both schemed the overthrow of their husbands,

Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomenons in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life

The motifs found in the creation myths are undoubtedly different from those found in any other type of myth. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of the creation myths is much greater than a primitive attempt to explain the mysteries of creation. Behind each creation myth is a vast variety of symbolism along with a number of motives which are often shared between cultures, despite vast geographical differences. My intention here is not only to discuss the purpose of the creation myths, but also to compare and contrast common themes which can be found in three selected works. These being, an Eskimo creation myth, the Ongwe creation myth and the Navajo creation myth.

Throughout history many civilizations and cultures have had their own ways of explaining the world and its creation. Each of these civilizations has created unique descriptions and accounts of such events. However, when comparing them to each other, are they really different? Look at the ancient Greco - Roman creation myths as told by Hesiod in his Theogony and Works and Days and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, when compared to the creation myths as seen in the Old Testament’s book of Genesis they may not be as different as one would think. Taking a more in-depth look at both Genesis and Hesiod’s and Ovid’s work more closely, the reader can see that on multiple occasions the myths have almost identical similarities which reflect their views in

What would one think if he goes back in time to a period where myths were common? Would one believe it to be true or hold his own opinion? I would say it depends on the situation and on what type of myth it is. Classical period was full of myths. There were many aspects to mythology that were held important in the classical era. One of the most significant aspects of the Greek mythology was that it was the primary concept to put humans at the midpoint of the universe. Not like the animal deities of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, the gods of the Greeks were human in form. Not only did they have human physical character, but they symbolized the touching flaws of humans as well. Unlike the gods of other ancient

We all know that our mothers and fathers gave us birth, and grandmothers and grandfathers gave our parents birth. However, what about the beginning? What does the beginning look like? Who created the sky, the earth, the mountains and rivers, the plants, the animals, and the human beings? How was the world created? What happened to the creator? These questions have puzzled and are asked by every people. However, no one has yet found the answers, and I have heard people saying that the creation of life is as impossible as the natural creation of an airplane from a stack of waste. With the willingness of knowing the self, ancient people tried to create mythological stories

A creation story is a supernatural story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, earth, life, and the universe. Religion plays a significant role in the establishment of Creation for both the Native Americans and the Puritans. “The people known collectively as the Iroquois were made up of the Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga nations.” (Cusick 21) “The Iroquois creation myth exists in some twenty-five versions.” (Cusick 22). However, there was no concrete indication from a Native American that coincides with the Iroquois’s belief as of how and when the creation of the world began until David Cusick, transcribed and translated an Iroquois cosmogonic myth in the nineteenth century. David Cusick became the first Native American to record on Atotarho. Grounded in nature the Iroquois religion portrays the natural foundations of the world and continue to believe that all things/people should live in harmony. The Iroquois believes that The Great Spirit would indirectly guide the lives of ordinary people and opposed that The Great Spirit and other forces of good were Evil Spirit and other lesser spirits responsible for disease and other misfortune. Corn, beans, and squash were referred to as the three sisters and thought of as deities or spiritual beings. The Iroquois believed that ordinary humans could not communicate directly with Great Spirit but could do so indirectly by burning tobacco, which carried their prayers to the lesser spirits

When this word “myth” is used, the term is usually related to a fable, invention or a fiction story. Over the years, many scholars started approaching the study of myth differently. These scholars have approach myths in a way their meaning was traditionally regarded. In many traditions these myth are true stories and never refer to as false stories. ( http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/whatismyth.htm )