So many myths have multiple motifs that are similar to each other. Why are so many myths similar? Why do they share so many motifs? We may never know the answer, but I do have some valid points that may explain it a little bit better. Some motifs that multiple myths include: Creators using organic materials to form humans, ruler using floods to wipe out an entire race, and ruler having supreme power.
In numerous creation myths, the creators have used organic materials to form humans. Such as: Chinese, Egyption, Mayan, Yourban, Incan, Hebrew, Babylonian, Norse, and the Cheyenne myth. From dirt to clay and bones to tears humans were created in multiple ways, but the big questions is why? Personally, I believe the creators had used organic
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Numerous myths use floods in order to wipe out an entire human race or out of anger. These myths include Yourban, Hebrew, Mayan and Greek. In the Yourban creation myth, Olokun was furious with Olorun and Obatala. Obatala had created humans when by molding them with clay and Olorun breathed life into them. This made Olokun, which was the god of the waters, furious because he was not apart of the creation of human and they took up his land. He then flooded the earth to wipe out everyone. In the Hebrew creation, God had flooded the earth because he was very angered by the human being so violent. Similar to the Hebrew creation, Zeus, who is apart of the Greek creation flooded the earth because of violent behavior, as well. Zeus was furious after he saw the people taking part in cannibalism and decided to wipe out humanity. In the Mayan creation, Gucumatz and Tepeu tried multiple times to create humans in order for them to take care of the earth and praise them. They first created animals, but then they found out that animals could not speak. In the second trial of creating humans, they crumbled before they could even talk, let alone praise them. In the third trial, the humans were made from wood and they could barely survive on their own. They were not intelligent, and they did not praise them whatsoever. Out of frustration, Gucumatz and Tepeu decided to flood the earth and the survivors were turned into
In both Gilgamesh and Noah and the Flood, man’s wickedness leads to death, destruction, and rebirth all caused by billions of gallons of water sweeping the earth’s surface. The flood in both stories destroys most of mankind. The floods represent rebirth and a new beginning for mankind, as well as the gods and God’s wrath. In Gilgamesh the gods decide to destroy mankind by flooding the earth for six days and nights. Utnapishtim is chosen to build a boat in order to restart mankind after the flood. In the Bible God also decides to flood the earth due to the increase in wickedness. God chooses Noah to build an ark and store seven pairs of every clean animal and two of every other kind of animal on it
The humans were created through trial and error. The gods began their experimentation in creating humans. The first humans they created were made from mud. This left the gods without their creations since the humans kept falling apart. The human faces were lopsided and they would dissolve when they came in contact with water. This
The ones in Popol Vuh desire someone to worship them and to pray to them. They try designing their ideal “ race ” one that would praise them and “ keep their days ” or beliefs. Yet the Gods are not pleased with anything that they create, even after several attempts to do so. They struggle a lot while creating the humans. It requires four tries to generate beings that fit their criteria. Their first strive is unsuccessful because they make humans that have no feelings at all. The people do not display any gratefulness to their superiors, for they do not pray to them nor praise them. Therefore the Gods murder them explaining that their works are clumsy and ineffective - “...Their faces were smashed because they were incompetent before their mother and their father, the Heart of Sky, named Hurricane” (Applebee p.82). After this the Gods finally create humans, they are satisfied with, who obey their creators, and who are willing to do whatever they can to make them happy. In Genesis though, things go in a completely different direction compared to Popol Vuh. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit of knowledge, and this way they disrespect God’s will. As a result, they are heavily punished. Further, out of disappointment from what He had made, God creates a massive flood on the Earth, killing every living thing, apart from Noah and his family. They are the only people who are truly loyal to the
At the time of this story God saw how the thoughts of mankind were evil and he decided to destroy what he had created with a great flood intending to drown the earth. He chose Noah and his family to build an ark big enough to contain two of every animal to repopulate the earth. The world was flooded for a hundred and fifty days until the water subsided back into land.
A prime difference between the Popol Vuh’s version of the creation of humanity and that of the Hebrew Bible’s is their acquisition of knowledge, which ultimately relates to the intended purpose for humanity by the deities in each of these works. The importance of this chosen level of knowledge in the Popol Vuh is of particular importance in regards to the gods’ motives behind the creation of humanity in the first place, which results from the need for “one who will honor us, who will respect us; one who will be a provider and a sustainer,” (pg. 66). The clear driving force behind the gods’ actions is to create a species which can worship their names on the earth, thereby
The downward spiral of violence and rebellion continues until God finally reaches a decision. Genesis 6:6 records a poignant sentence “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on Earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” God who has taken such pride in his creation, is now ready to destroy it. He can no longer tolerate the violence that has spread across the world.
God cast Adam and Eve out of garden. The Flood: * God cause rain for first time. * Noah, only good human on earth. * Noah and 3 sons build Ark. *
living creatures out of clay. But the last thing all of these gods created were the humans, and the
In the Bible the reason God sent the flood was because he saw that there was a lot of sinful things in the world and he was upset. He saw that Noah and his family were the only ones that stayed true to want God wanted in his people. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the Gods and Goddesses saw that the people in the earth were evil and they decided that they wanted to completely restart the world and kill every human and animal. Ea went against the other Gods and told Utnapishtim in a dream to build a boat because he saw something in Utnapishim that was not in other people. In the Navajo flood story the Gods did not send the flood to kill the people or to restart the world. The flood happened in this story because the coyote stole the sea monsters baby, and the sea monster wanted his baby
There are countless numbers of similarities and differences between the pair of Native American myths. They resemble one another in the way that there people believe in
Anu, the god of gods, accepts and allows that their work was so very well. His son Enki, suggest to create a man and to accept the labor, and through the help of his half-sister, he did that thing he want. After that the God was put into a death, then his body and blood was mixed with a heavy, sticky material from the earth or simply clay. And because of that, the first human was being created through the body and blood of their God. So the created human has a part of his body and blood, then the blood of their God will flow in their body, so all humans that have of it. Therefore, Enki is the one who create a human kind out of clay and blood in the belief of many
The flood caused people to starve and to drown. The affects of the flood are similarly described in Genesis: “And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark” ( Genesis 7:23). If it had not had been for the ark, every single leaving thing would have been destroyed like in Ovid. They did
Then when this race grew they gave birth to the next race. The next race was the complete opposite of the first race. They were aggressive, arrogant, stubborn and ungrateful. By this race Aviet and Ellicus still didn’t finish creating all the elements of the earth. One day Aviet and Ellicus came down in human form and told everyone that if they weren't better they would wipe out the whole human race. Everyone was astounded as they did as followed.
In the Inca creation myth, Pachacamac created his wife to help him rule the world. In the Mayan creation myth, Tepeu and Gucumatz shared the responsibility of caring for the earth and its people. In the Maori creation myth, Te Pō came from Te Kore to help care for the earth. Motif #3: Why humans were put on earth
Noah and Utnapishtim were both righteous men. They were both told to build a boat and they both complained about it. The flood was a result of man’s wickedness. Utnapishtim said “the world teemed, the people multiplies, the world bellowed like a wild bull, and the great god was aroused by the clamour”. The noise was so harsh that they agreed to “exterminate mankind”. Genesis states that “the earth was filled with violence” and that the world was “corrupt” . So God told Noah that “the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth”. The difference here is the way that the way the gods/Gods got the idea to destroy the Earth. Since man was sinning and making all