Comparing Three Creation Myths

A creation myth is an explanation of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. Every creation myth is different, but there is similarity in most of them. Motifs are recurring ideas that help develop a theme and these motifs are common in many creation myths. Three similar motifs are the idea of a supreme being, the idea of people being created from organic material, and the idea of rulers being overthrown. These concepts appear in the Inuit, Greek, Hindu, Chinese, Norse, and many more myths. These three motifs connect to one another and are common in many creation myths.

Supreme beings appear in many creation myths. These rulers are often the creator of mankind and are seen as the father figure to the other gods. The

majority of these people have complete control over all forces. Large amounts of powers are possessed by the supreme beings and they are not easily defeated by opposing rulers. The supreme being ideology appears in creation myths such as the Inuit, the Greek, the Egyptian, and the Chinese. In the Chinese myth, Pan-gu is the supreme being who created Earth and mankind. The power of Ran-gu still has an effect on people because he is commonly worshipped by the Zhuang people to this day. Raven is a mighty and ruling man-bird in the Inuit creation myth. This creature has the ability to change between a man and a bird, making him more compelling than regular humans. Atum is the genderless, supreme being in the Egyptian myth. Atum created Shu and Tefnut who eventually created man and the rules of life. Zeus is the most obvious monarch in the Greek creation myth because he rules over the other gods. Zeus is the god of the sky who is worshipped in fear of his vigorous lightning bolts. I believe this motif appears in several creation myths because a distinguished leader wasn’t present. In other words, humans shared the same characteristics making them equally powerful but, a god was much more superior than regular people, which made them a leader.
The idea of people being created from organic material is prevalent in the Chinese, Norse, and Inuit myths.

This varies from an ash and elm tree to pea-pod plants. In the Chinese creation myth, Nuwa went to the Yellow River and formed humans from clay after Ran-gu the dragon dies. Nuwa than realized how long it would take to make enough humans to inhabit over the very vast Earth so, she began flinging mud across the land. Mankind in the Inuit creation myth arose from a pea-pod plant placed by Raven. The offspring of the pea plant was believed to be the first creatures that the Earth possessed. The Norse believed the human race was initiated when Odin lifted an ash and elm tree which produced the human race. This tree was made from the cruel god Ymir’s hair after he was brutally killed. The concept of people being made from organic material is most likely the cause of early being’s dependence on nature. Many people during the time period of this belief used organic material to create shelter which was a long and difficult process. These ancient people believed that the process of creating mankind was lengthy, as the house, therefore, they must have been derived from the same product used to create their

homes.
In many creation myths gods are taken over and removed from their power. This branches off from the supreme being belief. One God feels that they are much more of a supreme being than the other, so they take over. This is apparent in the Greek, Norse, and Hindu creation myths. In the Greek myth, Zeus felt that he was much more of a supreme being than his own father, Cronus, and overthrew him. The Hindu creation myth demonstrates this motif while incorporating a story of vengeance. Prajapati committed a forbidden and disgraceful act which caused him to be slain by the other gods, who took his power sanctuary. The Norse creation myth is an example of this motif because Ymir was the ruling god but, he was overthrown and murdered for being cruel and evil. I believe this motif was a common belief because treason was punishable by death and no one during the time period was brave enough to overthrow their ruler.
Creation myths are used by many cultures to address unanswered questions about how the world was created and how humans began to live on earth. These myths have been developed over time to explain concepts that are difficult to understand. Motifs have become an important part of these myths. Three similar motifs are the idea of a supreme being, the idea of people being created from organic material, and the idea of rulers being overthrown. These three motifs are a part of different mythological creation stories. However, many myths have supreme beings who often move into heaven after they have used all of their supreme powers to create the world. Many myths include younger gods who become stronger and more powerful than the other gods and they fight against them to create a more peaceful world. Throughout these different myths, humans are created through organic material that has formed, explaining why we have humans on earth. These three motifs connect to one another and are common in many creation myths.