This is my creation myth motif essay. A motif is something that many things have in common, in this case some theories that quite a few religions have in common. In my essay I will be examining the creation myth motifs that we talked about and worked with during the 3rd quarter, and which ones in my opinion, are the most important. I have picked three motifs that I believe give the people of today, a pretty good idea of how our ancient ancestors viewed the world and what was going on around it. I personally enjoy the theories of all of the motifs that I have chosen to write about but, I also find it strange that so many religions have so many similarities in theories about creation, when many of the religions didn’t even know there were other …show more content…
religions on the other side of the world. The first creation myth motif that I will be analyzing is the motif of religions believing their creators had a set of rules that the humans had to follow in order to live healthy, happy, productive lives, as well as bright, brilliant afterlifes. There are many religions that have different sets of rules, the Egyptians had the rules of Maat, the Christians and Hebrews have the Ten Commandments, the Incans had the rule of law and so on. I will first explain why I like this motif so much, this motif tells us that people in the ancient world understood right from wrong, and they were teaching these rules to kids so that way they would grow up believing if they did anything wrong they would be punished and I believe that is why we have and orderly world rather than total anarchy, which is something I’m very appreciative of. This motif played a very big part in why people act the way they do today, because, our ancient ancestors full heartedly believe in their religions and what their religions say that they should do. The second creation myth motif that I will be analyzing is the motif is that everything in the World, Universe, and Galaxy, started from absolutely nothing, otherwise known as chaos.
I believe this motif is such an important motif because, it shows how powerful the gods are. It also shows if a person doesn’t follow the rules of their religion, as examined in the first paragraph, they could erase your existence from the earth or worse, send you to whatever form of hell that religion has for eternity. In the Christian myth their god created first the heavens but then the earth, at first the world was just a formless void surrounded by darkness, God created light by simply saying “let there be light”, Then God said “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters”, which formed the sky. Then God said “let the waters be gathered together and let dry land appear”, this formed the earth. Then God said “let the earth bear fruit”, than plants and trees of all kinds began to appear. Then God said “Let the earth bring forth living creatures, in the air and the seas and on dry land”. This motif is not uncommon almost every creation myth has the motif of a world being from nothing showing just how powerful their god …show more content…
is. The last creation myth motif that I will be analyzing is the motif of the gods who created the humans, having endless love for them. Gods in most motifs are just like parents they will do everything in their power to care for and love the humans but if the humans do something they are not supposed to,then the gods punish them. In Genesis God creates the world, the sky, and day and night, then he creates creatures. On the next day he creates Adam and Eve. God gives Adam and Eve every advantage to live a nice peaceful life, so that they may reproduce in peace. In Genesis God tells Adam and Eve not to eat fruit for one particular tree, however they do anyway after a snake keeps telling eve to eat one. After they eat the forbidden fruit God punishes them, just like a parent. Concerning creation myths, the three main motifs that I wrote about were, the idea of god's creating a set of rules for humans to live by after their creation, the idea of everything being created from chaos, and the idea of god's having endless love for their creations.
Personally I love all the ideas of creation myths, the ones that have peaceful creation, the ones that have a bloody struggle, the ones where gods try to take out the humans, and the ones where the gods would be willing to do anything for the humans. shows how much the people thought they were like gods. Just like in the past, I still wonder if a few years from now, or a hundred years from now, whatever it may be, I still wonder how many more religions will be created and how many will be
forgotten.
Christian Beliefs in the Origins of the World “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ” A Description of Christian Beliefs About the Origins of The World Christians believe that God created the universe. In Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, we are told that God creates both the universe and everything that is in it.
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).”
Myths recur across cultures and times because they are narrative and iconic manifestations of psychological archetypes which are themselves universal across times and cultures. An archetype is a universal symbolic pattern that is a motif, theme or character or image that repeats itself in many different cultures. It can be compared to a blueprint or a prototype that gets re-visited many different times. Some of the most popular examples are stories of great floods, initiation, creation, the underworld and motherhood. Archetypal characters and stories appear consistently in myths across many various cultures. Archetype myths explain the nature and creation of the world how life came about. Humans are very curious when it comes to the topic
In Native American literature, both creation myths and trickster tales were frequently told and passed down through generations upon generations orally, and then eventually written down. A creation myth is a tale that tells of how the world began or how people first came to live here, while a trickster tale is a short story that tells of a “trickster” with vacuous behavior, whose actions are meant to teach a lesson. Both types of literature are still relevant in modern society, whether it’s through pop-culture or re-told stories, and continue to guide individuals through their life, teach lessons about life on earth, morals, and human nature.
Hesiod’s Theogony and the Babylonian Enuma Elish are both myths that begin as creation myths, explaining how the universe and, later on, humans came to be. These types of myths exist in every culture and, while the account of creation in Hesiod’s Theogony and the Enuma Elish share many similarities, the two myths differ in many ways as well. Both myths begin creation from where the universe is a formless state, from which the primordial gods emerge. The idea of the earth and sky beginning as one and then being separated is also expressed in both myths.
...milarities. Their single god creates a firmament, luminaries, dry land, and the people that inhabit that land. Chinese and Egyptian mythology also share an uncanny amount of coincidences, such as the presence of a dog-headed god, or the creation of Earth and the heavens from a cosmic egg. Norse, Japanese, and Greek mythologies, too, agree on a lot of ideals. They each contain a clash of gods and the death of certain gods in order to form life. The list of creation myths, and myths in general, that relate to each other could stretch out for miles. With these parallels, humanity can better understand earlier cultures and document the method to how mythologies change over time.
Throughout the world there are various cultures with varying religions and creation stories to explain the creation of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. Of these creation stories two with similar and also different characteristics is the Creation story in the book of Genesis which is a part of the 1st Testament in the Hebrew Bible and explains the creation of Earth and humans, and the Theogony which is the greek creation story that describes the origins of the Earth and the Greek Gods. Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but it can also affect them negatively, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories.
The Maori myth is a Polynesian story about the creation of the universe which according to Rosenberg was different from other creation myths because it begins with nothing and then progresses through a process of “nonbeing to thought to the creation of the universe and human beings” (351). Even though it may be different because it goes from “nonbeing to thought” instead of nothingness to a spoken word or action, it has many similarities to other creation myths in how it explains the origins of the Gods and how each one represents a natural event or aspect of nature and humanity. The myth begins with an “idea” that “was remembered” and then “became conscious” and then “a wish to create”, all of which created a “power to live and to grow, even in emptiness” (352). At this point there was still no being, only thought and desire which gives the idea that what is being addressed are the human attributes of feeling, sensing, desire and thought, this is where this story is different from other creation myths.
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.
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...
The most common mythological theme across different cultures is the creation of humankind because everyone has always questioned how the earth was created and so forth. Creation myths are “usually applied to a mytho-religious story which explains the beginning of humanity, life, the earth and the universe as being the result of a deliberate act of supreme beings or being” ("Creation myths," 2007). Individuals from different cultures believe in a higher power known as God and they believe that the higher power is the creator of earth, animals and humankind, however each culture believe in different Gods but they all believe that God is the creator and that is the universal theme across different cultures.
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:
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).
When the modern person ponders the formation of human beings, our mind automatically goes to Adam and Eve, whom were the first man and woman created by God according to the Book of Genesis. Before there was Adam and Eve, diverse cultures came up with myths about the construction of humans. These myths included: “The Song of Creation” from the Rig Veda, An African Creation Tale, From the Popol Vuh, and A Native American Creation Tale “How Man Was Created” Each one of these legends gives a diverse perspective on the creation of human beings.
While the Hebrews and Egyptians creation theories bear resemblances and differences, the study and comparison of both the Egyptian myths and the biblical account allow us to comprehend the religious views of ancient civilizations in a better light. One may come to the conclusion that the Hebrews were influenced by the cultures of Egyptians by creating similarities in their own beliefs, or by drawing a line of defense of what is in their terms true, by separating from the mass ideals of the Egyptians and establishing distinct