Mythology is the study of a compiled group of stories that describe the culture’s practices and past experiences. Mythology is a valuable aspect of every culture. It communicates the culture’s truthful everyday experiences or fabricated details of past events, roles, and traditions such as family, sexuality, art, religion, philosophy, laws and marriage. A culture’s collective group of stories help communicate loyalty, ethical and rational teachings, and social models. Ancient Greece and Egypt are two cultures that we’ve studied in this course so far that I will discuss the Creation Myth associated with each culture. Ancient Greece illustrate their myths through the Greek gods. In one of their creation myths they make reference to the gods creating the world similar to the book of Genesis in the bible. The story I am speaking of is called The Creation. To further explain my point, the Greek Mythology website states, “In the beginning there was only Chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, dark. …show more content…
Then, Love was born bringing along the beginning of order. From Love emerged Light, followed by Gaea, the earth. Erebus slept with Night, eventually giving birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and to Day, the earthly light. Then, Night alone created Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, and all things that dwell in the darkness haunting mankind. Meanwhile, Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the sky. Uranus’ became Gaea’s husband, surrounding all her sides. Together, they produced the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans” (The Myths: The Creation, n.d.). As you can see this is an abstract view of how the world was created but there’s an illusion that the world as we know it was created from these fantasy characters. Greek myths are full of detail and explained in a simplified manner that everyone can understand. All the myths are made up of creatures, heroes, figures, and places. The Greeks believe in the afterlife and referred to them as Hades which they describe the journey to the underworld. According to Daphne Elliot, “Every myth, Greek or otherwise, that has ever been told or written, varies in telling. The basic themes are repeated in many of them, but details, even story lines will differ considerably from village to village, eon to eon (Elliott, n.d.). Now moving onto Ancient Egyptian Mythology which was similar to that of ancient Greek Mythology in that they both refer to gods creating the world and ruling over it, however the particulars are vary. Joshua Mark explains this by describing Egyptian Mythology as such, “Egyptian Mythology was the belief structure and underlying form of ancient Egyptian culture from at least c.4000 BCE (as evidenced by burial practices and tomb paintings) to 30 CE with the death of Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt. Every aspect of life in ancient Egypt was informed by stories which related the creation of the world and the sustaining of that world by the gods” (Mark, 2013). To the Egyptians the creation of the world, mirror that of the ancient Greeks, as their world was created out of darkness and chaos as well. However, the names of the gods were completely the different. The Egyptians strongly believed in eternity and images of gods and immorality covered the walls of Egyptian tombs. After researching both, Greek and Egyptian, cultures the conclusion I draw about the culture, its people, and its belief systems contrast.
In my point of view, the Greek culture seems to be power driven yet stable. The people of Greece believe that the gods knew all the answers and were the alpha and omega. The Greeks believed in the gods and goddesses, who they felt controlled every aspect of their lives. The Greeks created laws for moral behavior. My perspective of the Egyptians culture is that it is well-structured and the rulers (pharaohs) were superior in Egypt. Its people were considered slaves and carried the responsibility of performing all labor even constructing all the pyramids and Sphinx’s. Egyptians developed hieroglyphic writing. Their belief system was a great influence on other cultures in that they developed the concept of eternity, rebirth, and compassionate
gods. I define culture as being a particular society that develops its own way of living represented by their own religion, language, music, art, ethics, education, social habits, roles, food, and attitudes. Culture is an important aspect of life because many culture influence other cultures. These influences help each culture to progress to make it better for everyone. According to Dennis O’Neil, “culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns. The term was first used in this way by the pioneer English Anthropologist Edward B. Tylor in his book, Primitive Culture, published in 1871. Tylor said that culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (O'Neil, 2006). As I look at both definitions, similarly both refer to culture as knowledge, art, religious beliefs, morality, and social habits. These common areas illustrate the most importance of developing a culture. In contrast, anthropologists look at the law, customs, and other capabilities as a part of a culture’s livelihood. Yet, my definition looks at food, attitudes, music, ethics, and language as part of a culture’s everyday lives. In short, everyone views of culture is different but there will always be some commonalities among the definitions.
A myth is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events. Each civilization has its myths about the creation of the world and its human race. Most speak of “gods” who perform feats far beyond that of humankind. Most are legends passed down through oral tradition, and embellished along the way. The book of Genesis is one of the most significant books in the Bible and is sacred scripture for Jews, Samaritans, and Christians. The Babylonian epic, Enuma Elish, is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian worldview. Hesiod’s Theogony is a poem describing the origins and genealogies of
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 sprouting from a seed. But all share a common themes, such as a form of chaos or nothingness before life is created. Joseph Campbell notes that “... the idea of an absolute ontological distinction between God and man – or between gods and men, divinity and nature - first became an important social and psychological force in the near East, specifically Akkad, in the period of the first Semetic Kings, c. 2500 B.C.,” showing another similar trait – a god or set of gods exists to create in each story (626). Joseph Campbell makes a comparison of how both Genesis and the Book of the Dead of Egypt share the same idea of their bodies belonging to their god in some way, or being reabsorbed into them at death (630-631). Others, like the Japanese and Iroquois creation myths, claim the Earth was once covered entirely of water before land was formed. Adam and Eve of Genesis and Izanagi and sister Izanami of Shintoism provide examples of myths that share both a passive and active pair of people who eventually create the Earth's population. In any case, certain popular creation myths, some closely tied to prominent religions, share more common characteristics than others. An entire sub-study, called comparative mythology, gives insight into this subject.
Myths relate to events, conditions, and deeds of gods or superhuman beings that are outside ordinary human life and yet basics to it” ("Myth," 2012). Mythology is said to have two particular meanings, “the corpus of myths, and the study of the myths, of a particular area: Amerindian mythology, Egyptian mythology, and so on as well as the study of myth itself” ("Mythology," 1993). In contrast, while the term myth can be used in a variety of academic settings, its main purpose is to analyze different cultures and their ways of thinking. Within the academic setting, a myth is known as a fact and over time has been changed through the many different views within a society as an effort to answer the questions of human existence. The word myth in an academic context is used as “ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions: How did the universe and the world come to be? How did we come to be here? Who are we? What are our proper, necessary, or inescapable roles as we relate to one another and to the world at large? What should our values be? How should we behave? How should we not behave? What are the consequences of behaving and not behaving in such ways” (Leonard, 2004 p.1)? My definition of a myth is a collection of false ideas put together to create
They had similar beliefs, but also immeasurable differences. It was composed of many meaningful gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average Roman and Greek person of that time.
Mythology is defined as a collection of interrelated stories of a given culture. Myths are intended to explain and describe the mysteries of nature and give understanding about the world that surrounds us. Each culture has their own mythology that reflects their values and beliefs. Myths were also generated to tell the story of the first people to inhabit the earth. The Egyptian mythology elevated these people to the level of Gods and Goddesses by giving them supernatural and special powers. These myths of creation were passed from one generation to the next, either orally or by hieroglyphs painted in sacred temples, pyramids, and sanctuaries.
...rect influence on Greek creation mythology. But the truth is that the tables date back to 1100 BC, which means the Babylonian creation myth is much older then Greek mythology’s Theogony by Hesiod. The Enuma Elish might even contain stories that much other then itself, some scholars argue. In conclusion it is obvious that there are many parallels between the Enuma Elish and the Theogony. No matter the creation myth there will most always be unexplainable similarities that cannot be explained. Comparing and contracting different creation myths is a very good way to help explain different cultures and their differences and similarities. It also opens the door to more questions that seek answers only found by looking in the past and how can any culture hope to have a rich and valuable future without being aware of it’s past; this is why creations myths are so valuable.
Another creation myth comes from the Greeks. The Greeks mythology had no real creator. The Greeks believed in the beginning there was only chaos and out of a void came Erebus. Erebus was the unknowable place where Death and Night dwells. After that Love was born and brought the light and day which then brought Gaea the Earth. Erebus and Night mated and Night gave birth to Ether. Ether is the heavenly light and to Day the Earthly light. Night by itself gave birth to Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis and
The word “ancient” can be a hard word to describe. It has no specific time period, but also does at the same time. When something is described as ancient, it is something that is extremely old, or was in the very distant past. Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Greek civilizations co-existed from 1150BC to 146BC. They had different systems, beliefs, and life styles, just like how different countries do today. There were also similarities, such as both having a single person be the ruler, not giving equal power to everyone. For Greeks, this would be a king and for Egyptians, and Pharaoh. Both Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece believed in mythology – a similarity between the two. However, much of their mythology was different. Although both Egypt
Mythology is an essential part of all cultures. Through myth, ancient cultures attempted to explain the world and make sense of their daily lives. Myth helps us to live in the minds and time period of people who lived many centuries ago with no technology, no running water, and a basic education. Greek myth is possibly the most commonly recognized myth simply because it is likely the most developed and best recorded. Modern Greek myth originated around 1000 B.C. in the writings of the famous Greek poet Homer in the Odyssey and the Illiad. Although early Greek myths are often vague and contain many primitive elements regarding their understanding of death, sacrifice, and fate, later myths show Greek culture developed and changed over time.
In the Bible and Greek Mythology both were the believe of us to God(s). In biblical stories, christians believe that the lord God created the world; he created birds, animals, and humans. Similarly, in Greek mythology, Zeus and his forces established the mount olympus to be there Eden, and he ordered to create all alive things in earth, even though he doesn’t want mortals, but the mortals still appears. Therefore, Biblical stories and Greek mythology have many similarities, both have the stories of the creation of human. In particular, the three examples that have the closest similarities are The Creation of woman, How god's punish those who don’t worship them and reward those who worship them. and The Kingdom of God.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the similarities and differences of both Egyptian Mythology and Greek Mythology. As all Mythologies do they both hold some similarities and about an equal amount of differences. This paper will talk about different Gods from both Egyptian and Greek mythology. From the Greek mythology, this paper will discuss Aries, Athena, Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, and Zeus. From the Egyptian side, this paper will discuss Amon, Anubis, Aton, Atum, Isis, and Osiris. This paper will also talk about two main differences in mythology, such as the different ways the Gods were shown in each mythology and there are different ways of telling the story of their creation. The similarities between the two mythologies being discussed will be their forms of worship.
Mythology is the basis of human nature. From the beginning of literature, mythology has defined what has been seen as the “unexplainable” or “unnatural”. Around the world, mythology has a strong impact on the beliefs of other cultures and affects their view of the world around them. Babylonian mythology and its themes of friendship and mortality explain the natural phenomenon that occurred in everyday life, the creation of the world and the creation of humankind.
Since the beginning of time people have found great interest in the study of mythology and its origin. For the past five weeks I have been studying this deep and complex issue and have come to the conclusion that without myths history would not be the same. In this paper I will discuss what myths are and how scholars have broken them down. Scholars such as Joseph Campbell go into great detail to explain mythology and how it effects the human life.
In the beginning there was Chaos, the origin of everything. Then out of the void emerged Erebus (darkness). Until the birth of Eros (love) the world existed in darkness and void. Chaos then gave birth to Gaea (Earth), Nyx (night), and Tartarus (underworld). Alone, Gaea shortly gave birth to Uranus, the sky (Karas, 2017: Megas, 2017). Together they created the Titans, Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires. After their births, the Titans produced the twelve gods; the foundation of Greek mythology.
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.