The world we see was not always how it was with its vast blue oceans and mountains that tower over cities several times over. In ancient times the earth was merely a giant sphere of rock, similar to the planets surrounding it. There was only one who existed in the universe known as Gaia and through the offspring of his thought created gods that served him since the beginning. Gaia created these servants for one sole purpose; to create a world suitable for Gaia’s species known as humans.
At first, the mighty gods Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune argued why they should do as told when they had power to create and destroy many things, but had to make a world for humans which seemed like ants to them. Gaia sang to the gods with a hymn that told them why they had to create this world and helped them envision only what was a part of Gaia’s scheme. The servants saw the wonders and amazement that they could’ve ever imagined as they weren’t as powerful and all seeing as Gaia. The gods all bow down to Gaia in silence after they saw what greater things were to come.
Although many of the gods agreed to shape the earth, there was one who disagreed and his name was Sun. Sun was different from the other gods
And then the Sun began to sing a theme of his own which rivaled the voices of the gods’ combined. The others began to grow worrisome as they knew that Sun was stronger than any one of them and was almost as powerful as Gaia himself. Gaia heard of the discord in the song and knew that Sun was becoming too powerful and had to do something, but Gaia was too caring and wasn’t ready to banish one of his servants that were like children to him. The Sun eventually separated from the rest and began to plot against the creating of the
...gedy happened to Medea she cries out to Zeus, “O Zeus and justice Zeus and light of the Sun”, this line is a prayer to Zeus calling out for help(Medea 764). This is showing that the gods are superior from everybody else, and they are called upon when times go wrong.
At the beginning of time only the Gods where living, until one day Sovereign Plumed Serpent and Heart of the Sky, named Hurricane, created trees, bushes, and life. Bearer Begetter was the creator or animals big and small, like birds, deers, jaguars, pumas, and serpents. When the Gods created animals they created them for the sole purpose of being worshiped by them. However, when they realized that the animals could not speak they decided they would be sent to live in the woods and fend for themselves. After this Xpiyacoc and Xmucane attempted to make humans, but instead of not being able to speak. They appeared to be too unnatural and decided to call them manikins or wood carvings so, Heart of the Sky creates a flood killing them off. It is believed that monkeys look like humans because they are the manikins who survived the flood by climbing onto trees.
The myths which prove the contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
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.
Roman and Greek mythology are filled with multiple interpretations of how the creator, be it the gods or nature, contributed to the birth of the world. These stories draw the backgrounds of the gods and goddesses that govern much of classical mythology. Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Hesiod’s Theogony are two pieces of work that account for how our universe came to be. A comparison of Theogony with Metamorphoses reveals that Hesiod’s creation story portrays the deities as omnipresent, powerful role whose actions triggered the beginning of the universe whereas in Metamorphoses, the deities do not play a significant role; rather the humans are center of the creation. The similarities and differences are evident in the construction of the universe, ages of man, and the creation of men and women on earth.
The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires, or the
gods, each given a personality and purpose. And was the subject of many myths and legends that would be told for many generations to come. They were to become the basis for a religion that would last for hundreds of years and would yield thousands of followers to believe in the made stories of these enchanted people or gods as they were called.
Ancient Egyptians tried to understand their place in the universe. This is why their mythology is centered on nature such as the earth, sky, moon, sun, stars, and the Nile River. There are many Egyptian myths of creation, but the Heliopolitan Tradition, Hermopolitan Ogdoad, and the Memphite Theology are the most commonly used. They all have some common elements and gods. For example, many of t...
People of the ancient world often had questions about their existence and how life and people came to be on earth. Most ancient people answered these questions through religion. The Sumerians were the first important group of people to inhabit Mesopotamia and they were known to practice a form of worship called polytheism, which is the worship of several gods. Mesopotamians associated different gods with natural events, emotions, and other occurrences. Their main deities included An (the god of the heavens), Enlil (Lord Storm), Enki (god of wisdom), and Nihursaga (the mother of all living things)(p.22). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled all of the events and occurrences in life. An ancient text called “Creation of Man by the Mother Goddess” (p.34) helps us understand how the M...
5. According to the epic, what are the respective roles of the gods and humans? What do the Mesopotamian deities require of humanity? What do humans expect of their gods?
Set was not like some gods who created themselves out of nothingness. Set was given life by the gods Nut (Mother) and Geb (Father), the Sky and Earth. Set was one of the four children that were born. The legend of how Set and the four others were born was a famous one. Before the five powers were born, Ra was the king. He was the one and only king. And also a year in the Egyptian calendar is only 360 days. Then the god of wisdom, Thoth, told Ra of a prophecy that the children of his daughter, Nut, will overthrow him. Ra was furious and scared because Thoth’s prophecies are always correct. Ra was the king and his order was law. He made a curse that debars Nut to give birth on any days of the 360-day-year. Thoth was friends with Nut so he was also sad with Nut. But Thoth came up with a plan. He played a game of gamble with the moon-god Khonsu. Every time Thoth wins, he gains some moonlight from the moon-god. Khonsu was very good at gambling but Thoth was the god of wisdom so Thoth always wins. Thoth gains enough moonlight to make five new days for the five children. Now each year have 365 days. Back then, the moon was able to shine fully every day. But Thoth took the moonlight to make five new days so the moon only has e...
To begin with, the ancient Greeks explained the creation of the universe, in particular the Earth and its elements, by a system of anthropomorphism in which their gods are human-like and are representatives of these elements. For example, Zeus is the god of heaven while Hades is the underworld lord (Hesiod, p.145). Unlike the Christians’ god who is “flawless”, the ancient Greeks’ divinities are portrayed as humans and are far from perfect. Their gods behave like ordinary people except they are immortal and have supernatural powers. Like any human being, the Greeks’ gods have love, jealousy, sadness, etc. For instance, in Euripides’ Bacchae, Zeus falls in love with Semele, which makes Hera becomes jealous and tries to kill Semele and Dionysus (Euripides, p.209). The Greeks even have a physically imperfect god, Hephaestus. This is to say that the gods’ attitude toward mortals is affected by how people treat them as the Greeks’ gods have emotions like humans.
In this essay, I hope to provide answers to how the actions of Hippolytus and Phaedra relate to the gods, whether or not the characters concern themselves with the reaction of the gods to their behavior, what the characters expect from the gods, how the gods treat the humans, and whether or not the gods gain anything from making the humans suffer. Before we can discuss the play, however, a few terms need to be defined. Most important would be the nature of the gods. They have divine powers, but what exactly makes the Greek gods unique should be explored. The Greek gods, since they are anthropomorphic, have many of the same characteristics as humans.
This indicates that even if one god is higher than another, as with Juno and Aeolus, they cannot just order them about but treat them favourably and on a same level. Neptune’s reaction also shows that the gods are territorial and can cancel out orders from even the queen of the gods.
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.