Greek Creation Myths

Title

Everyone all has their perspective on how the whole world came to be. Some use science as their reason and some use religion. But what they all have in common is needing a reason how and why. A common theme in mythology is that there is always an explanation for something that others couldn't understand. Most of the time it is how their world and lifestyle came to be and sometimes how it ended. This essay will include getting into more depth about the different creation myths within different cultures. It will incorporate the Hebrew/ Christian creation story, the Greek creation story, and lastly the Egyptian creation story. Within each myth, there are similarities and differences. Manly involving different forms of chaos, cycles, separation,

and the formation of the gods and mortal humans.
First let's start with the chaos in creation myths. In each myth, there contains some form of chaos or a kind of abyss of darkness.In Genesis, the creation story for Christians, it states “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”(Bible Gateway Passage). The earth was a bare dark place that later developed into what it is now. Hesiod's Theogony also expresses this idea in Greek mythology.It is not directly expressed as a form of darkness, but rather as the first god was Chaos, representing the dark watery chaos of the other myths. The Egyptian creation story also follows the idea of chaos as a starting block of their existence. “To the Egyptians, the journey began with the creation of the world and the universe out of darkness and swirling chaos” (Ancient Egyptian Mythology).Each of the beginnings of the myths is different in some way but they are also connected. Chaos gives each myth a way to start fresh and the ability to create anything.
Secondly the cyclical theme shows up in these myths as well.In the Christian creation story the theme is shown differently than in the Greek and Egyptian stories.

In Genesis the cycle is used as a part of the actual creation of the earth. “Genesis as each of the first three days of creation parallels the next three days. Genesis’ Priestly account shows the creation of light and darkness on the first day is parallel to that of the day and night on the fourth day. Whereas, the creation of the waters and sky on the second day parallels the creation of sea life and life of the air on the fifth. This pattern is continued with the third and sixth days”(Bible Gateway Passage). The Greek creation story also shows the cyclical theme but it is represented more violently. Hesiod expresses this in Greek creation with the “overthrowing of Ouranos by his son Kronos and then the defeat of Kronos by Zeus”(In the Beginning). Each ruler is overthrown by their sons and through the generation it continues. The cyclical theme is also seen in Egyptian accounts as they believed in the idea of the first occasion and that life was part of a continuous process. For example, the rising and falling of the sun was imagined as a cyclical process repeating every day(In the Beginning). The cyclical process gives each of the creation myths a type of structure to follow along

with.
Next the idea of separation occurs in all of the cultures stated before.

Each one with their own twist on each theme. As in the Biblical myth, the act of separation is used as a key aspect of creation. “And God said, “Let there be light, ” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness ”(Bible Gateway Passage). Along with separating the light from the darkness, it creates and separation of good and evil. There are also physical forms of separation. “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it ” (Bible Gateway Passage).In Greek mythology this is expressed as well. Hesiod explains that Gaia (Earth) was ‘separated’ from Ouranos (sky) through a scheme resulting in Ouranos detaching from Gaia, separating earth from the heavens. Egyptian mythology also has separation themes, telling of the separation of the god of the earth and of the sky as a major part of the creation process. Though these creation aspects are represented as deities in Egyptian mythology, the idea remains, the separation of the earth and the heavens to create a place in between. A place that could be

inhabited.
Lastly each myth has their own unique way on how each god and goddesses were created. The Biblical myth is the only myth that includes only one god. “Genesis indicates that creation resulted from the divine word of a monotheistic god”(In the Beginning). God is said to be the only one who created everything in the world. He first created the heavens and the earth, later light and darkness, then the land and waters along with the creatures of the earth including humans. “Hesiod explains that Greeks believed the first acts of creation were the result of sexual procreation by the gods Chaos and Gaia”(In the Beginning). Throughout greek mythology there is only a couple of exceptions swaying from the theme of sexual reproduction. For the most part each god and goddess were created by one another. An example would include, “ Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the sky. Uranus became Gaea's husband, surrounding her on all sides. Together, they produced the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans” (The Creation). Egyptian mythology has a mix between sexual reproduction and some form of mysterious birth. “Sexual procreation as a primary means of creation is also seen in the Memphite versions of Egyptian mythology, though the gods are the product of both asexual reproduction (Shu and Tefnut) and divine word in some accounts such as the Heliopolis (Re rising out of Nun)”(In the Beginning).