Investigating The Creation Of The Universe, Gods, And Humans

1150 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparing and contrasting creation myths

Investigating Earth’s Origins The creation of the universe, gods, and humans is one of the most popular topics among myths. Many cultures have passed down creation stories by mouth and through writing so that we are able to know them today. Creation stories were important pieces of information to help humans understand and rationalize their place in life. Cris Campbell of Genealogy of Religion writes, “Though there are undoubtedly other reasons, one of the most important surely is orientation. People need to situate themselves in both time and space. Creation myths serve this need: they provide a temporal and spatial anchor.” The Babylonians were a people who in ancient times ruled the world. The Babylonian Empire spanned over what is now Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. The Babylonian’s account of creation was recorded in The Enuma elish in approximately 2500 B.C. (Rosenburg, 2). This creation epic is a story of gods, family, and murder. The epic begins with the creation of some of the gods out of the sweet and salt waters. These gods (Anu and Ea) emerge from the waters and are very loud causing their father in the sweet water (Apsu) to resent them. Despite mother Tiamat’s objection, Apsu plans to kill his sons. Ea catches wind of his impeding doom, and instead kills his father. Ea then has a son Marduk, and plots to kill his mother because he thinks she let Apsu plan to kill the Ea and Anu. Ea and Kingu attempt to kill Tiamat, but her monsters are too frightening to get past. Ea then brings his powerful son Marduk to fight, and he defeats Tiamat. He splits her body in two making on half the earth, the other the sky, and her saliva the clouds and rain. The gods all celebrate and build Babylon, the house of the gre... ... middle of paper ... ... flood sweeps the world and the humans sacrifice a goat to the gods to earn their protection. The African culture was clearly different with not much war or bloodshed needed to create earth and humans. However, humans were created out of clay in both The Creation of the Titans and the Gods and The Creation of the Universe and Ife. In both stories, a god wanted to create earthly companions similar to the gods. It is clear that the Yoruba people referred to the gods as intelligent and loving. It is clear that creation myths and epics are a very important part of mythology and human history. These stories have been a way for people to relate to their past and the world around them. Each culture has a variation of the story, but in the end, humans are created and the gods rule over them. Regardless of the culture, humans have used myths and epics to understand creation.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Enuma Elish And The Mayan Creation Myth

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most cultures have a creation myth, a story of how humans came to exist in the world. Often, they involve Gods of some capacity who exist without much question or explanation. Many myths have a common idea for the origin of the world, like Earth being born from water, a golden egg, or a great monster. The Mayan creation myth and the Babylonian creation myth are similar in that they both begin with water, and account the creation and purpose of man. They also differ, as the Mayan Popol Vuh chronicles a peaceful tale of trials to forge the Earth and sentient beings to worship the gods, while the Babylonian Enuma Elish tells of wars between gods that lead to the creation of Earth and of man as a servant to the gods.

    Read More

  • Comparing Gilgamesh Epic, Nile-Documents, And Hymn

    1771 Words  | 4 Pages

    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).”

    Read More

  • Comparison Of The Babylonian Epic And Hesiod's Theogony

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Popol Vuh

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Creation texts and most early pieces of literature all share many of the same themes, mythology, and to an extent, the same characters. In the days that early texts like The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Bible, and Popol Vuh, epistemology was of high interest to many philosophers and writers. To answer the questions of “How did we get here,” “Why are we here,” “What do we do here,” and other ontological ponderings, texts like these were written to give some reason. One consistent theme from early literature and creation texts is that early people had the tragic flaw of a thirst for knowledge and a lack of willpower, which is shown in The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Bible, and Popol Vuh.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Theogony and Creation in Genesis

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but with negative affects, 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. These differences include how Gods treat humans and why the Gods/God created Earth. These stories are still being passed on in today’s world and are two of the most influential creation stories to have ever been written. The similarities and differences in the creation stories show that different cultures and religions throughout the world really aren’t that far off from each other.

    Read More

  • Motifs in Creation Myths

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ed. This composition is primarily aimed toward the illustration of several common themes that are predominant in many creation stories, including those which we have studied during the course of the semester. In its most fundamental sense, the creation myth, along with any other variety of myth must be authored in such a way that it can be easily retold for generations. Although the works discussed may seemingly be lacking in complexity and depth, it is only through careful examination that one can truly appreciate these myths as complex excerpts from history.

    Read More

  • Cosmogenic Myths: Timaeus and Genesis I

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although, they are different in every region, cosmogenic myths have many universal elements that are seemingly essential to the genre. The archetypal creation or origin myth contains four ideas that create a foundation for subsequent cultural dogma: primeval chaos, dualism, creation through sacrifice, and conjecture. They can start out very simply, and grow more complex as they are affected by time. They may be distorted, as they are passed down by oral tradition. And then later, when they are written down the meaning may change. But none of that will matter because, without the proper context one cannot understand the true implications of cosmogenic myths.

    Read More

  • Motifs In Creation Myths

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    In my essay I will be telling you how there are so many motifs in the creation myths from all around the world. You would not even believe how so many creation myths are so much alike, even when they stories are coming from halfway around the world. I would understand if they were nearby, but some of these appearcame from Egypt all the way to South America. There are three main motifs, the idea of the gods breathing life into humans to make them come to life, the idea of the creators deciding they were unhappy with the creations so they destroyed humanity, and finallylastly the idea of there being a bloody struggle.

    Read More

  • Mythology In Mythology

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh Epic Essay

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every culture has a different story of their origin. Each story varies in setting, main characters, and religious aspects. Although the stories are different, the sole purpose is the same for each – to explain how each civilization came to be. In order for a civilization to fully understand their past, they must critically break down the components of their origin story. Creation stories establish appropriate relationships within society by the revelation of the punishment laid out by the gods on unsatisfactory vassals, the importance of a hero figure, and the exposure of human survival based on nature.

    Read More

  • Comparing Three Creation Myths

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The role of god in the ancient world

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...f the divine world but the kings were in charge of vocalizing god’s wishes on earth. The most famous of these law codes was Hammurabi’s law code. The Hebrews tried to establish order by using Yahweh’s Ten Commandments and the Torah. Mesopotamian deities were hard to please and easily angered. The Mesopotamians constantly felt they were letting their gods down and usually didn’t even know the reason behind it. Hebrews had a much more forgiving god. Through texts like “The Book of Job”, it is apparent that Yahweh was a tough god but always forgiving and fair in the end. He had few demands of his people and all of them were ethical and easy to adhere to. As long as his devotees followed Yahweh’s laws, they were all capable of receiving his blessings. Through it all, it seemed that God and religion was at the center of every aspect of life in the ancient civilization.

    Read More

  • Modoc Onondaga Character Analysis

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Modoc creation story "When Grizzlies walked upright" the Chief of the Sky Spirits " made a big fire in the center of the mountain and a hole in the tops so smoke and sparks could fly out... sparks would fly out and the earth would tremble". The Modoc didn't understand what volcanoes were or how they work, so they incorporated it into their creation story to explain it. Similarly in the Onondaga creation myth, they used a story to explain how the earth was made and why the turtle has markings on its shell. In "The earth on Turtle's Back", the muskrat swim to the bottom of the ocean and pulled the earth up then placed it on the turtle's back. The use the story to explain this because they didn't have the technology to understand it. This is also shown in the Adam and Eve creation myth. God said, " it's not good for man to be alone; I'll make him a helper." God then put Adam into a deep sleep, and removed one of his ribs, and "replaced it with flesh" creating Eve, or "woman". During biblical times, and now, we don't understand why women have an extra rib so we included with our creation myths help us make sense of

    Read More

  • Norse Mythology: Pan Gu And Nü Wa

    156 Words  | 1 Pages

    The ancient creation myths use the natural world to inspire the creation of humans. These humans were made to give company to the creator or because the he/she wanted to make a new mortal specie. In the Norse mythology, the gods made man and woman because they saw trees like human's form. They wanted to make a new specie and see what they could do, so they gave life to the tree. Pan Gu and Nü Wa's story the human kind was made for another reason. Nu Wa came to the Earth and felt lonely, so she made humankind out of mud to be her company. In Yoruba mythology human kind was made because Obatala saw his reflection and wanted to make more creatures. He took some clay and mold it; Olorun liked and gave them lives. In conclusion, all these stories

    Read More

  • The Epic Of Gilgamesh, Poem, And The Enuma Elish

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    Following that further, the belief that the humans existed to serve the gods influenced much of the Sumerian literature. Stories such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, Atrahasis poem, and The Enuma Elish all portrayed this belief. For instance, the Atrahasis poem, a creation story of a young god, Enki who is being awaken from his nights slumber by his mother who is telling him that he is create servants to the gods who will then reproduce more servants. So he molds clay in the form of a human and with the help of Niamh and the goddesses the fashion the faces of the gods. Also, among the creation stories was the Tale of the Enuma Elish. The Enuma Elish is a story that explains how Earth and the Cosmos were created. In the tale the two gods (Anu, and Tiamat) created lesser gods to create the universe. Things go smoothly until there is eventually a war between the gods. Then rise’s the god Marduk. Marduk kills the Goddess Tiamat; with her severed body Marduk is able to create the Earth and the cosmos. Then Marduk later creates mankind to serve as servants to the gods. With the god’s creation of hum...

    Read More

More about Investigating The Creation Of The Universe, Gods, And Humans

Open Document