The first reading of Parallel Myths were The Thoughts of Brahma. In this reading Brahma is seen as the creator of the world and all things in it. The text describes how Brahma has recreated the world many different times and how the world is destroyed every kalpa or eon. After the world is back to its watery self he then begins to meditate which creates beings. When he meditates he assumes a body made of darkness which created demons and he then discarded that body which gave the world darkness or night. He assumed another body that was made of mostly good and through him gods or devas were created. Brahma casted off that body which created day. He then took on a body made of complete goodness and he had thoughts of fathers and mothers …show more content…
and created the ancestor spirits. He had another body made of energy which created human beings and thinking creatures. This body was left and created the moon. Brahma started to have strange thoughts and took on the body of energy and darkness and created ogres. The ogres startled him so much that he lost his hair which became snakes and he also created ghouls. He started to have normal happy thoughts that created birds and other mammals. The theme of the writing is creation and how the present world was created by Brahma. This can easily be compared the first chapter in the bible Genesis. Which describes how the Christian god created the world. Although the methods of how the worlds were created are different the theme is the same. It was also very interesting how Brahma is seen as so normal. His mind is just like a humans in the sense of how he can have good and bad thoughts just like everyone else. In the writing Brahma is Lonely, Brahma is said to be scared because he is all alone. So he splits himself into two parts that creates male and the other female. Brahma knows mankind needs fire to survive so he creates it by blowing it out of his mouth and it burns the hairs on the inside of his cheeks which is why hair only grows on the outside of the cheek. The two halves of Brahma recognized they were of the same being and united by making love and this created humankind. The story begins to get comical in today’s sense because women have always been perceived as stubborn and hard to get which is exactly what the female side of Brahma does. Also it shows how women can control men in which men will do anything they can to be with them. She turns herself into a cow and the male side turns into a bull and they conceive cattle. She then turns into a horse and the male turns into a stallion which creates horses. This goes on until every creature is conceived. This story shows the bond between male and female of all different species. The myth also shows the animal instinct in every animal. How no matter the circumstance the male always follows the female. The King, the Hawk, and the Pigeon is a myth that describes the true value of a promise and the sacrifices that may arise to protect that promise.
A pigeon was being chased by a hawk and went to the king for help. The king wanted to know why it feared the hawk so much and the pigeon told him the hawk would kill him. The king then promised to protect the pigeon no matter the cost. Once the promise was made the hawk came to the king and asked if he would give him the pigeon. The king then asked why he could not eat anything else like a frog and the hawk told him that he is supposed to eat the pigeon and nothing else. When the king kept denying the hawk it grew impatient and made a deal with the king. The deal was that the king would put the pigeon on a scale and then cut his own flesh until it weighed the same amount as the pigeon but no matter how much the king cut the pigeon always weighed more. Soon enough the king was only a skeleton and this is when Indra came down from the heavens himself to restore the kings flesh and take him back to heaven with him. He was fond of the king for protecting the pigeon and keeping his promise no matter what came about. This myth is very similar to the story of Jobe in the Christian faith. Where Jobe was the king, the hawk was the devil and god was the pigeon. Jobe promised to always have faith in god no matter what so just as the hawk took all of the kings flesh, the devil took everything Jobe had in order to see if he would
keep his promise or not. Jobe and the king both kept their promise throughout everything and both were given the highest reward of being in heaven. Something else that was interesting about the story was the king kept his promise and made the sacrifices all for a small pigeon. This shows the equality of all beings no matter the type or stature. The myth Guatama and the Elephant is about a man who found a motherless elephant and raised it himself. He took complete care of it and the elephant became his best friend. After watching this Indra came down from heaven disquised as a king and tried to take the elephant from him. Guatama told him he could not take him because the elephant helped him so much in carrying his food and other things. The king insisted that the elephant should be in the kingdom not in the forest. Guatama then said that he did not see the elephant as a possession but as his greatest friend and that he meant much more to him then just being his property. The king then offered to buy the elephant with everything a man could possibly want but he still denied him. Guatama told the king he would even go to the realm of yama or the heavens ruled by Indra before he would ever give up his elephant. The king then asked what he would do if he went to Brahma to ask for the elephant and the man told him that Brahma would understand his love for the elephant and would not let the king have him. Guantama understood who the king really was and Indra appeared and was delighted because no matter what he offered the man he would never give up his friend. This story shows the true importance of friendship and what it means to really be a friend. People should always be there for their friends and do whatever is necessary to keep them close and safe. Today’s world struggles with this concept. People are corrupt and are not true friends sometimes. They talk behind their friend’s backs and do not always help or lead their friends in the right track. This story is so intriguing because it shows how important and how powerful a great friendship can be.
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.
Although the myths share many similar ideas, the myths are created differently with contrasting ideas and parts. For example, one difference between the two myths is in Genesis, God created the Earth, while in The World on Turtle’s Back, a woman created the Earth. Regarding creators, there is only one God and creator in Genesis, while there are multiple in The World on Turtle’s
I've heard the fable before, three times in fact. Originally, the oracle in question was always an old man, an Asian philosopher and blind. The boys carried in a live bird, not a dead bird as she described as a "small bundle of life sacrificed" or the absence of bird altogether. The boys asked the same question. If the philosopher answered dead, they would let it fly away, but if he answered alive, they would kill it and drop it at his feet, proving him wrong with either answer. When the old, wise, blind man was presented with the question, he pondered it a bit and deduced their scheme. He answered, "The fate of that bird is in your hands."
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
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.
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.
There are apparently dozens of versions of this tale, but the best known are those by Charles Perra...
According to Aztec legend, the first world was created by a dual god- meaning that it was both a female and male- called Ometeotl. The Aztec pantheon included hundreds of gods, all who originated from Ometeotl himself. The Aztecs also believed that the gods represented forces of nature, such as rain, and also human characteristics (Benson 504). Prior to the current world the Aztecs believed that there were four other worlds, all which ended with a major catastrophe. After the end of the fourth world all the gods gathered at the Aztec’s main city, or Teotihuacán, to discuss the creation of the fifth world. They chose two gods: a wealthy, healthy one and a poor, sickly one that would both jump into the sacrificial fire. When they were sacrificed the first sunrise of t...
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.
Both of these myths reveal to us about their understanding of the universe, and about their culture. Not only do they talk about their various gods, and heroes, but they also talk about how they viewed the universe in general (Rosenberg 79). Greek mythology evolved from two early civilizations, the Mycenaean’s and the Minoans. It was the combining of these different Greek cities and Kingdoms during 10th century B.C. that created the Greek Mythology. Its geographic isolation gave it a place for mythologies to evolve (Gale Virtual Reference Library: Greek Mythology 454-456).
This essay will compare and contrast Greek mythology’s The Theogony by Hesiod and the Babylonian creation story found in the Enuma Elish. Both creation myths start off with an empty universe in a formless state. Two chief god entities materialize from this state of nothingness, one represented as a male and the other as a female.
Job was a man of the purest faith. When the world shunned God, Job's faith never declined. Job was a wealthy, handsome man with a beautiful wife and a vast amount of property. At some point in time, Satan made a bet with God that if Job situation was changed, his faith would quickly falter. On this note, God took Job's wealth, his property, his family, and his wife. When times were at their worst, God gave Job pus welts on Job's face, taking his looks. Job's faith, however, did not falter, instead it becamestronger. Job passed the test. God then healed Job, gave him more land, greater wealth , and a better wife. Job was baffled, he wondered the purpose behind his fall and rise. When he asked God this, God replied: "...Because I'm God." That was answer enough.
In this story there are two brothers and a father. In the beginning the father is very ill and dying and he tells his sons to share everything he has when he dies and they agreed. When he dies the older brother takes everything and kicked the older brother out of the house. The younger brother walked out and saw a baby bird that was injured by a snake. He helped the bird and went on his way. Soon after not having a house or place to stay he found a piece of land that he started to grow on to make a living. Soon after he started to make some profit and was living a decent life with a family he started and with children. Then one day the bird he help a long time ago flew over his land and dropped a seed. The seed started to grow a bunch of melons that were full of gold. The brother soon found out about this and wanted his own magic seed. So he went out to find a bird in need and did, but the bird knew he was a bad hearted person and later gave a seed that only brought bad things, it brought things that destroyed all he owned. The older brother went to the younger for help because he now had nothing. The younger brother forgave what he had done and helped
In Hindu mythology, one god created the world and is three people as one. How Hindu’s believe the earth was created by a single god that was three gods together, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Vishnu was cradled by a snake he was sleeping in, when a loud sound came from nowhere and awoke him where then a lotus flower grew from his navel with Brahma in it. Vishnu commanded Brahma to make a world, and so Brahma took pieces o...
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.