Norse Mythology & Chinese Mythology
By: Chris Singer
Both Norse and Chinese mythology have similarities when it comes to the creation of the universe and the titles of some of their gods. This is amazing since these two cultures were so far apart. Another thing that makes this incredible is the fact that the people of ancient China were very private people and are shrouded in secrecy. The Norse story of creation begins with nothing but chaos and darkness. Then the elemental fires of Muspelheim combined with the ices of Nifheim caused the giant Ymir to emerge. As Ymir began to sweat, more giants were born. As more of the ice melted away a giant cow emerged and she uncovered the god, Buri. Buri then had a son named Bor who
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There are three key elements for creation: fire and ice for the Norse people and Yin and Yang for Chinese people, these elements came together and uncovered/ created giants. It was with the death of the giants in both stories that the elements of the earth were created. In both Norse and Chinese mythology, there are many different gods and several of them go by different names and spelling. In Norse mythology, there are currently 185 different gods that have a total of 330 different names (Peter J Allen). This is similar to Chinese mythology which contains 154 different gods with 486 different names (Peter J Allen). In both mythologies location and timeframe play a factor in what their gods were called. There are also similarities between some of the key gods from both Chinese and Norse mythology. One such similarity is between the trickster gods. In Norse mythology the trickster god is Loki and in Chinese mythology it is Monkey. The main deference between the two is that Loki wanted to destroy and Monkey wanted to rule. At Ragnarok Loki compiled an army of giants and his offspring to destroy Asgard. He was successful in destroying Asgard but he was killed by Heimdall in the process (McCoy). It was the goal of Loki to plunge the universe back into chaos and at Ragnarok, he was
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
The Chinese myth describes how when Pan-gu died, his body formed huge mountains, his skull formed the top of the sky, his hair formed all flowers and plants, his bones turned to jade and pearl, his arms and legs became the four directions. Also, Pan-gu’s blood became the rivers, his breath the wind, and his voice thunder, and finally, one eye became the sun and the other the moon. In the Egyptian myth, Geb is the earth, and Nut is the sky. These two are all tangled together, so Shu, god of air, pushed them apart. After Odin and the other gods slew Ymir in the Norse creation myth, Ymir’s huge body formed the earth, his blood the sea, his flesh became the land, his bones made up the mountains, and his hair made the trees. Odin and the other gods formed the sky with Ymir’s skull by holding it up with four large pillars. In the beginning of the Enuma Elish creation, it mentions how the two gods, Apsu and Tiamat, made the sweet water sea and the salt water sea. After a war that killed Tiamat’s army, the god Marduk raised half or Tiamat’s body to form the sky and the other half to form the earth. So many things also happened in the Maori creation. Rangi and Papa formed the earth and the sky. When their children managed to push them apart because they were so tightly embraced, Papa’s blood became the red clay land, and
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.
Even though Loki was considered to be one of the Aesir, the Norse gods, he was actually the son of a giant, Fárbauti (“Loki”, par. 1). However, his close relationships with the gods, particularly those with Odin and Thor, might explain why he is so commonly accepted as one of them. In fact, in some accounts, it is even said to be that Loki and Odin are blood brothers (McCoy, par. 16). Loki has three wives, the first of which being Glut, who bore him two daughters, Esia and Einmyri, the second being the giantess Angrboda, who bore him three monsters, “the wolf-giant Fenrir, Hel, ruler of the Dead, and the world-serpent Jormungand”, and the third being Sigyn, who bore him two sons, Narve and Vali (McLeish, par. 5). In addition, Loki also gave birth to Sleipnir, a horse that he later gave to Odin, “after shapeshifting into a mare and courting the stallion Svaðilfari” (McCoy, par. 4).
Loki was a Norse god that was fickle to say the least. He played pranks and created so many problems for the other gods, including
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).
Just look at two creation stories side-by-side and you should easily see their similarities. Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to take one unknown creation story and compare it to one from one’s own culture. Below is an example of a Mongolian creation myth:
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.
The plot of the film is a sort of amalgamation of different Norse myths, of which one is the creation myth. Thor sets up the beginning of the
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.
An important part of Chinese mythology is the themes found in each story. Themes in Chinese mythology often coincide with religious values during the time. A common theme in Chinese mythology includes the respect for nature. This theme came to be as a result of Shinto and Daoist influence in parts of China. Shinto and Daoist people believe that spirits are embodied into everything, living or non-living. They also claim that angered spirits are the sole cause for natural disasters like storms, droughts, and floods. In a number of Chinese myths, the idea of spirits, their control over natural events, and the need to constantly appease them was evident (Collier 23). These myths ultimately led people to respect and preserve nature as much as possible. Another theme often found in Chinese mythology is the reverence for ancestors. Also a consequence of the Daoist religion, the veneration towards one’s ancestry is very significant in many Chinese myths. Daoists hold ceremonies and build shrines commemorating the dead ancestors of one’s lineage (Roberts 38). These tribute...
Within the texts of Genesis which belong to the biblical scriptures of the Hebrews, and the myths of Egyptian origin, there are a multitude of similarities and differences. When compared side by side, the most obvious factor of both texts is that a single God was the creator of all that we know today. In Genesis that creator is simply referred to as God, while in Egyptian mythology, the creator is known as Neb-er-tcher. Both creators have striking resemblances, such as the ways they went about the production of the world.
Hundreds of years ago people did not have the technology to explain different forces of nature. They created gods, each with separate powers, to rule their domains. Some of the gods were merciful, some were wicked, and others were merely servants of more powerful gods. Looking at the gods, it is easy to tell what the civilization most valued. I am going to look at the Greek and the Norse gods to compare what was most important to their societies.