Various Creational Myths

There are numerous conceptions and beliefs about the creation of the world, as there are numerous ways one can approach the issue. Some say that the world has been created through the Big-Bang; others say that it has been created by an almighty God.

In 2005, some parents from Pennsylvania won a lawsuit against a school that added the theory of “intelligent design” to its curriculum. Most of the schools teach the theory of evolution at their school, which is based on science, and says that the world has been created through natural evolution. However the school stated that the world is not a result of the evolution, but that it has been created by God. The question is, which god, because each civilization had a different god, and had a different belief regarding the creation of the world.

The Norse mythology believes in the hammer of the gods. They believe that before Earth was created, there was the Muspell, Ginnungagap, and Niflheim.  Muspell was a fiery place, Ginnungagap was a void, and Niflheim was a frozen area. When the cold touched the fire, the god Bor and his wife appeared. The wife gave birth to Odin, Vili, and Ve. They killed the giant Ymir and from his flesh they created the earth as we know it today.

The ancient Persians believed in Zoroastrianism, the religion which states that the world was created by the deity Ahura Mazda. The story involves a huge mountain that touched the sky, and as a result a sea and two rivers were formed. Mashya and Mashyanag, the first mortals were created soon after, and they started to worship Angra Mainyu. The woman gave life to twins, but they ate them, and then to another set of twins which represent the humans of the earth.

The Babylonian creation myth, which is called the Enuma Elish involves the god of water Apsu and the god of salt Tiamat. These gods created many generations of gods which lead to Ea and to his many brothers. However these gods were very bad, and made lots of noise and as a result Apsu and Tiamat could not sleep. Apsu wanted to kill them, but Ea found out about it, and killed him first. Tiamat wanted to get his revenge and in order to kill Ea and his brothers; he created Mad Dog, Scorpion Man, and many other similar monsters. In order to protect themselves against the monsters created by Tiamat, Ea created Marduk, a monster with four eyes and four ears, which would serve as their protection. Marduk managed to kill Tiamat. He then split her body into two parts, which represent the heaven and the earth.

The Egyptians had numerous creational myths; however they all have something in common the chaotic waters of Nu. Atum, a god created a son, Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture. They had the task of brining order into the chaos, and as a result they created Geb, which is the earth, and Nut, which is the sky. Geb raised Nut above him, and this is the reason why the sky is above the earth. However, Shu and Tefnut got lost in the darkness, and Atum searched for them for thousands of years. When he found them he started to cry, and the tears represent the humans.

The Aztecs have a darker story regarding the creation of the Earth. The Earth mother is called Coatlicue, and she has a necklace made out of human hearts and hands, and her skirt is made out of snakes. Her name itself can be translated at “skirt of snakes”. She gave birth to Coyolxauhqui, the goddess of the Moon, and to 400 sons which represent the stars. Coyolxauhqui and her brothers wanted to kill Coatlicue because she got pregnant again, but she managed to give birth to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and of the sun. He killed Coyolxauhqui, and took her place in the sky as the moon.

According to the Chinese mythology, the world was created by a floating egg which contained the yin and yang. Pan-gu, the first being was created, and yin formed the earth as it was heavier, and yang the sky as it was lighter. However, Pan-gu feared that the two might get together again, so he stood between them in order to keep them separated. He grew each day, and when he was 30,000 miles high he died. The parts of his body became everything that is present on earth, such as the humans, animals, trees, and so on.

The Japanese mythology says that the gods created brother Izanagi and sister Izanami, who stood above the primordial ocean. The two got married and she gave birth to a baby who was malformed. The reason was that the marriage ceremony was not done in the proper manner. The second time they did it in the correct manner and as a result she gave birth to Japan.

The Greeks believed that Gaia came out of the primordial chaos. She created Uranus which represents the sky. They created lots of monsters such as the Cyclops and Hecatonchires. They then created the Titans, six males and six females. However Uranus wanted to keep them locked. Cronus, the youngest son killed him, and as a result Aphrodite, Zeus, the Olympians, and all the other gods were created.

The Judeo-Christian and the Islamic faiths genesis of the world is probably the most popular in the world. God created the world in six days, starting with the light, and then with the planets, and the other creatures which inhabited it. On the seventh day He rested. The second story says that God created Adam, the first man, and from his rib he created Eve. He makes a garden in Eden for him, but He forbids him to eat from the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Eve eats from the fruit and convinces Adam to do the same. He does and God drives them from the garden and makes them mortal.