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Any mythology is based on myths about the creation of the world and people. It is difficult to identify any specific trend in all this. The creators of the world are sometimes gods, sometimes animals, and even plants. How a primordial creature arose from primeval Chaos and how it created the world - every myth has its own story about this. This article presents several myths about the creation of the world of the Slavs, Greeks, Sumerians, Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, Scandinavians, Zoroastrians, Arikara, Huron, Mayan Indians.
Slavs.
The Slavs had several legends about where the world and its inhabitants came from. Many peoples (ancient Greeks, Iranians, Chinese) had myths that the world arose from an egg. Similar legends and tales can be found among the Slavs. In the Tale of the Three Kingdoms, the hero goes in search of three princesses in the underworld. First he finds himself in the copper kingdom, then in the silver and gold. Each princess gives the hero an egg, which he, in turn, rolls into and encloses each kingdom. Having emerged into the white light, he throws the eggs onto the ground and unfolds all three kingdoms.
One of the ancient legends says: “In the beginning, when there was nothing in the world but the boundless sea, a duck, flying over it, dropped an egg into the watery abyss. The egg split, and from its lower part the mother earth came out, and from the upper part arose the high vault of heaven.”
Another legend connects the appearance of the world with the hero’s duel with the serpent who guarded the golden egg. The hero killed the serpent, split the egg - three kingdoms emerged from it: heavenly, earthly and underground.
And here is how the Carpathian Slavs talked about the birth of the world:
When was the beginning of the world,
Then there was neither sky nor earth, only the blue sea,
And in the middle of the sea there is a tall oak tree,
Two marvelous doves sat down on an oak tree,
Have you started thinking about how to establish a light?
We will go down to the bottom of the sea,
Let's take out the fine sand,
Fine sand, golden stone.
We will sow fine sand,
We will blow the golden stone.
From the fine sand - black earth,
The water is cold, the grass is green.
From the golden stone - blue sky, blue sky, bright sun,
The month and all the stars are clear.
Here's another myth. At the beginning of time the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, which contained the Rod - the Parent of all things.
The clan gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its prison, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.
The sun then came out from His face.
The bright moon is from His chest.
The frequent stars are from His eyes.
The clear dawns are from His eyebrows.
Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.
Violent winds - from the breath)..
"Book of Kolyada", 1 a
So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that comes with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The genus separated the visible, revealed world, that is, Reality, from the invisible, spiritual world - from Novi. Rod separated Truth from Falsehood.
In the chariot of fire, Rod affirmed thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the person of the Family, was established in a golden boat, and the Month - in a silver one. Rod released from his lips the Spirit of God - the bird Mother Sva. By the Spirit of God, the Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father.
Svarog finished making peace. He became the master of the earthly World, the ruler of the Kingdom of God. Svarog established twelve pillars supporting the firmament.
From the Word of the Most High, Rod created the god Barma, who began to mutter prayers, glorifications, and recite the Vedas. He also gave birth to the Spirit of Barma, his wife Tarusa.
The clan became the Heavenly Spring and gave birth to the waters of the Great Ocean. From the foam of the Ocean waters the World Duck appeared, giving birth to many gods - Yasuns and Dasun demons. The clan gave birth to the Cow Zemun and the Goat Sedun, milk spilled from their breasts and became the Milky Way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. From the butter obtained after churning, Mother Earth of Cheese was created.
Sumerians.
The Sumerians explained the origin of the universe as follows.
In Sumerian mythology, heaven and earth were originally thought of as a mountain, the base of which was the earth, personified in the goddess Ki, and the top was the sky, the god An. From their union, the god of air and wind Enlil was born, who himself was called the “Great Mountain”, and his temple in the city of Nippur was called the “house of the Mountain”: he separated the sky from the earth and organized the cosmos - the Universe. Thanks to Enlil, the luminaries also appear. Enlil falls in love with the goddess Ninlil and takes possession of her by force as she sails down the river in her barge. For this, the elder gods banish him to the underworld, but Ninlil, who has already conceived a son, the moon god Nanna, follows him, and Nanna is born in the underworld. In the underworld, Enlil three times takes the form of guards of the underworld and gives birth to three underground gods from Ninlil. They return to the heavenly world. From now on, Nanna travels in a barge, accompanied by stars and planets, across the sky at night, and through the underworld during the day. He gives birth to a son, the solar god Utu, who wanders through the sky during the day, and at night he travels through the underworld, bringing light, drink and food to the dead. Then Enlil develops the earth: he raised “the seed of the fields” from the earth, brought into being “everything useful,” and invented the hoe.
There is another version of the creation myth.
The beginning of this story is quite beautiful. A long time ago, when there was neither heaven nor earth, there lived Tiamat, the goddess of sweet waters, Apsu, the god of salty waters, and their son, the fog rising above the water.
Then Tiamat and Apsu gave birth to two pairs of twins: Lahma and Lahama (demons), and then Anshar and Kishar, who were smarter and stronger than the elders. Anshar and Kishar had a child named Annu. Annu became the god of the sky. Ea was born to Annu. This is the god of underground waters and magic.
The younger gods - Lahma, Lahama, Anshar, Kishar, Annu and Ea - gathered every evening for a noisy feast. They prevented Apsu and Tiamat from getting enough sleep. Only Mummu, the eldest son of Apsu and Tiamat, did not take part in these amusements. Apsu and Mummu appealed to the younger gods with a request to stop the celebrations, but they were not listened to. The elders decided to kill everyone who interfered with sleep.
Ea decided to kill Apsu, who had started a conspiracy against the younger ones.
Tiamat decided to take revenge for the death of her husband. Her new husband, the god Kingu, strongly supported this idea.
So Tiamat and Kingu hatched a plan for revenge. Having learned about Tiamat's plan, Ea turned to his grandfather Anshar for advice. Anshar suggested striking Tiamat with magic, since her husband was dealt with in this way. But Ea's magical powers do not affect Tiamat.
Anu, Ea's father, tried to reason with the angry goddess, but nothing worked. Since magic and negotiations came to nothing, all that remained was to turn to physical force.
Who should we send to battle? Everyone decided that only Marduk could do this. Anshar, Anu and Ea initiated the secrets of divine magic into young Marduk. Marduk is ready to fight Tiamat, demanding the undivided power of the supreme god as a reward for victory.
Young Marduk gathered all the Anunnaki (as the gods called themselves) so that they would approve the war with the supreme goddess and recognize him as their king. Anshar sent his secretary Kaku to call Lakhma, Lahama, Kishara and Damkina. Having learned about the impending war, the gods were horrified, but a good dinner with plenty of wine calmed them down.
In addition, Marduk demonstrated his magical powers, and the gods recognized him as king.
The merciless battle lasted for a long time. Tiamat fought desperately. But Marduk defeated the goddess.
Marduk took the “tables of destinies” from Kingu (they determined the movement of the world and the course of all events) and put them around his neck. He cut the body of the slain Tiamat into two parts: from one he made the sky, from the other - the earth. People were created from the blood of the murdered Kingu.
Egyptians.
In the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, “the pride of the Sun,” as the Greeks called it, Atum was considered the creator and primal being. He arose from Nun, the primary ocean, which Atum called his father, when there was nothing yet - neither sky, nor earth, nor soil.
Atum rose like a hill among the waters of the world's oceans.
The prototypes of such hills were real hills that stood out on the water surface of the flooded Nile. Suitably fortified, they became a platform for the first temples, the construction of which seemed to perpetuate the act of creating the world. The shape of the pyramid is apparently associated with the idea of a primary hill.
- I exist! I will create the world! I have no father and no mother; I am the first god in the Universe, and I will create other gods! With incredible effort, Atum broke away from the water, soared over the abyss and, raising his hands, cast a magic spell. At the same moment, a deafening roar was heard, and Ben-Ben Hill rose from the abyss amid the foamy spray. Atum sank down onto the hill and began to ponder what he should do next.
But the lonely creator had nothing to create from, and he copulated with his own hand and absorbed his own seed, and then spewed out of the mouth of the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut, the first divine couple. Ocean Nun blessed the creation, commanding it to grow. As soon as they were born, the children disappeared somewhere. Atum could not find them and sent his daughter, the Divine Eye of Atum, to search. The goddess returned the fugitives, and the overjoyed father shed tears. His tears turned into the first people.
From the first couple born of Atum came the god Geb and Nut, the goddess and embodiment of Heaven. The air god Shu and his wife separated the earth and the sky: Nut rose in the form of a firmament above Geb, leaning on it with her hands and feet, Shu began to support the firmament in this position with his own hands.
It was necessary to separate heaven and earth, because as long as they remain united, in embrace, there is no place on earth for other creatures.
But Geb and Nut managed to give birth to twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris was destined to be the first to be killed and resurrected to an eternal afterlife.
The earth and sky are surrounded on all sides by waters. Every night Nut swallows the sun, and in the morning again
gives birth to him.
Memphis had its own version of the creation myth. The creator god Ptah creates all things with the power of thought and word: “Ptah pacified himself, creating all things and divine words. He gave birth to the gods, created cities, placed the gods in their sanctuaries. All kinds of works, arts, movements of arms and legs arose, according to the order, conceived by the heart and expressed by the tongue, which created the essence of all things."
The main gods of ancient Egypt, created by Ptah, were his own incarnations. In Egyptian mythology, there is another version of the creation of the world, which arose in the city of Shmunu - the “City of Eight”. According to her, the progenitors of all things were eight gods and goddesses - Nun and Nuanet, Huh and Huakhet, Kuk and Kuaket, Amun and Amaunet. Male deities had the heads of frogs, female deities - snakes. They lived in the waters of primeval chaos and created the primordial egg there. From this egg came the solar deity in the form of a bird, and the world was filled with light. "I am a soul emerging from chaos, my nest is invisible, my egg is not broken."
During the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC), the city of Thebes became the political capital of Egypt. The main Theban deity is the sun god Amon. The Great Hymn to Amun says:
Father of fathers and all gods,
Who raised the sky and established the earth,
People came from his eyes, gods became from his mouth
The king, long live he, long live,
May he be prosperous, the head of all gods
The myth of Amun combined previously existing versions of the creation myth. It tells that in the beginning the god Amon existed in the form of a serpent. He created eight great gods, who gave birth to Ra and Atum in Iunu, and Ptah in Memphis. They then returned to Thebes and died there.
There is almost no mention of the creation of man by the gods in Egyptian mythology. According to one version, people arose from the tears of the god Ra (this is explained by the similar sound of the Egyptian words “tears” and “people”); according to another, people were molded from clay by the god Khnum.
However, the Egyptians believed that people were “the flock of God” and that God created the world for people. "He created for them the sky and the earth. He destroyed the pitchless darkness of water and created air so that they could breathe. He created for them plants, livestock, birds and fish in order to nourish them." It should be noted that in almost all traditions, legends and myths this is common...
Chinese.
Scandinavians.
According to the Scandinavians, in the beginning there was emptiness Ginungagap. To the north of it was the frozen world of darkness Niflheim, and to the south lay the fiery hot country of Muspellheim. From such proximity, the world emptiness of Ginungagap was gradually filled with poisonous frost, which began to melt and turned into the evil frost giant Ymir. Ymir was the ancestor of all frost giants.
Then Ymir fell asleep. While he slept, the sweat dripping from his armpits became a man and a woman, and the sweat dripping from his feet became another man. When a lot of ice melted, the cow Audumla emerged from the resulting water. Ymir began to drink her milk, and she liked to lick the salty ice. Having licked the ice, she found a man under it, his name was Buri.
Buri had a son Boryo Bor married the frost giantess Bestla and they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. The sons of the Storm hated Ymir and killed him. So much blood flowed from the body of the murdered Ymir that it drowned all the giants except Bergelmir, the grandson of Ymir, and his wife. They managed to escape the flood in a boat made from a tree trunk.
Odin and his brothers brought Ymir's body to the center of Ginungagapa and created a world from it. From Ymir's flesh they made the earth, from his blood - the ocean. From the skull they made the sky. And the brain was scattered into the sky, resulting in clouds.
The gods ignored only the part where the giants lived. It was called Etunheim. They fenced off the best part of this world with Ymir's eyelashes and settled people there, calling it Midgard.
Finally, the gods created people. From two tree knots a man and a woman, Ask and Emblya, emerged. All other people descended from them.
The last to be built was the impregnable fortress of Asgard, which rose high above Midgard. These two parts were connected by the rainbow bridge Bifrost. Among the gods, patrons of people, there were 12 gods and 14 goddesses (they were called Ases), as well as a whole company of other smaller deities (Vanir). This entire host of gods crossed the rainbow bridge and settled in Asgard.
The ash tree Yggdrasil grew above this multi-layered world. Its roots sprouted into Asgard, Jotunheim and Niflheim. An eagle and a hawk sat on the branches of Yggdrasil, a squirrel rushed up and down the trunk, deer lived at the roots, and below all sat the snake Nidhogg, who wanted to eat everything. Yggdrasil is what has always been, is and will be.
Greeks.
At the beginning of everything there was formless, dimensionless Chaos, then Gaia (Earth) appeared with Tartarus (the abyss) lying deep in its depths and the eternal force of attraction that existed long before them - Eros. The Greeks called the god of love, who accompanied the goddess of love Aphrodite, by the same name, but Eros, who stood at the beginning of the universe, excludes any feeling. Eros can be compared to the force of universal gravity - it is like a law. This force set Chaos and the Earth in motion. Chaos produces the feminine principle - Night and the masculine principle - Erebus (Darkness). The night gave birth to Tanat (Death), Sleep (Hypnos), a huge number of dreams, goddesses of fate - Moira, the goddess of retribution Nemesis, Deception, Old Age. The creation of the Night also became Eris, who embodied rivalry and strife, from which came Exhausting labor, Hunger, Sorrow, Battles, Murders, False words, Litigation and Lawlessness, but also the inexorably fair Orc, punishing anyone who takes a false oath. And from the connection of Night with Erebus, transparent Ether and shining Day were born - Light from Darkness!
According to the myth about the origin of the world, after this Gaia awakened: first Uranus (Sky) was born from her, then Mountains rose from her depths, their wooded slopes were filled with the nymphs she gave birth to, and Pontus (Sea) spilled over the plains. The covering of the Earth by Heaven led to the appearance of the first generation of gods - there were twelve of them: six brothers and six sisters, powerful and beautiful. They were not the only children from the union of Gaia and Uranus. Gaia also gave birth to three huge, ugly Cyclops with a large round eye in the middle of the forehead, and after them three more arrogant Hundred-Handed Giants. The Titans, having taken their sisters as wives, filled the expanses of Mother Earth and Father Sky with their offspring: they gave rise to a tribe of gods of the most ancient generation. The eldest of them, Oceanus, had three thousand daughters, beautiful-haired oceanids, and the same number of river streams that covered the entire land. Another pair of Titans produced Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon), Eos (Dawn) and numerous Stars. The third pair gave rise to the winds Boreas, Not and Zephyr. The Titan Iapetus could not boast of as abundant offspring as his older brothers, but he became famous for his few, but great sons: Atlas, who took on his shoulders the heavy burden of the firmament, and Prometheus, the noblest of the Titans.
The youngest son of Gaia and Uranus was Cronus, impudent and impatient. He did not want to endure either the arrogant patronage of his older brothers or the power of his own father. Perhaps he would not have dared to raise his hand against him, encroaching on the supreme power, if not for Gay’s mother. She shared with her matured son her long-standing resentment against her husband: he hated Uranus for the ugliness of his sons - the Hundred-Handed Giants - and imprisoned them in her dark depths. Cronus, under the protection of Nikta and with the help of his mother Gaia, seized his father's power. Taking his sister Rhea as his wife, Cron laid the foundation for a new tribe, to which people gave the name of the gods. However, the insidious Kron was afraid of his offspring, because he himself raised his hand against his father, and, so that no one would deprive him of power, he began to swallow his own children immediately after their birth. Rhea complained bitterly about her sad fate to Gaia and received advice from her on how to save another baby. When the child was born, Gaia herself hid him in one of the inaccessible caves, and Rhea gave the swaddled stone to her husband.
Meanwhile, Zeus (as the mother named the rescued baby) grew up in a hidden cave on the slopes of wooded Ida, the highest mountain on the island of Crete. He was guarded there by the young men of the Curetes and Corybantes, drowning out the children's cries with the blows of copper shields and the rattling of weapons, and Amalthea, the noblest of goats, fed him with her milk. In gratitude for this, Zeus, who subsequently took a place on Olympus, constantly took care of her, and after death he ascended her to heaven so that she would forever shine in the constellation Auriga. It is interesting that Zeus kept the skin of his nurse for himself, making a shield from it - a sign of supreme power. This shield was called “aegis”, which in Greek meant “goat”. According to him, Zeus received one of his most common epithets - aegis-sovereign. The horn, which Amalthea accidentally broke during her earthly life, was turned into a cornucopia by the ruler of the gods and given to his daughter Eirene, the patroness of the world.
Having matured, Zeus became stronger than his father and not through cunning, like Cronus, but in a fair fight he overcame him and forced him to vomit his swallowed brothers and sisters from the womb: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Thus, according to the myth about the origin of the world, the end of the era of the Titans came, who by this time filled the heavenly and earthly spaces with several of their generations - the era of the gods of Olympus began.
Zoroastrians.
In the distant past, before the creation of the world, there was nothing: no heat, no light, no living creatures on earth or in heaven. In the vast space there was only one Zervan - endless eternity. It was empty and lonely, and then He had a plan to create the world. He wanted a son to be born to him. The desire was extremely great that Zervan began to perform sacrifices for a thousand years. And two sons were born in his womb - Ormuzd and Ahriman. Zervan decided that He would give his firstborn son Ormuzd power over the whole world. Ormuzd read the Father's thoughts and told Ahriman about them. However, evil was already the essence of Ahriman, and he, in order to be born first, hastily tore apart the shell of his Father and came into the world. The evil Ahriman declared to his father: “I am your son, Ormuzd.” Zervan looked at the ugly Ahriman filled with Darkness and began to sob: this was not what He was waiting for. Immediately behind Ahriman, Ormuzd appeared from the womb, emitting Light. Ahriman, thirsting for power over the world, was the younger brother, but by cunning he was the first to be born. Therefore, he boldly reminded Zervan that it was he who should rule the world, as promised. Zervan answered Ahriman: “Get lost, Evil One! I will make you king, but only for nine thousand years, but Ormuzd will have power over you, and after the end of the allotted time, the kingdom will be given to Ormuzd and He will correct everything according to His will.”
So, after the creation of the world, it was divided into two parts. The place of residence of Ormuzd, constant and limitless in time, full of omniscience and virtues, is pierced by endless light. The area subject to Ahriman, who is in darkness, ignorance and the passion of destruction, who was, is, but will not always exist, is called the Abyss. Between the Light and the Dark Abyss there was a void in which endless light and endless darkness were mixed. Ormuzd began the creation of a perfect world, shedding a particle of his pure light into the abyss that separated him from Ahriman. But Ahriman rose from the Darkness, as predicted. The insidious younger brother, who did not possess omniscience, did not know about the existence of Ormuzd, and was so enraged by what he saw of the creation of the world that he declared war on the entire Creation. Ormuzd tried to convince Ahriman that there was no benefit from such a war, and He did not hold any grudge against his brother. However, Ahriman did not listen, because he decided: “If the Omniscient Ormuzd is trying to resolve the matter peacefully, then He is powerless.” Ahriman did not know that he was not able to harm his brother, but could only harm existence - only the Omniscient Ormuzd knew about this.
The brothers are allotted nine thousand years from the beginning of the creation of the world: the first three thousand years events will take place according to the will of Ormuzd, the next three thousand years - the wills of Ormuzd and Ahriman will mix, and in the last three thousand years the evil Ahriman will be weakened and their confrontation over Creation will cease . Ormuzd showed Ahriman his victory at the end of history: the powerlessness of the Evil spirit and the destruction of the divas, the resurrection of the dead, the final incarnation and the future tranquility of creation forever. And Ahriman fled in fear back into the Darkness. And although he fled, he continued the mad struggle against Creation - he created divas and demons who rose to intimidate. The first thing Ahriman created was a lie that undermines the world. Ormuzd created for himself eternal immortal companions: Good Thought, Truth, Obedience, Devotion, Integrity and Immortality. Then He created beautiful angels who became messengers of Ormuzd and protectors of good. Ormuzd continued the creation of the world: He created Heaven and Earth, and between them he created light, stars, the moon and the sun. The Omniscient determined places for everyone so that they would always be ready to fight evil and be saved.
Arikara Indians.
The Great Heavenly Spirit, Nesaru, sometimes called the Great Mystery, was the ruler of all creation. Under the sky stretched a boundless sea, on which two ducks always swam. Nesaru created two brothers, the Wolf Man and the Happy Man, who commanded the ducks to dive to the bottom of the great sea and bring back some earth. From this land the Wolf Man created the Great Plains, and the Happy Man created the hills and mountains.
Two brothers went underground and found two spiders. They explained to spiders how to reproduce. The two spiders gave birth to many species of animals and plants, as well as humans. They also gave birth to a race of evil giants.
These giants were so evil that Nesar was eventually forced to destroy them by sending a great flood. Nesaru loved people and saved them from death.
Huron Indians.
At first there was nothing but water. Just a wide, wide sea. Its only inhabitants were animals. They lived on the water, under the water, or flew through the air.
Then a woman fell from the sky.
Two Arctic loons flew past and managed to catch her on their wings. However, the burden was too heavy. The loons were afraid that they would drop the woman and she would drown. They called out loudly for help. All the creatures flew and swam to their call.
The Great Sea Turtle said:
- Put the celestial woman on my back. It won't get anywhere off my broad back.
The loons did just that.
Then the council of animals began to think about what to do next. The wise Sea Turtle said that a woman needs land to live.
All the animals took turns diving to the bottom of the sea, but no one ever reached the bottom. Finally, the Toad dived. It took a long time before she appeared again and brought a handful of earth. She gave this land to the woman. The woman smoothed it out on the Turtle's back. This is how land came into being.
Over time, trees grew on it and rivers flowed.
The children of the very first woman began to live.
To this day, the earth rests on the back of the Great Sea Turtle.
Mayan Indians.
A long time ago there were no people, no animals, no stones, no trees on earth. There was nothing. It was an endless and sad plain covered with waters. The deities Tepev, Kukumats and Huracan lived in the twilight silence. They got to talking and came to an agreement about what needed to be done.
They kindled a light that illuminated the earth for the first time. The sea receded, revealing land that could be farmed and on which flowers and trees bloomed. A wonderful fragrance rose to the sky from the newly created forests.
The gods rejoiced at their creations. However, they thought that the trees should not be left without servants and guardians. Then they placed animals of all kinds on the branches and near the trunks. The animals remained motionless until the gods ordered each of them: - You will go drink water from the rivers. You will go to sleep in a cave. You will walk on four legs, and one day your back will experience the weight of the loads you carry. And you, bird, will live in the branches and fly through the air, without fear of falling.
The animals obeyed orders. The gods thought that all living beings should be placed in their natural environment, but should not live in silence, since silence is synonymous with devastation and death. Then they gave them votes. But the animals could only scream, unable to say a single sensible word.
The distressed gods consulted and turned to the animals: - Since you failed to understand who we are, you will forever live in fear of others. Some of you will devour others without any disgust.
Hearing these words, the animals tried to speak. However, only screams came out of their throats and mouths. The animals submitted and accepted the sentence: soon they began to be persecuted and sacrificed, their meat was boiled and they were eaten by much more intelligent creatures that were to be born.
source vision7.ru
Any mythology is based on myths about the creation of the world and people. It is difficult to identify any specific trend in all this. The creators of the world are sometimes gods, sometimes animals, and even plants. How a primordial creature arose from primeval Chaos and how it created the world - every myth has its own story about this. This article presents several myths about the creation of the world of the Slavs, Greeks, Sumerians, Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, Scandinavians, Zoroastrians, Arikara, Huron, Mayan Indians.
Slavs.
The Slavs had several legends about where the world and its inhabitants came from. Many peoples (ancient Greeks, Iranians, Chinese) had myths that the world arose from an egg. Similar legends and tales can be found among the Slavs. In the Tale of the Three Kingdoms, the hero goes in search of three princesses in the underworld. First he finds himself in the copper kingdom, then in the silver and gold. Each princess gives the hero an egg, which he, in turn, rolls into and encloses each kingdom. Having emerged into the white light, he throws the eggs onto the ground and unfolds all three kingdoms.
One of the ancient legends says: “In the beginning, when there was nothing in the world but the boundless sea, a duck, flying over it, dropped an egg into the watery abyss. The egg split, and from its lower part the mother earth came out, and from the upper part arose the high vault of heaven.”
Another legend connects the appearance of the world with the hero’s duel with the serpent who guarded the golden egg. The hero killed the serpent, split the egg - three kingdoms emerged from it: heavenly, earthly and underground.
And here is how the Carpathian Slavs talked about the birth of the world:
When was the beginning of the world,
Then there was neither sky nor earth, only the blue sea,
And in the middle of the sea there is a tall oak tree,
Two marvelous doves sat down on an oak tree,
Have you started thinking about how to establish a light?
We will go down to the bottom of the sea,
Let's take out the fine sand,
Fine sand, golden stone.
We will sow fine sand,
We will blow the golden stone.
From the fine sand - black earth,
The water is cold, the grass is green.
From the golden stone - blue sky, blue sky, bright sun,
The month and all the stars are clear.
Here's another myth. At the beginning of time the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, which contained the Rod - the Parent of all things.
The clan gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its prison, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.
The sun then came out from His face.
The bright moon is from His chest.
The frequent stars are from His eyes.
The clear dawns are from His eyebrows.
Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.
Violent winds - from the breath)..
"Book of Kolyada", 1 a
So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that comes with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The genus separated the visible, revealed world, that is, Reality, from the invisible, spiritual world - from Novi. Rod separated Truth from Falsehood.
In the chariot of fire, Rod affirmed thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the person of the Family, was established in a golden boat, and the Month - in a silver one. Rod released from his lips the Spirit of God - the bird Mother Sva. By the Spirit of God, the Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father.
Svarog finished making peace. He became the master of the earthly World, the ruler of the Kingdom of God. Svarog established twelve pillars supporting the firmament.
From the Word of the Most High, Rod created the god Barma, who began to mutter prayers, glorifications, and recite the Vedas. He also gave birth to the Spirit of Barma, his wife Tarusa.
The clan became the Heavenly Spring and gave birth to the waters of the Great Ocean. From the foam of the Ocean waters the World Duck appeared, giving birth to many gods - Yasuns and Dasun demons. The clan gave birth to the Cow Zemun and the Goat Sedun, milk spilled from their breasts and became the Milky Way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. From the butter obtained after churning, Mother Earth of Cheese was created.
Sumerians.
The Sumerians explained the origin of the universe as follows.
In Sumerian mythology, heaven and earth were originally thought of as a mountain, the base of which was the earth, personified in the goddess Ki, and the top was the sky, the god An. From their union, the god of air and wind Enlil was born, who himself was called the “Great Mountain”, and his temple in the city of Nippur was called the “house of the Mountain”: he separated the sky from the earth and organized the cosmos - the Universe. Thanks to Enlil, the luminaries also appear. Enlil falls in love with the goddess Ninlil and takes possession of her by force as she sails down the river in her barge. For this, the elder gods banish him to the underworld, but Ninlil, who has already conceived a son, the moon god Nanna, follows him, and Nanna is born in the underworld. In the underworld, Enlil three times takes the form of guards of the underworld and gives birth to three underground gods from Ninlil. They return to the heavenly world. From now on, Nanna travels in a barge, accompanied by stars and planets, across the sky at night, and through the underworld during the day. He gives birth to a son, the solar god Utu, who wanders through the sky during the day, and at night he travels through the underworld, bringing light, drink and food to the dead. Then Enlil develops the earth: he raised “the seed of the fields” from the earth, brought into being “everything useful,” and invented the hoe.
There is another version of the creation myth.
The beginning of this story is quite beautiful. A long time ago, when there was neither heaven nor earth, there lived Tiamat, the goddess of sweet waters, Apsu, the god of salty waters, and their son, the fog rising above the water.
Then Tiamat and Apsu gave birth to two pairs of twins: Lahma and Lahama (demons), and then Anshar and Kishar, who were smarter and stronger than the elders. Anshar and Kishar had a child named Annu. Annu became the god of the sky. Ea was born to Annu. This is the god of underground waters and magic.
The younger gods - Lahma, Lahama, Anshar, Kishar, Annu and Ea - gathered every evening for a noisy feast. They prevented Apsu and Tiamat from getting enough sleep. Only Mummu, the eldest son of Apsu and Tiamat, did not take part in these amusements. Apsu and Mummu appealed to the younger gods with a request to stop the celebrations, but they were not listened to. The elders decided to kill everyone who interfered with sleep.
Ea decided to kill Apsu, who had started a conspiracy against the younger ones.
Tiamat decided to take revenge for the death of her husband. Her new husband, the god Kingu, strongly supported this idea.
So Tiamat and Kingu hatched a plan for revenge. Having learned about Tiamat's plan, Ea turned to his grandfather Anshar for advice. Anshar suggested striking Tiamat with magic, since her husband was dealt with in this way. But Ea's magical powers do not affect Tiamat.
Anu, Ea's father, tried to reason with the angry goddess, but nothing worked. Since magic and negotiations came to nothing, all that remained was to turn to physical force.
Who should we send to battle? Everyone decided that only Marduk could do this. Anshar, Anu and Ea initiated the secrets of divine magic into young Marduk. Marduk is ready to fight Tiamat, demanding the undivided power of the supreme god as a reward for victory.
Young Marduk gathered all the Anunnaki (as the gods called themselves) so that they would approve the war with the supreme goddess and recognize him as their king. Anshar sent his secretary Kaku to call Lakhma, Lahama, Kishara and Damkina. Having learned about the impending war, the gods were horrified, but a good dinner with plenty of wine calmed them down.
In addition, Marduk demonstrated his magical powers, and the gods recognized him as king.
The merciless battle lasted for a long time. Tiamat fought desperately. But Marduk defeated the goddess.
Marduk took the “tables of destinies” from Kingu (they determined the movement of the world and the course of all events) and put them around his neck. He cut the body of the slain Tiamat into two parts: from one he made the sky, from the other - the earth. People were created from the blood of the murdered Kingu.
Egyptians.
In the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, “the pride of the Sun,” as the Greeks called it, Atum was considered the creator and primal being. He arose from Nun, the primary ocean, which Atum called his father, when there was nothing yet - neither sky, nor earth, nor soil.
Atum rose like a hill among the waters of the world's oceans.
The prototypes of such hills were real hills that stood out on the water surface of the flooded Nile. Suitably fortified, they became a platform for the first temples, the construction of which seemed to perpetuate the act of creating the world. The shape of the pyramid is apparently associated with the idea of a primary hill.
- I exist! I will create the world! I have no father and no mother; I am the first god in the Universe, and I will create other gods! With incredible effort, Atum broke away from the water, soared over the abyss and, raising his hands, cast a magic spell. At the same moment, a deafening roar was heard, and Ben-Ben Hill rose from the abyss amid the foamy spray. Atum sank down onto the hill and began to ponder what he should do next.
But the lonely creator had nothing to create from, and he copulated with his own hand and absorbed his own seed, and then spewed out of the mouth of the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut, the first divine couple. Ocean Nun blessed the creation, commanding it to grow. As soon as they were born, the children disappeared somewhere. Atum could not find them and sent his daughter, the Divine Eye of Atum, to search. The goddess returned the fugitives, and the overjoyed father shed tears. His tears turned into the first people.
From the first couple born of Atum came the god Geb and Nut, the goddess and embodiment of Heaven. The air god Shu and his wife separated the earth and the sky: Nut rose in the form of a firmament above Geb, leaning on it with her hands and feet, Shu began to support the firmament in this position with his own hands.
It was necessary to separate heaven and earth, because as long as they remain united, in embrace, there is no place on earth for other creatures.
But Geb and Nut managed to give birth to twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris was destined to be the first to be killed and resurrected to an eternal afterlife.
The earth and sky are surrounded on all sides by waters. Every night Nut swallows the sun, and in the morning again
gives birth to him.
Memphis had its own version of the creation myth. The creator god Ptah creates all things with the power of thought and word: “Ptah pacified himself, creating all things and divine words. He gave birth to the gods, created cities, placed the gods in their sanctuaries. All kinds of works, arts, movements of arms and legs arose, according to the order, conceived by the heart and expressed by the tongue, which created the essence of all things."
The main gods of ancient Egypt, created by Ptah, were his own incarnations. In Egyptian mythology, there is another version of the creation of the world, which arose in the city of Shmunu - the “City of Eight”. According to her, the progenitors of all things were eight gods and goddesses - Nun and Nuanet, Huh and Huakhet, Kuk and Kuaket, Amun and Amaunet. Male deities had the heads of frogs, female deities - snakes. They lived in the waters of primeval chaos and created the primordial egg there. From this egg came the solar deity in the form of a bird, and the world was filled with light. "I am a soul emerging from chaos, my nest is invisible, my egg is not broken."
During the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC), the city of Thebes became the political capital of Egypt. The main Theban deity is the sun god Amon. The Great Hymn to Amun says:
Father of fathers and all gods,
Who raised the sky and established the earth,
People came from his eyes, gods became from his mouth
The king, long live he, long live,
May he be prosperous, the head of all gods
The myth of Amun combined previously existing versions of the creation myth. It tells that in the beginning the god Amon existed in the form of a serpent. He created eight great gods, who gave birth to Ra and Atum in Iunu, and Ptah in Memphis. They then returned to Thebes and died there.
There is almost no mention of the creation of man by the gods in Egyptian mythology. According to one version, people arose from the tears of the god Ra (this is explained by the similar sound of the Egyptian words “tears” and “people”); according to another, people were molded from clay by the god Khnum.
However, the Egyptians believed that people were “the flock of God” and that God created the world for people. "He created for them the sky and the earth. He destroyed the pitchless darkness of water and created air so that they could breathe. He created for them plants, livestock, birds and fish in order to nourish them." It should be noted that in almost all traditions, legends and myths - this is common
10.10.2015 16.09.2018 - admin
7 mythological concepts of the creation of the world
Most mythologies have general stories about the origin of all things: the separation of elements of order from the primordial chaos, the separation of maternal and paternal gods, the emergence of land from the ocean, endless and timeless. Here are the most interesting myths and legends about the creation of the world.
Slavic
The ancient Slavs had many legends about where the world and everyone inhabiting it came from.
The creation of the world began with filling it with Love.
The Carpathian Slavs have a legend according to which the world was created by two pigeons who sat on an oak tree in the middle of the sea and thought “how to found the world.” They decided to go down to the bottom of the sea, take some fine sand, sow it, and from it would come “black earth, cold water, green grass.” And from a golden stone, which was also mined at the bottom of the sea, “blue sky, bright sun, clear month and all the stars” would come from it.
According to one myth, the world was initially shrouded in darkness. There was only the progenitor of all things - Rod. He was imprisoned in an egg, but managed to give birth to Lada (Love), and by her force he destroyed the shell. The creation of the world began with filling it with Love. The family created the kingdom of heaven, and under it - the heavenly kingdom, and separated the Ocean from the waters of heaven by the firmament. Then Rod separated Light and Darkness and gave birth to the Earth, which plunged into the dark abyss of the Ocean. The Sun came out of Rod’s face, the Moon came out of his chest, and the stars came out of his eyes. From Rod's breath came winds, from tears - rain, snow and hail. His voice became thunder and lightning. Then Rod gave birth to Svarog and breathed into him a powerful spirit. It was Svarog who arranged the change of day and night, and also created the earth - he crushed a handful of earth in his hands, which then fell into the sea. The sun heated the Earth, and a crust was baked on it, and the Moon cooled the surface.
According to another legend, the world appeared as a result of the hero’s battle with the serpent who was guarding the golden egg. The hero killed the snake, split the egg, and from it emerged three kingdoms: heavenly, earthly and underground.
There is also a legend: in the beginning there was nothing but a boundless sea. A duck, flying over the surface of the sea, dropped an egg into the abyss of the water, it split, and from the lower part of it came “mother earth,” and from the upper part, “a high vault of heaven rose.”
Egyptian
Atum, who arose from Nun - the primary ocean, was considered the creator and primordial being. In the beginning there was no sky, no earth, no soil. Atum grew like a hill in the middle of the world's oceans. There is an assumption that the shape of the pyramid is also associated with the idea of a primary hill.
Atum absorbed his own seed and then vomited two children into the world.
Afterwards, Atum broke away from the water with great effort, soared over the abyss and cast a spell, as a result of which a second hill grew among the water surface - Ben-Ben. Atum sat down on a hill and began to think about what he should use to create the world. Since he was alone, he absorbed his own seed, and then vomited out the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut. And the first people appeared from the tears of Atum, who briefly lost his children - Shu and Tefnut, and then found them again and burst into tears of joy.
From this couple, born of Atum, came the gods Geb and Nut, and they, in turn, gave birth to the twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris became the first god to be killed and resurrected to an eternal afterlife.
Greek
In the Greek concept, there was originally Chaos, from which the land of Gaia emerged, and in its depths lay the deep abyss of Tartarus. Chaos gave birth to Nyukta (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). The night gave birth to Tanat (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), as well as moira - goddesses of fate. From Night came the goddess of rivalry and discord, Eris, who gave birth to Hunger, Sorrow, Murder, Lies, Exhaustive Labor, Battles and other troubles. From the connection of Night with Erebus, Ether and the shining day were born.
Gaia gave birth to Uranus (Sky), then Mountains rose from its depths, and Pontus (Sea) spilled across the plains.
Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the Titans: Oceanus, Tethys, Iapetus, Hyperion, Theia, Criya, Kay, Phoebe, Themis, Mnemosyne, Kronos and Rhea.
Kronos, with the help of his mother, overthrew his father, seizing power and marrying his sister Rhea. It was they who created a new tribe - the gods. But Kronos was afraid of his children, because he himself had once overthrown his own parent. That's why he swallowed them immediately after birth. Rhea hid one child in a cave in Crete. This rescued baby was Zeus. God was fed by goats, and his crying was drowned out by the blows of copper shields.
Having matured, Zeus overcame his father Cronus and forced him to vomit his brothers and sisters from his womb: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Thus came the end of the era of the Titans - the era of the gods of Olympus began.
Scandinavian
The Scandinavians believe that before the creation of the world there was a void called Ginungagap. To the north of it lay the frozen world of darkness Niflheim, and to the south lay the fiery country of Muspellheim. Gradually, the world emptiness of Ginungagap was filled with poisonous frost, which turned into the giant Ymir. He was the ancestor of all frost giants. When Ymir fell asleep, sweat began to drip from his armpits, and these drops turned into a man and a woman. From this water also the cow Audumla was formed, whose milk Imir drank, as well as the second man born from sweat - Buri.
The son of Buri Bore Bor married the giantess Bestla, and they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. For some reason, the sons of the Storm hated the giant Ymir and killed him. Then they took his body to the center of Ginungagapa and created the world: from flesh - the earth, from blood - the ocean, from the skull - the sky. Ymir's brain was scattered across the sky, creating clouds. With the eyelashes of Ymir they fenced off the best part of the world and settled people there.
Drops of sweat from the armpits of the Scandinavian giant Ymir turned into a man and a woman.
The gods created the people themselves from two tree branches. From the first man and woman all other people descended. The gods built the Asgard fortress for themselves, where they settled.
Chinese
Zoroastrian
The Zoroastrians created an interesting concept of the universe. According to this concept, the world has existed for 12 thousand years. Its entire history is conventionally divided into four periods, each lasting 3 thousand years.
The first period is the pre-existence of things and ideas. At this stage of heavenly creation there already existed the prototypes of everything that was later created on Earth. This state of the world is called Menok ("invisible" or "spiritual").
The second period is considered to be the creation of the created world, that is, the real, visible, inhabited by “creatures.” Ahura Mazda creates the sky, the stars, the Sun, the first man and the first bull. Beyond the sphere of the Sun is the abode of Ahura Mazda himself. However, Ahriman begins to act at the same time. It invades the firmament, creates planets and comets that do not obey the uniform movement of the celestial spheres.
Ahriman pollutes the water and sends death to the first man Gayomart and the primeval bull. But from the first man are born man and woman, from whom the human race descends, and from the first bull come all animals. From the collision of two opposing principles, the whole world begins to move: waters become fluid, mountains arise, celestial bodies move. To neutralize the actions of “harmful” planets, Ahura Mazda assigns her spirits to each planet.
The third period of the existence of the universe covers the time before the appearance of the prophet Zoroaster.
During this period, the mythological heroes of the Avesta act: the king of the golden age - Yima the Shining, in whose kingdom there is no heat, no cold, no old age, no envy - the creation of the devas. This king saves people and livestock from the Flood by building a special shelter for them.
Among the righteous of this time, the ruler of a certain region, Vishtaspa, the patron of Zoroaster, is also mentioned. During the last, fourth period (after Zoroaster) in each millennium, three Saviors should appear to people, appearing as the sons of Zoroaster. The last of them, Savior Saoshyant, will decide the fate of the world and humanity. He will resurrect the dead, destroy evil and defeat Ahriman, after which the world will be cleansed with a “flow of molten metal”, and everything that remains after this will gain eternal life.
Sumerian-Akkadian
The mythology of Mesopotamia is the most ancient of all known in the world. It arose in the 4th millennium BC. e. in a state that at that time was called Akkad, and later developed in Assyria, Babylonia, Sumeria and Elam.
At the beginning of time there were only two gods, who personified fresh water (the god Apsu) and salt water (the goddess Tiamat). The waters existed independently of each other and never crossed. But one day the salt and fresh waters mixed - and the elder gods were born - the children of Apsu and Tiamat. Following the elder gods, many younger gods appeared. But the world still consisted of nothing but chaos; the gods felt cramped and uncomfortable in it, about which they often complained to the Supreme Apsu. The cruel Apsu was tired of all this, and he decided to destroy all his children and grandchildren, but in the battle he could not defeat his son Enki, by whom he was defeated and cut into four parts, which turned into land, seas, rivers and fire. Tiamat wanted to take revenge for the murder of her husband, but she was also defeated by the younger god Marduk, who created wind and storms for the duel. After the victory, Marduk received a certain artifact “Me”, which determines the movement and fate of the entire world.
Chinese.
Scandinavians.
According to the Scandinavians, in the beginning there was emptiness Ginungagap. To the north of it was the frozen world of darkness Niflheim, and to the south lay the fiery hot country of Muspellheim. From such proximity, the world emptiness of Ginungagap was gradually filled with poisonous frost, which began to melt and turned into the evil frost giant Ymir. Ymir was the ancestor of all frost giants.
Then Ymir fell asleep. While he slept, the sweat dripping from his armpits became a man and a woman, and the sweat dripping from his feet became another man. When a lot of ice melted, the cow Audumla emerged from the resulting water. Ymir began to drink her milk, and she liked to lick the salty ice. Having licked the ice, she found a man under it, his name was Buri.
Buri had a son Boryo Bor married the frost giantess Bestla and they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. The sons of the Storm hated Ymir and killed him. So much blood flowed from the body of the murdered Ymir that it drowned all the giants except Bergelmir, the grandson of Ymir, and his wife. They managed to escape the flood in a boat made from a tree trunk.
Odin and his brothers brought Ymir's body to the center of Ginungagapa and created a world from it. From Ymir's flesh they made the earth, from his blood - the ocean. From the skull they made the sky. And the brain was scattered into the sky, resulting in clouds.
The gods ignored only the part where the giants lived. It was called Etunheim. They fenced off the best part of this world with Ymir's eyelashes and settled people there, calling it Midgard.
Finally, the gods created people. From two tree knots a man and a woman, Ask and Emblya, emerged. All other people descended from them.
The last to be built was the impregnable fortress of Asgard, which rose high above Midgard. These two parts were connected by the rainbow bridge Bifrost. Among the gods, patrons of people, there were 12 gods and 14 goddesses (they were called Ases), as well as a whole company of other smaller deities (Vanir). This entire host of gods crossed the rainbow bridge and settled in Asgard.
The ash tree Yggdrasil grew above this multi-layered world. Its roots sprouted into Asgard, Jotunheim and Niflheim. An eagle and a hawk sat on the branches of Yggdrasil, a squirrel rushed up and down the trunk, deer lived at the roots, and below all sat the snake Nidhogg, who wanted to eat everything. Yggdrasil is what has always been, is and will be.
Greeks.
At the beginning of everything there was formless, dimensionless Chaos, then Gaia (Earth) appeared with Tartarus (the abyss) lying deep in its depths and the eternal force of attraction that existed long before them - Eros. The Greeks called the god of love, who accompanied the goddess of love Aphrodite, by the same name, but Eros, who stood at the beginning of the universe, excludes any feeling. Eros can be compared to the force of universal gravity - it is like a law. This force set Chaos and the Earth in motion. Chaos produces the feminine principle - Night and the masculine principle - Erebus (Darkness). The night gave birth to Tanat (Death), Sleep (Hypnos), a huge number of dreams, goddesses of fate - Moira, the goddess of retribution Nemesis, Deception, Old Age. The creation of the Night also became Eris, who embodied rivalry and strife, from which came Exhausting labor, Hunger, Sorrow, Battles, Murders, False words, Litigation and Lawlessness, but also the inexorably fair Orc, punishing anyone who takes a false oath. And from the connection of Night with Erebus, transparent Ether and shining Day were born - Light from Darkness!
According to the myth about the origin of the world, after this Gaia awakened: first Uranus (Sky) was born from her, then Mountains rose from her depths, their wooded slopes were filled with the nymphs she gave birth to, and Pontus (Sea) spilled over the plains. The covering of the Earth by Heaven led to the appearance of the first generation of gods - there were twelve of them: six brothers and six sisters, powerful and beautiful. They were not the only children from the union of Gaia and Uranus. Gaia also gave birth to three huge, ugly Cyclops with a large round eye in the middle of the forehead, and after them three more arrogant Hundred-Handed Giants. The Titans, having taken their sisters as wives, filled the expanses of Mother Earth and Father Sky with their offspring: they gave rise to a tribe of gods of the most ancient generation. The eldest of them, Oceanus, had three thousand daughters, beautiful-haired oceanids, and the same number of river streams that covered the entire land. Another pair of Titans produced Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon), Eos (Dawn) and numerous Stars. The third pair gave rise to the winds Boreas, Not and Zephyr. The Titan Iapetus could not boast of as abundant offspring as his older brothers, but he became famous for his few, but great sons: Atlas, who took on his shoulders the heavy burden of the firmament, and Prometheus, the noblest of the Titans.
The youngest son of Gaia and Uranus was Cronus, impudent and impatient. He did not want to endure either the arrogant patronage of his older brothers or the power of his own father. Perhaps he would not have dared to raise his hand against him, encroaching on the supreme power, if not for Gay’s mother. She shared with her matured son her long-standing resentment against her husband: he hated Uranus for the ugliness of his sons - the Hundred-Handed Giants - and imprisoned them in her dark depths. Cronus, under the protection of Nikta and with the help of his mother Gaia, seized his father's power. Taking his sister Rhea as his wife, Cron laid the foundation for a new tribe, to which people gave the name of the gods. However, the insidious Kron was afraid of his offspring, because he himself raised his hand against his father, and, so that no one would deprive him of power, he began to swallow his own children immediately after their birth. Rhea complained bitterly about her sad fate to Gaia and received advice from her on how to save another baby. When the child was born, Gaia herself hid him in one of the inaccessible caves, and Rhea gave the swaddled stone to her husband.
Meanwhile, Zeus (as the mother named the rescued baby) grew up in a hidden cave on the slopes of wooded Ida, the highest mountain on the island of Crete. He was guarded there by the young men of the Curetes and Corybantes, drowning out the children's cries with the blows of copper shields and the rattling of weapons, and Amalthea, the noblest of goats, fed him with her milk. In gratitude for this, Zeus, who subsequently took a place on Olympus, constantly took care of her, and after death he ascended her to heaven so that she would forever shine in the constellation Auriga. It is interesting that Zeus kept the skin of his nurse for himself, making a shield from it - a sign of supreme power. This shield was called “aegis”, which in Greek meant “goat”. According to him, Zeus received one of his most common epithets - aegis-sovereign. The horn, which Amalthea accidentally broke during her earthly life, was turned into a cornucopia by the ruler of the gods and given to his daughter Eirene, the patroness of the world.
Having matured, Zeus became stronger than his father and not through cunning, like Cronus, but in a fair fight he overcame him and forced him to vomit his swallowed brothers and sisters from the womb: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Thus, according to the myth about the origin of the world, the end of the era of the Titans came, who by this time had filled the heavenly and earthly spaces with several of their generations - the era of the gods of Olympus began.
Zoroastrians.
In the distant past, before the creation of the world, there was nothing: no heat, no light, no living creatures on earth or in heaven. In the vast space there was only one Zervan - endless eternity. It was empty and lonely, and then He had a plan to create the world. He wanted a son to be born to him. The desire was extremely great that Zervan began to perform sacrifices for a thousand years. And two sons were born in his womb - Ormuzd and Ahriman. Zervan decided that He would give his firstborn son Ormuzd power over the whole world. Ormuzd read the Father's thoughts and told Ahriman about them. However, evil was already the essence of Ahriman, and he, in order to be born first, hastily tore apart the shell of his Father and came into the world. The evil Ahriman declared to his father: “I am your son, Ormuzd.” Zervan looked at the ugly Ahriman filled with Darkness and began to sob: this was not what He was waiting for. Immediately behind Ahriman, Ormuzd appeared from the womb, emitting Light. Ahriman, thirsting for power over the world, was the younger brother, but by cunning he was the first to be born. Therefore, he boldly reminded Zervan that it was he who should rule the world, as promised. Zervan answered Ahriman: “Get lost, Evil One! I will make you king, but only for nine thousand years, but Ormuzd will have power over you, and after the end of the allotted time, the kingdom will be given to Ormuzd and He will correct everything according to His will.”
So, after the creation of the world, it was divided into two parts. The place of residence of Ormuzd, constant and limitless in time, full of omniscience and virtues, is pierced by endless light. The area subject to Ahriman, who is in darkness, ignorance and the passion of destruction, who was, is, but will not always exist, is called the Abyss. Between the Light and the Dark Abyss there was a void in which endless light and endless darkness were mixed. Ormuzd began the creation of a perfect world, shedding a particle of his pure light into the abyss that separated him from Ahriman. But Ahriman rose from the Darkness, as predicted. The insidious younger brother, who did not possess omniscience, did not know about the existence of Ormuzd, and was so enraged by what he saw of the creation of the world that he declared war on the entire Creation. Ormuzd tried to convince Ahriman that there was no benefit from such a war, and He did not hold any grudge against his brother. However, Ahriman did not listen, because he decided: “If the Omniscient Ormuzd is trying to resolve the matter peacefully, then He is powerless.” Ahriman did not know that he was not able to harm his brother, but could only harm existence - only the Omniscient Ormuzd knew about this.
The brothers are allotted nine thousand years from the beginning of the creation of the world: the first three thousand years events will take place according to the will of Ormuzd, the next three thousand years - the will of Ormuzd and Ahriman will mix, and in the last three thousand years the evil Ahriman will be weakened and their confrontation over Creation will cease . Ormuzd showed Ahriman his victory at the end of history: the powerlessness of the Evil spirit and the destruction of the divas, the resurrection of the dead, the final incarnation and the future tranquility of creation forever. And Ahriman fled in fear back into the Darkness. And although he fled, he continued the mad struggle against Creation - he created divas and demons that rose to intimidate. The first thing Ahriman created was a lie that undermines the world. Ormuzd created for himself eternal immortal companions: Good Thought, Truth, Obedience, Devotion, Integrity and Immortality. Then He created beautiful angels who became messengers of Ormuzd and protectors of good. Ormuzd continued the creation of the world: He created Heaven and Earth, and between them he created light, stars, the moon and the sun. The Omniscient determined places for everyone so that they would always be ready to fight evil and be saved.
Arikara Indians.
The Great Heavenly Spirit, Nesaru, sometimes called the Great Mystery, was the ruler of all creation. Under the sky stretched a boundless sea, on which two ducks always swam. Nesaru created two brothers, the Wolf Man and the Happy Man, who commanded the ducks to dive to the bottom of the great sea and bring back some earth. From this land the Wolf Man created the Great Plains, and the Happy Man created the hills and mountains.
Two brothers went underground and found two spiders. They explained to spiders how to reproduce. The two spiders gave birth to many species of animals and plants, as well as humans. They also gave birth to a race of evil giants.
These giants were so evil that Nesar was eventually forced to destroy them by sending a great flood. Nesaru loved people and saved them from death.
Huron Indians.
At first there was nothing but water. Just a wide, wide sea. Its only inhabitants were animals. They lived on the water, under the water, or flew through the air.
Then a woman fell from the sky.
Two Arctic loons flew past and managed to catch her on their wings. However, the burden was too heavy. The loons were afraid that they would drop the woman and she would drown. They called out loudly for help. All the creatures flew and swam to their call.
The Great Sea Turtle said:
- Put the celestial woman on my back. It won't get anywhere off my broad back.
The loons did just that.
Then the council of animals began to think about what to do next. The wise Sea Turtle said that a woman needs land to live.
All the animals took turns diving to the bottom of the sea, but no one ever reached the bottom. Finally, the Toad dived. It took a long time before she appeared again and brought a handful of earth. She gave this land to the woman. The woman smoothed it out on the Turtle's back. This is how land came into being.
Over time, trees grew on it and rivers flowed.
The children of the very first woman began to live.
To this day, the earth rests on the back of the Great Sea Turtle.
Mayan Indians.
A long time ago there were no people, no animals, no stones, no trees on earth. There was nothing. It was an endless and sad plain covered with waters. The deities Tepev, Kukumats and Huracan lived in the twilight silence. They got to talking and came to an agreement about what needed to be done.
They kindled a light that illuminated the earth for the first time. The sea receded, revealing land that could be farmed and on which flowers and trees bloomed. A wonderful fragrance rose to the sky from the newly created forests.
The gods rejoiced at their creations. However, they thought that the trees should not be left without servants and guardians. Then they placed animals of all kinds on the branches and near the trunks. The animals remained motionless until the gods ordered each of them: - You will go drink water from the rivers. You will go to sleep in a cave. You will walk on four legs, and one day your back will experience the weight of the loads you carry. And you, bird, will live in the branches and fly through the air, without fear of falling.
The animals obeyed orders. The gods thought that all living beings should be placed in their natural environment, but should not live in silence, since silence is synonymous with devastation and death. Then they gave them votes. But the animals could only scream, unable to say a single sensible word.
The distressed gods consulted and turned to the animals: - Since you failed to understand who we are, you will forever live in fear of others. Some of you will devour others without any disgust.
Hearing these words, the animals tried to speak. However, only screams came out of their throats and mouths. The animals submitted and accepted the sentence: soon they began to be persecuted and sacrificed, their meat was boiled and they were eaten by much more intelligent creatures that were to be born.
You can see the beginning of this topic here:
Let's continue to get acquainted with various myths about the creation of the world.
Chinese.
Scandinavians.
According to the Scandinavians, in the beginning there was emptiness Ginungagap. To the north of it was the frozen world of darkness Niflheim, and to the south lay the fiery hot country of Muspellheim. From such proximity, the world emptiness of Ginungagap was gradually filled with poisonous frost, which began to melt and turned into the evil frost giant Ymir. Ymir was the ancestor of all frost giants.
Then Ymir fell asleep. While he slept, the sweat dripping from his armpits became a man and a woman, and the sweat dripping from his feet became another man. When a lot of ice melted, the cow Audumla emerged from the resulting water. Ymir began to drink her milk, and she liked to lick the salty ice. Having licked the ice, she found a man under it, his name was Buri.
Buri had a son Boryo Bor married the frost giantess Bestla and they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. The sons of the Storm hated Ymir and killed him. So much blood flowed from the body of the murdered Ymir that it drowned all the giants except Bergelmir, the grandson of Ymir, and his wife. They managed to escape the flood in a boat made from a tree trunk.
Odin and his brothers brought Ymir's body to the center of Ginungagapa and created a world from it. From Ymir's flesh they made the earth, from his blood - the ocean. From the skull they made the sky. And the brain was scattered into the sky, resulting in clouds.
The gods ignored only the part where the giants lived. It was called Etunheim. They fenced off the best part of this world with Ymir's eyelashes and settled people there, calling it Midgard.
Finally, the gods created people. From two tree knots a man and a woman, Ask and Emblya, emerged. All other people descended from them.
The last to be built was the impregnable fortress of Asgard, which rose high above Midgard. These two parts were connected by the rainbow bridge Bifrost. Among the gods, patrons of people, there were 12 gods and 14 goddesses (they were called Ases), as well as a whole company of other smaller deities (Vanir). This entire host of gods crossed the rainbow bridge and settled in Asgard.
The ash tree Yggdrasil grew above this multi-layered world. Its roots sprouted into Asgard, Jotunheim and Niflheim. An eagle and a hawk sat on the branches of Yggdrasil, a squirrel rushed up and down the trunk, deer lived at the roots, and below all sat the snake Nidhogg, who wanted to eat everything. Yggdrasil is what has always been, is and will be.
Greeks.
At the beginning of everything there was formless, dimensionless Chaos, then Gaia (Earth) appeared with Tartarus (the abyss) lying deep in its depths and the eternal force of attraction that existed long before them - Eros. The Greeks called the god of love, who accompanied the goddess of love Aphrodite, by the same name, but Eros, who stood at the beginning of the universe, excludes any feeling. Eros can be compared to the force of universal gravity - it is like a law. This force set Chaos and the Earth in motion. Chaos produces the feminine principle - Night and the masculine principle - Erebus (Darkness). The night gave birth to Tanat (Death), Sleep (Hypnos), a huge number of dreams, goddesses of fate - Moira, the goddess of retribution Nemesis, Deception, Old Age. The creation of the Night also became Eris, who embodied rivalry and strife, from which came Exhausting labor, Hunger, Sorrow, Battles, Murders, False words, Litigation and Lawlessness, but also the inexorably fair Orc, punishing anyone who takes a false oath. And from the connection of Night with Erebus, transparent Ether and shining Day were born - Light from Darkness!
According to the myth about the origin of the world, after this Gaia awakened: first Uranus (Sky) was born from her, then Mountains rose from her depths, their wooded slopes were filled with the nymphs she gave birth to, and Pontus (Sea) spilled over the plains. The covering of the Earth by Heaven led to the appearance of the first generation of gods - there were twelve of them: six brothers and six sisters, powerful and beautiful. They were not the only children from the union of Gaia and Uranus. Gaia also gave birth to three huge, ugly Cyclops with a large round eye in the middle of the forehead, and after them three more arrogant Hundred-Handed Giants. The Titans, having taken their sisters as wives, filled the expanses of Mother Earth and Father Sky with their offspring: they gave rise to a tribe of gods of the most ancient generation. The eldest of them, Oceanus, had three thousand daughters, beautiful-haired oceanids, and the same number of river streams that covered the entire land. Another pair of Titans produced Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon), Eos (Dawn) and numerous Stars. The third pair gave rise to the winds Boreas, Not and Zephyr. The Titan Iapetus could not boast of as abundant offspring as his older brothers, but he became famous for his few, but great sons: Atlas, who took on his shoulders the heavy burden of the firmament, and Prometheus, the noblest of the Titans.
The youngest son of Gaia and Uranus was Cronus, impudent and impatient. He did not want to endure either the arrogant patronage of his older brothers or the power of his own father. Perhaps he would not have dared to raise his hand against him, encroaching on the supreme power, if not for Gay’s mother. She shared with her matured son her long-standing resentment against her husband: he hated Uranus for the ugliness of his sons - the Hundred-Handed Giants - and imprisoned them in her dark depths. Cronus, under the protection of Nikta and with the help of his mother Gaia, seized his father's power. Taking his sister Rhea as his wife, Cron laid the foundation for a new tribe, to which people gave the name of the gods. However, the insidious Kron was afraid of his offspring, because he himself raised his hand against his father, and, so that no one would deprive him of power, he began to swallow his own children immediately after their birth. Rhea complained bitterly about her sad fate to Gaia and received advice from her on how to save another baby. When the child was born, Gaia herself hid him in one of the inaccessible caves, and Rhea gave the swaddled stone to her husband.
Meanwhile, Zeus (as the mother named the rescued baby) grew up in a hidden cave on the slopes of wooded Ida, the highest mountain on the island of Crete. He was guarded there by the young men of the Curetes and Corybantes, drowning out the children's cries with the blows of copper shields and the rattling of weapons, and Amalthea, the noblest of goats, fed him with her milk. In gratitude for this, Zeus, who subsequently took a place on Olympus, constantly took care of her, and after death he ascended her to heaven so that she would forever shine in the constellation Auriga. It is interesting that Zeus kept the skin of his nurse for himself, making a shield from it - a sign of supreme power. This shield was called “aegis”, which in Greek meant “goat”. According to him, Zeus received one of his most common epithets - aegis-sovereign. The horn, which Amalthea accidentally broke during her earthly life, was turned into a cornucopia by the ruler of the gods and given to his daughter Eirene, the patroness of the world.
Having matured, Zeus became stronger than his father and not through cunning, like Cronus, but in a fair fight he overcame him and forced him to vomit his swallowed brothers and sisters from the womb: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Thus, according to the myth about the origin of the world, the end of the era of the Titans came, who by this time filled the heavenly and earthly spaces with several of their generations - the era of the gods of Olympus began.
Zoroastrians.
In the distant past, before the creation of the world, there was nothing: no heat, no light, no living creatures on earth or in heaven. In the vast space there was only one Zervan - endless eternity. It was empty and lonely, and then He had a plan to create the world. He wanted a son to be born to him. The desire was extremely great that Zervan began to perform sacrifices for a thousand years. And two sons were born in his womb - Ormuzd and Ahriman. Zervan decided that He would give his firstborn son Ormuzd power over the whole world. Ormuzd read the Father's thoughts and told Ahriman about them. However, evil was already the essence of Ahriman, and he, in order to be born first, hastily tore apart the shell of his Father and came into the world. The evil Ahriman declared to his father: “I am your son, Ormuzd.” Zervan looked at the ugly Ahriman filled with Darkness and began to sob: this was not what He was waiting for. Immediately behind Ahriman, Ormuzd appeared from the womb, emitting Light. Ahriman, thirsting for power over the world, was the younger brother, but by cunning he was the first to be born. Therefore, he boldly reminded Zervan that it was he who should rule the world, as promised. Zervan answered Ahriman: “Get lost, Evil One! I will make you king, but only for nine thousand years, but Ormuzd will have power over you, and after the end of the allotted time, the kingdom will be given to Ormuzd and He will correct everything according to His will.”
So, after the creation of the world, it was divided into two parts. The place of residence of Ormuzd, constant and limitless in time, full of omniscience and virtues, is pierced by endless light. The area subject to Ahriman, who is in darkness, ignorance and the passion of destruction, who was, is, but will not always exist, is called the Abyss. Between the Light and the Dark Abyss there was a void in which endless light and endless darkness were mixed. Ormuzd began the creation of a perfect world, shedding a particle of his pure light into the abyss that separated him from Ahriman. But Ahriman rose from the Darkness, as predicted. The insidious younger brother, who did not possess omniscience, did not know about the existence of Ormuzd, and was so enraged by what he saw of the creation of the world that he declared war on the entire Creation. Ormuzd tried to convince Ahriman that there was no benefit from such a war, and He did not hold any grudge against his brother. However, Ahriman did not listen, because he decided: “If the Omniscient Ormuzd is trying to resolve the matter peacefully, then He is powerless.” Ahriman did not know that he was not able to harm his brother, but could only harm existence - only the Omniscient Ormuzd knew about this.
The brothers are allotted nine thousand years from the beginning of the creation of the world: the first three thousand years events will take place according to the will of Ormuzd, the next three thousand years - the wills of Ormuzd and Ahriman will mix, and in the last three thousand years the evil Ahriman will be weakened and their confrontation over Creation will cease . Ormuzd showed Ahriman his victory at the end of history: the powerlessness of the Evil spirit and the destruction of the divas, the resurrection of the dead, the final incarnation and the future tranquility of creation forever. And Ahriman fled in fear back into the Darkness. And although he fled, he continued the mad struggle against Creation - he created divas and demons who rose to intimidate. The first thing Ahriman created was a lie that undermines the world. Ormuzd created for himself eternal immortal companions: Good Thought, Truth, Obedience, Devotion, Integrity and Immortality. Then He created beautiful angels who became messengers of Ormuzd and protectors of good. Ormuzd continued the creation of the world: He created Heaven and Earth, and between them he created light, stars, the moon and the sun. The Omniscient determined places for everyone so that they would always be ready to fight evil and be saved.
Arikara Indians.
The Great Heavenly Spirit, Nesaru, sometimes called the Great Mystery, was the ruler of all creation. Under the sky stretched a boundless sea, on which two ducks always swam. Nesaru created two brothers, the Wolf Man and the Happy Man, who commanded the ducks to dive to the bottom of the great sea and bring back some earth. From this land the Wolf Man created the Great Plains, and the Happy Man created the hills and mountains.
Two brothers went underground and found two spiders. They explained to spiders how to reproduce. The two spiders gave birth to many species of animals and plants, as well as humans. They also gave birth to a race of evil giants.
These giants were so evil that Nesar was eventually forced to destroy them by sending a great flood. Nesaru loved people and saved them from death.
Huron Indians.
At first there was nothing but water. Just a wide, wide sea. Its only inhabitants were animals. They lived on the water, under the water, or flew through the air.
Then a woman fell from the sky.
Two Arctic loons flew past and managed to catch her on their wings. However, the burden was too heavy. The loons were afraid that they would drop the woman and she would drown. They called out loudly for help. All the creatures flew and swam to their call.
The Great Sea Turtle said:
- Put the celestial woman on my back. It won't get anywhere off my broad back.
The loons did just that.
Then the council of animals began to think about what to do next. The wise Sea Turtle said that a woman needs land to live.
All the animals took turns diving to the bottom of the sea, but no one ever reached the bottom. Finally, the Toad dived. It took a long time before she appeared again and brought a handful of earth. She gave this land to the woman. The woman smoothed it out on the Turtle's back. This is how land came into being.
Over time, trees grew on it and rivers flowed.
The children of the very first woman began to live.
To this day, the earth rests on the back of the Great Sea Turtle.
Mayan Indians.
A long time ago there were no people, no animals, no stones, no trees on earth. There was nothing. It was an endless and sad plain covered with waters. The deities Tepev, Kukumats and Huracan lived in the twilight silence. They got to talking and came to an agreement about what needed to be done.
They kindled a light that illuminated the earth for the first time. The sea receded, revealing land that could be farmed and on which flowers and trees bloomed. A wonderful fragrance rose to the sky from the newly created forests.
The gods rejoiced at their creations. However, they thought that the trees should not be left without servants and guardians. Then they placed animals of all kinds on the branches and near the trunks. The animals remained motionless until the gods ordered each of them: - You will go drink water from the rivers. You will go to sleep in a cave. You will walk on four legs, and one day your back will experience the weight of the loads you carry. And you, bird, will live in the branches and fly through the air, without fear of falling.
The animals obeyed orders. The gods thought that all living beings should be placed in their natural environment, but should not live in silence, since silence is synonymous with devastation and death. Then they gave them votes. But the animals could only scream, unable to say a single sensible word.
The distressed gods consulted and turned to the animals: - Since you failed to understand who we are, you will forever live in fear of others. Some of you will devour others without any disgust.
Hearing these words, the animals tried to speak. However, only screams came out of their throats and mouths. The animals submitted and accepted the sentence: soon they began to be persecuted and sacrificed, their meat was boiled and they were eaten by much more intelligent creatures that were to be born.
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