CREATION

T HE B

E GI N

NI N

GS O

F EV

E RY CI V

I LI Z

AT I ON

EGYPT

In the Beginning:•Only chaos, a lifeless water called Nu•Atem, the sun god, rose out of Nu•Atem gave rise to Geb and Nut, the earth and the sky•Geb and Nut’s children were Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus, five of the most major gods of Egypt.

EGYPT

Symbols:• Water is important in

Egyptian society (the Nile). Therefore it plays a major part in Egyptian creation

• As with the Nile’s regular flooding, Nu causes chaos

• Atem represents the sun, another major part of Egyptian society

GREECEIn the Beginning• There was only darkness,

from which came Gaea, Mother Earth

• Gaea and Uranus, the sky, were the first two entities.

• Their children were the Titans

GREECE

• Cronos, urged on by Gaea, took Uranus’ scythe and chopped him into many pieces, throwing the pieces into Tartarus

• Cronos, the lead Titan, ate his children, the gods, out of fear of them killing him.

• When Zeus escaped, he later returned and forced Cronos to regurgitate the other gods. He then killed Cronos and threw him into Tartarus, establishing the reign of the gods.

GREECE

Symbols• Darkness

symbolizes chaos• Gaea, the earth, is

the most revered entity for all life came from her

• You get what you give: Cronos receives the same fate which he inflicted upon Uranus

The Twelve Olympian Gods who control the Silver Age

ROMEIn the Beginning• There was only chaos.• A god arose and separated the

light from the dark, the sea from the land, and opposites apart

• Then man was created either from this one god or by Prometheus, it is not sure which

ROME• The universe came under the

rule of Saturn in the golden age.

• Finally, Jupiter took control from Saturn and created the silver age, the age of gods and of great prosperity.

ROME

Symbols

• Original god symbolizes one higher power.

• Jupiter represents order and knowledge prevailing, because although Saturn ruled the golden age, he kept humanity in ignorance. (Ignorance is bliss)

The Roman Gods

MESOPOTAMIA

Tigris River

In The Beginning:• There are two watery beings, Apsu and Tiamat• From them comes a variety of monsters and gods• Tiamat tries to take control of the universe

MESOPOTAMIA

Tigris River

• Marduk, god of Babylon, fights against her and kills her• Tiamat’s body is split into two parts, heaven and earth.• Marduk creates man to serve the gods, and then plants and animals.

MESOPOTAMIA

Tigris River

Symbols• Tiamat represents

chaos trying to win the universe

• Marduk represents order and the Babylonians, who also brought order to Mesopotamia

• Gods were very harsh and combative. This represents the violent conditions before the unification of Mesopotamia.

Babylonian Hanging Gardens

CHRISTIAN/JEWISH

In the Beginning• There was only God, who created the

heaven and the earth over seven periods, termed “days”

• Man was put in the Garden of Eden.• Man was placed in dominion over the

world. Day 1Day and Night

Day 2Sky and Sea

Day 3Land and Oceans

Day 4Sun, Moon, Stars

Day 5Fish and Birds

Day 6Beasts and Man

Day 7God Rests

CHRISTIAN/JEWISH

Symbols

• God created everything good.

• Man was created on the sixth day for the seventh day

• Each “day” is simply a period of time.

• The Garden of Eden is an earthly paradise.

• Man’s dominion represents our need to take care of the world

The Garden of Eden

NORSEIn the beginning• There was only Muspell and Niflheim.

Muspell was a place of fiery doom, and Niflheim was a freezing place of ice.

• Between the two areas was the Ginnungap, and here, where the heat met the cold rose Ymir, the great frost giant.

• From Ymir came his son, who started the race of frost giants, and humans.

NORSE

• Soon came Bor and Bestla, whose children were Odin, Vili, and Ve.

• The three killed Ymir and Odin became the ruler of the universe.

• From Ymir’s body Bor and Bestla fashioned the earth and the rest of the universe.

NORSE

Symbols• Both Muspell and Nieflim

are chaos.• Life can only arise in the

moderate area where they cancel each other out.

• Ymir represents life, but he is still a menace.

• Odin takes control and brings order to the world.

AZTEC In the Beginning:

• There was only void.• Out of this void rose one

god with two persons, Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl. They created themselves.

• This god was opposites. It was both good and bad, chaos and order.

AZTEC

• It’s children were the gods of direction, Huizilopochtli (south), Quetzalcoatl (east), Tezcatlipoca (west), and Xipe Totec (west).

• These gods began to create. They created the other gods and a huge sea monster name Cipactli.

• When Cipactli began swallowing the rest of creation, the gods attacked him. They defeated him and created the rest of the universe from his body.

AZTEC

Symbols:• The dual God represents that

there is good in evil and evil in good.

• The directional gods are important because the Aztecs believed they lived in the center of the world.

• Cipactil represents chaos and destruction

MAYAN

In the Beginning:

• There is only Heart-of-the-Sky

• The Heart-of-the- Sky wants others to praise him, so he creates the earth.

• It then creates animals and commands them to pray, but they cannot. So they must serve those who will pray.

• It creates men from clay, but they crumble.

• It creates men from wood, but they have no will.

• Finally, it creates the perfect man from maize.

MAYAN

Symbols:

• Animals are recognized to be beneath man

• Man fails to satisfy the Heart-of-the-Sky. (sin)

• Man made of maize represents the Mayan reliance on maize as their main staple crop.

The Mud Men of Creation

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CIVILIZATIONS

• Many differences are seen in these accounts of creation.

• Caused by differences in:•Culture•Geography•Religion•Politics• Many different interpretations are

seen in Creation stories. These show the differences in societies across history.