Mythology

Myth Parallels

Global Myth Parallels

FloodStories

Creationstories

Miraculous births

First Man/Woman stories

underworldStories

Hero/quest

The Creative Sacrifice

Life-Death-Rebirth

Order Vs. Chaos

Hubris

Fate and Destiny

Creation stories

All mythologies have a story of how the universe, world, humans, and elements were created.

Creation Myths always begin with nothingness.

Divine figures whose death creates an essential part of reality

Mesopotamian Tiamat

Killed by Marduk

Norse Ymir

Killed by the gods

The Creative Sacrifice

Hubris

Hubris: excessive pride or self-confidence. Whenever a character exhibits hubris in myths, it

leads to the character’s quick punishment, usually from the gods

Many humans/gods/demigods follow a pattern of self-destructive behavior

Hubris

Greek Mythology Icarus – he flew too close to the sun, which

melted his wings and he fell to his death Prometheus – gave humans fire, which he

wasn’t supposed to do. He was punished for stealing the fire.

Floods Stories

Stories of floods are widespread. Floods were likely experienced frequently, as

people needed to live near a water source. Floods also occurred from melting glaciers.

Said to be a punishment from gods

Flood Stories

Hebrew Tradition: Noah and the Great Flood

God commands Noah to build an Ark in advance of a flood sent by God as punishment.

Mesopotamian (Babylonian) Tradition: The Epic of Gilgamesh

One of the great gods, Ea, commands Utanapishtim (a hero) to build a boat to save living creatures from a flood caused by the gods.

Greek Tradition Deucalion and Pyrrha

Zeus, unhappy with civilization, puts a great flood on the earth, wiping out all but two people.

Flood Stories

Deucalion and

Pyrrha

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Noah’s Ark

Fate and Destiny

Many mythologies involve a character’s destiny which drives his/her actions

No human or god can escape fate.

Roman: Aeneas’ destiny to found the Roman Empire

Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh’s fate is to die

Greek: Hector’s fate is to die by Achilles

First Man/ Woman

The first humans are either fashioned by gods or emerge from natural elementsNorse Mythology

Ash and Elm (Ask and Embla)Greek Mythology

Prometheus and Epimetheus/ PandoraBabylonian Mythology

Marduk’s creation of man

from Kingu’s blood

Order Vs. Chaos

Often in creation myths, a group of younger, more civilized gods who represent order conquers and/or struggles against a group of older gods or monsters who represent the forces of chaos.

Greek Mythology: Titans vs. Gods

Mesopotamian: Younger vs. Older Gods

Miraculous Births

Miraculous conceptions occur through intervention by a deity/ supernatural

Miraculous births make divine status obvious usually when the mother is human and father is a deity. Babylonian/ Sumerian

Marduk Created in the heart of Apsu

Greek Mythology Heracles

Fathered by a god (Zeus), virgin mother

Egyptian: Set

Born through his mother’s side

Quests

Greek Mythology Hercules Odysseus

Sumerian Gilgamesh on the quest for immortality

English Mythology Percival (one of King Arthur’s knights) and his quest

for the Holy Grail

A hero goes on a journey and oftentimes must overcome their own weaknesses and faults in order to succeed.

Underworld

The land of the dead the destination of human souls in the afterlife Often the hero travels to the underworld as an

ultimate challenge. If he/she returns from the underworld, the hero has passed the true test of bravery and skill.

Underworld Myths

Roman Mythology Pluto/ Inferno Cupid and Psyche

Greek Mythology Hades/Tartarus/ Elysium Persephone

Norse Mythology Hel/ Niflheim The Death of Balder

Egyptian Mythology Duat Osiris, Isis, and Horus