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A small myth about the appearance of a person. Myths about the creation of the land of different peoples




Replacement of knowledge

The science of human origins - anthropology - appeared relatively recently. Until this moment, humanity was content with myths that people themselves invented. Unlike scientific research, such legends did not require proof - only faith was enough. And only over time, as science developed, many began to question the myths.

Nevertheless, these legends still live today - not as sources of knowledge about the world, but as historical monuments. The study of ancient myths can be very interesting and informative, especially if you try to imagine the history of their origin or, say, look for common features in the mythology of different peoples. For the most part, such legends are fascinating and poetic, which modern ideas about the origin of man cannot boast of.

From clay or from dust

Christian, in particular, the Orthodox myth about the origin of people is known especially widely. This is not surprising at all: Christianity is professed by many people, and Christian subjects have been used for centuries in literature and painting.

Egyptians and Sumerians also adhered to the idea that humans were created by the gods. As a building material, the deities used clay mixed with the blood of the gods, and the goal of creating mankind was purely practical: obedient and high-quality work was required from people for the benefit of higher powers.

Chinese myths tell about the progenitor of humanity by the name of Nui-wa. This goddess was half woman and half serpent (dragon). They were engaged in molding people from clay. The more thoroughly her work was, the richer the clan of a man made by Nui-wa turned out to be. And the lumps of clay that fell off during work turned into poor people. Interestingly, along with this myth about the origin of man, the Chinese also had another - the first person who hatched from an egg appeared there.

God's creatures

According to the Indians, people were created by the gods by the power of the spirit - and neither clay, nor dust, or other building materials were used. Moreover, at first Brahma created his own sons, and they, in turn, became the ancestors of both gods and people. Thus, the deities, to some extent, became human relatives, rather than masters and overlords. However, in Hinduism, there were at least four different myths about the creation of mankind:

  • People originated from the sound "Om", which made the drum of Shiva;
  • People hatched from an egg created by Brahma;
  • The reason for the appearance of people was the first man Purusha, who sacrificed himself;
  • People emerged from the "original warmth".

In Greek mythology, almost no attention is paid to the origin of the human race: the stories of the gods themselves, who led a rather stormy life, seemed much more interesting. The Greeks were happy to tell each other about how the earth goddess Gaia appeared, the sky god Uranus was born to her, and then titans and giants appeared. The god of time, Kronos, cunningly took power from his father, but over time, his youngest son Zeus put things in order and sent Kronos to Tartarus, simultaneously freeing his brothers. After that, the Gods went to live on Olympus, and people appeared on Earth. At the same time, the gods quite closely, when compared with other deities, contacted their wards, which led to the birth of such heroes as, for example, Prometheus or Hercules.

Non-standard stories

Buddhists, adhering to the idea of ​​the cyclical nature of the existing world, did not pay special attention to how man appeared, and indeed other creatures. Regarding what happened at the very beginning of the emergence of this world, and whether the wheel of samsara actually began, Buddha, and then all his followers, kept a "noble silence." And even the revered Brahma is not recognized by Buddhists as the Creator of this world.

The Taoists also did not focus on the creation of the world in general and humanity in particular. From vacuum and emptiness, two main energies, Yin and Yang, were formed, which interacted in various ways, striving for harmony. As a result of this interaction, this world was formed, and everyone living in it.

Children of animals

It is a mistake to think that the idea of ​​human origin from animals - the conquest of modern times. Many Indian tribes, for example, believed that they were descended from animals. The Papuans adhered to the same point of view. In two different parts of the world - in Siberia and North America, there are surprisingly similar legends, according to which people descended from bears. There is even a habit of calling bears "fathers" or "grandmothers", and indeed, to treat them respectfully. So, in Siberia, the clubfoot "Boss" is often called.

According to representatives of one of the Indian tribes, the ancestor of man was not an animal, but a bird. The first representatives of the human race hatched from the eggs of this bird.

Maria Bykova

People have always sought to find out how they appeared, where the human race originates from. Not knowing the answer to their question, they speculated, composed legends. The myth of the origin of man exists in almost all religious beliefs.

But not only religion has tried to find an answer to this age-old question. In the course of its development, science also joined in the search for truth. But within the framework of this article, emphasis will be placed on the theory of the origin of man precisely on the basis of religious beliefs and mythology.

In ancient Greece

Greek mythology is known all over the world, therefore, it is with her that the article begins to consider the myths explaining the origin of the world and man. According to the mythology of this people, in the beginning there was Chaos.

The gods emerged from him: Chronos, personifying time, Gaia - the earth, Eros - the embodiment of love, Tartarus and Erebus are the abyss and darkness, respectively. The last deity born from Chaos was the goddess Nyukta, who symbolized the night.

Over time, these omnipotent beings give birth to other gods, take over the world. Later they settled on the top of Mount Olympus, which henceforth became their home.

The Greek myth of the origin of man is one of the most famous, as it is studied in the school curriculum.

Ancient Egypt

The civilization in the Nile Valley is one of the earliest, so their mythology is also very old. Of course, in their religious beliefs there was also a myth about the origin of people.

Here you can draw an analogy with the Greek myths already mentioned above. The Egyptians believed that in the beginning there was Chaos, in which Infinity, Darkness, Nothingness and Nothingness reigned. These forces were very strong and tried to destroy everything, but the Great Eight acted in opposition to them, of which 4 had a male appearance with the heads of frogs, and the other 4 had a female appearance with snake heads.

Subsequently, the destructive forces of Chaos were overcome, and the world was created.

Indian beliefs

In Hinduism, there are at least 5 versions of the origin of the world and man. According to the first version, the world arose from the sound of Om produced by the drum of Shiva.

According to the second myth, the world and man emerged from an "egg" (brahmanda) that came from outer space. In the third version, there was a "primary warmth" that gave birth to the world.

The fourth myth sounds rather bloodthirsty: the first man, whose name was Purusha, sacrificed parts of his body to himself. Of these, the rest of the people emerged.

The latest version says that the world and man owe their origin to the breath of the god Maha-Vishnu. With every breath he breathes, the brahmandas (universes) appear in which the Brahmas reside.

Buddhism

In this religion, there is no myth as such about the origin of people and the world. It is dominated by the idea of ​​a permanent rebirth of the universe, which appears from the very beginning. This process is called the wheel of Samsara. Depending on the karma that a living being has, in the next life he can be reborn into a more highly developed one. For example, a person who has led a righteous life will either be a human again, or a demigod, or even a god in the next life.

The one who has bad karma may not become a human at all, but be born an animal or a plant, and even an inanimate being. This is a kind of punishment for the fact that he lived a "bad" life.

There is no explanation about the very appearance of man and the whole world in Buddhism.

Viking beliefs

Scandinavian myths about the origin of man are not so well known to modern people than the same Greek or Egyptian, but no less interesting. They believed that the universe emerged from the void (Ginugaga), and the rest of the material world arose from the torso of a bisexual giant named Ymir.

This giant was raised by the sacred cow Audumla. The stones, which she licked to obtain salt, became the basis for the emergence of gods, including the main god of Scandinavian mythology, Odin.

One and his two brothers Vili and Ve killed Ymir, from whose body they created our world and man.

Ancient Slavic beliefs

As in most ancient polytheistic religions, according to Slavic mythology, there was also Chaos in the beginning. And in it lived the Mother of darkness and infinity, whose name was Sva. She once wanted a child for herself and created from an embryo a fiery son Svarog for herself, and from the umbilical cord the serpent Firth was born, who became a friend of her son.

Sva, in order to please Svarog, took off the old skin from the snake, waved her hands and created all living things out of it. Man was created in the same way, but a soul was put into his body.

Judaism

It is the first monotheistic religion in the world, from which Christianity and Islam originate. Therefore, in all three faiths, the myth about the origin of people and the world is similar.

The Jews believe that the world was created by God. However, there are some discrepancies. So, some believe that the sky was created from the radiance of his clothes, the earth - from the snow under his throne, which he threw into the water.

Others believe that God weaved several threads together: he used two (fire and snow) to create his world, two more (fire and water) went to create the sky. Later, man was also created.

Christianity

This religion is dominated by the idea of ​​creating the world from "nothing". God created the whole world with his own power. It took him 6 days to create the world, and on the seventh he rested.

In this myth, explaining the origin of the world and man, people appeared at the very end. Man was created by God in his own image and likeness, therefore it is people who are the "highest" beings on Earth.

And, of course, everyone knows about the first man, Adam, who was created from clay. Then God made a woman out of his rib.

Islam

Despite the fact that the Muslim doctrine takes its roots from Judaism, where God created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh, in Islam this myth is interpreted somewhat differently.

There is no rest for Allah, he created the whole world and all living things in six days, but fatigue did not touch him in the least.

Scientific theories of human origins

Today it is generally accepted that humans appeared in the course of a long biological evolutionary process. Darwin's theory asserts that man emerged from the great primates, therefore, man and great apes in ancient times had a single ancestor.

Of course, in science there are also different hypotheses regarding the appearance of the world and people. For example, some scientists put forward a version according to which a person is the result of a merger of primates and foreign aliens who visited the Earth in ancient times.

Today even bolder hypotheses began to appear. For example, there is a theory according to which our world is a virtual program, and everything that surrounds us, including people themselves, is part of a computer game or program, which is used by more developed beings.

However, such bold ideas without proper factual and experimental confirmation do not differ much from myths about the origin of people.

Finally

In this article, various options for the origin of man were considered: myths and religions, versions and hypotheses based on scientific research. No one today can say with absolute certainty how it really was. Therefore, each person is free to choose which theory to believe in.

The modern scientific world tends to the theory of Darwinists, since it has the largest and best evidence base, although it also contains some inaccuracies and shortcomings.

Be that as it may, people strive to get to the bottom of the truth, so more and more new hypotheses, proofs appear, experiments and observations are carried out. Perhaps in the future it will be possible to find the only correct answer.

"Primordial darkness" - all the same chaos, was present in the ideas of the ancient Slavs, both Western and Eastern.

“And there was primordial darkness, and the Mother of Time, the great Mother of darkness and eternity - Sva, lived in that darkness. And her heart yearned, she wanted to know the laughter of a child, her tender hands, and she took the warmth of her soul, and, holding it in her hands, turned into a spiral, rolled up a fiery embryo. And from that germ of fire she made her son. And a son was born from a fiery embryo, and from the umbilical cord a fire-breathing serpent was born, his name is Firth.

And the serpent became a wise friend to the son of Sva - Svarog. Playing, they grew up together. And Svarog became bored with his mother, for he had already become a young man. And he also wanted to have small children. And he asked his mother to help him. The Time Mother agreed. She took it from her soul and gave it to the wise snake to swallow. It took a long time. And one day Svarog woke up. He took the heroic staff and touched the tail of the serpent-Firth. And the egg fell out of the serpent.

The Time Mother picked it up and, breaking it, made a star. Once again, Svarog pressed his staff on the tail of the fiery serpent, and a child (son or daughter) was also born to a god with a goddess. This is how all the children of him and the Mother of Time - Sva were born.

How did all living things appear in the white world?

Svarog fell asleep, lay down on the snake-friend and curled up the snake, becoming a bed for his brother-in-law. The Time Mother, the Goddess of Eternity, wanted to surprise her son. She took the clear stars in her palms, tore off the old skin from the snake, ground it all into silvery dust. She waved her swan hands, and dust scattered across the starry sky. And from that dust all living things were born. And it took not a day, not two or a thousand years.

Man was made in the same way, only the Great Mother of all things put her soul into his body. That soul is the breath of the sleeping son of Svarog. Maybe that's why the soul sleeps in our body and wakes up only in difficult times. Maybe this is right, because if a person thought only about the sublime, not caring about their daily bread, people would have died out. Know that man is born both by God and by the serpent. That is why it contains both good and bad. The left half is serpentine, and the right half is stellar. It is only important to make sure that good and bad, good and evil, are in balance, he will only benefit from this. If there is more evil, the soul will burn in a fiery flame, in a flame of anger and envy. And there will be no benefit or joy from life. If the good outweighs, then that person who is very righteous will become boring for people, more than necessary. He undertakes to teach without measure. His instructions often do not come from the heart. Such a person is boring and ridiculous.

But father and mother love all their children. Each child is sweet to them in its own way. Loves Svarog and Firth's faithful friend. Once a year Svarog walks with a staff across the sky and from those steps the stars fall and space, form, time are born.

But the stars in the sky are not eternal, like people. Svarog himself is not eternal. There is death and birth for everything. The hour will come, and Svarog will be destroyed by a friend, a beloved friend, a fiery serpent. He will vomit from his mouth a stinking fire, like a thousand hot suns. And the stars will die in flames. And all living things in the white world will perish. But, dying, it will be reborn. The update will take place. It has already been and will be so. And at the death of the gods and the fiery serpent, their souls and the souls of people will gather into a single whole, into one common spiral, and this whole will be nurtured by the Mother of Time. And he will add to it a particle of his soul. And from this, over time, a fiery embryo will appear, and fire, earth and water will appear, and everything will be repeated from the beginning, and will return to its own circles. So it was, is and will be ... "

The controversy between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continues to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more). In this article, we will tell you about ten of the most unusual myths of antiquity.

10. The myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came to be. The most popular myth is that of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.

According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, waving a weighty ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts, subsequently, became Heaven and Earth. His height was unimaginable - some kind of fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.

Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it - Pan-gu was decomposing really abruptly: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the solid earth, and his head became the Cosmos. So, his death gave life to our world.

9. Chernobog and Belobog

This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. It tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one continuous sea around, Belobog decided to create dry land by sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.

Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, one small problem arose: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.

Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth in order to find out from Chernobog how to stop this business. Well, Chernobog got on a goat and went to negotiations. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comicality of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand the humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.

Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to arrange surveillance for Chernobog, having made a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which consisted in the following: in order to stop the growth of land, it is necessary to draw a cross on it and say the cherished word - "enough". What Belobog did.

To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting to take revenge, he cursed Belobog, and cursed him in a very original way - for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces all his life. However, Belobog was not taken aback, and made the bee feces as sweet as sugar - this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared ... The main thing is that there is honey.

8. Armenian duality

Armenian myths resemble Slavic ones, and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created, it only explains how everything around is arranged. But this does not make it less interesting.

So, here's a short summary: Heaven and Earth are husband and wife, who were separated by the ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when it rocks its horns, the earth is bursting at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.

There is also an alternative myth, where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan swims around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its floundering. When Leviathan finally grabs himself by the tail, life on Earth will end and the apocalypse will come. Have a nice day.

7. The Scandinavian myth of the ice giant

It would seem that the Chinese and the Scandinavians have nothing in common - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the beginning of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was ice-cold and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim - the realms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched the Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there, from the merger of two opposite elements, Ymir was born.

And now closer to us, to people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman crawled out of his right armpit along with the sweat. Strange, yes, we understand this - well, they are, severe Vikings, nothing can be done. But back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son, Ber, and Ber had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. The three brothers were gods and ruled over Asgard. This seemed to them not enough, and they decided to kill Ymir's great-grandfather, making the world out of him.

Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans; from the skull of the unfortunate brothers they created the firmament, they broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and from the torn brains of poor Ymir they made clouds.

Odin and the company immediately decided to settle this new world: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - ash and alder, making a man out of ash, and a woman out of alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.

6. The Greek myth of balls

Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only continuous chaos around. There was no sun, no moon - everything was piled up in one big heap, where things were inseparable from each other.

But then a certain god came, looked at the disorder reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and got down to business: he separated the cold from the warmth, the foggy morning from the clear day, and so on.

Then he set to work on the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: it was very hot at the equator, extremely cold at the poles, but between the poles and the equator - just right, you can't imagine more comfortable. Further, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.

And then he was torn in two, making him a man and a woman - the future of you and me.

5. Egyptian god who loved his shadow very much

In the beginning there was a great ocean, whose name was "Nu", and this ocean was Chaos, and apart from it there was nothing. Not until Atum, by an effort of will and thought, created himself out of this Chaos. Yes, the man had eggs. But further - more and more interesting. So, he created himself, now it was necessary to create land in the ocean. Which he did. After wandering around the earth and realizing his total loneliness, Atum became unbearably bored, and he decided to scold more gods. How? And like that, an ardent, passionate feeling for his own shadow.

Thus, having fertilized, Atum gave birth to Shu and Tefnut, spitting them out of his mouth. But, apparently, he overdid it, and the newborn gods were lost in the ocean of Chaos. Atum grieved, but soon, to his relief, he nevertheless found and found his children anew. He was so glad to be reunited that he cried for a long, long time, and his tears, touching the ground, fertilized it - and from the ground people grew up, many people! Then, while people fertilized each other, Shu and Tefnut also had coitus, and they gave life to other gods - more gods to the god of gods! - Gebu and Nutu, who became the personification of the Earth and the sky.

There is another myth in which Atum replaces Ra, but this does not change the main essence - there, too, everyone fertilizes each other en masse.

4. The myth of the Yoruba people - about the Sands of Life and chicken

There is such an African people - the Yoruba. So, they also have their own myth about the origin of all things.

In general, it was like this: there was only one God, his name was Olorun, and one fine day the thought occurred to him - that the Earth should be arranged somehow (then the Earth was one continuous wasteland).

Olorun did not really want to do this himself, so he sent his son, Obotala, to Earth. However, at that time, Obotala had more important things to do (in fact, a gorgeous party was planned in heaven then, and Obotala simply could not miss it).

While Obotala was having fun, the responsibility was shifted to Odudawa. With nothing at hand but chicken and sand, Oudawa got down to business. His principle was as follows: he took sand from a cup, sprinkled it on the Earth, and then let the chicken run on the sand and trample it down well.

After performing several such simple manipulations, Odudawa created the land of Lfe or Lle-lfe. This is where Oudawa's story ends, and Obootala reappears on the stage, this time drunk on the blackboard - the party was a success.

And so, being in a state of divine alcoholic intoxication, the son of Olorun began to create us humans. It turned out very badly for him, and he caused invalids, dwarfs and freaks. Sobering up, Obotala was horrified and quickly corrected everything, creating normal people.

According to another version, Obotala never got better, and Odudawa also made people, simply by lowering us from the sky and at the same time assigning himself the status of the ruler of humanity.

3. Aztec "War of the Gods"

According to the Aztec myth, no original Chaos existed. But there was a primary order - an absolute vacuum, impenetrably black and endless, in which the Supreme God, Ometeotl, lived in some strange way. He had a dual nature, possessing both feminine and masculine principles, was good and at the same time evil, was both warm and cold, truth and lies, white and black.

He gave birth to the rest of the gods: Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Sipe Totec, who, in turn, created giants, water, fish and other gods.

Tezcatlipoca ascended to heaven, sacrificing himself and becoming the Sun. However, there he encountered Quetzalcoatl, entered the battle with him and lost to him. Quetzalcoatl threw Tezcatlipoca from the firmament and became the Sun himself. Then, Quetzalcoatl begat people and gave them nuts to eat.

Tezcatlipoca, still melting a grudge against Quetzalcoatl, decided to take revenge on his creations by turning people into apes. Seeing what became of his first people, Quetzalcoatl fell into a rage and caused a powerful hurricane that scattered the vile monkeys all over the world.

While Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc were at odds with each other, Tialoc and Chalchiuhtlicue also turned into suns to continue the cycle of day and night. However, the fierce battle between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca affected them too - then they too were thrown from heaven.

In the end, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc ended the enmity, forgetting past grievances and creating new people from the dead bones and blood of Quetzalcoatl - the Aztecs.

2. Japanese "World Cauldron"

Japan. Chaos again, again in the form of an ocean, this time as dirty as a swamp. In this ocean swamp grew a magical reed (or reed), and from this reed (or reed), as we have children from cabbage, gods were born, there are a great many of them. All together they were called Kotoamatsuki - and this is all that is known about them, for, as soon as they were born, they immediately rushed to hide in the reeds. Or in the reeds.

While they were hiding, new gods appeared, including Idzinami and Idzinagi. They began stirring the ocean until it thickened and formed the land - Japan. Idzinami and Idzinagi had a son, Ebisu, who became the god of all fishermen, a daughter, Amaterasu, who became the Sun, and another daughter, Tsukiyomi, who turned into the Moon. They also had one more son, the last one - Susanoo, who for his violent disposition received the status of the god of wind and storms.

1. Lotus flower and "Om-m"

Like many other religions, Hinduism also features the concept of the emergence of the world from emptiness. Well, like from the void - there was an endless ocean in which a giant cobra swam, and there was Vishnu, who slept on the tail of the cobra. And nothing more.

Time passed, days followed one another, and it seemed that it would always be so. But one day everything around was announced by a sound that had never been heard before - the sound of "Om-m", and the previously empty world was overwhelmed with energy. Vishnu awakened from sleep, and Brahma appeared from the lotus flower on his navel. Vishnu ordered Brahma to create the world, and in the meantime he disappeared, taking with him a snake.

Brahma, sitting in a lotus position on a lotus flower, set to work: he divided the flower into three parts, using one to create Heaven and Hell, the other to create the Earth, and the third to create the sky. Then Brahma created animals, birds, people and trees, thus creating all living things.

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MOU "Malotayabinskaya secondary school of the Yalchik region of the Chuvash Republic"

"EXCELSIOR-2011"

History section

Creation myths

student

Ivanova Elina, grade 6

Supervisor:

Izosimova Nadezhda Aleksandrovna, history teacher

Content

  • Introduction
  • I... Myths about the creation of the Universe from the World Egg
  • Ancient China
  • Ancient india
  • Slavic mythology
  • II... Myths about the creation of the world from the primary Ocean
  • Ancient Egypt
  • Sumerian mythology
  • III... Creation Bible
  • Conclusion
  • Literature

Introduction

All modern people know how our world works. We live on planet Earth, which, together with other planets, revolves around the Sun. Our solar system is part of a galaxy with many other galaxies ...

The question of the structure of the Universe is inseparable from the question of its origin. Man at all times worried about where this world came from and what are the main stages of its formation.

In any national traditional culture there are myths explaining the origin of the Universe and man, as well as telling about the initial stage of the existence of the Earth. This part of mythology in science is usually called cosmogony, and myths - cosmogonic.

Cosmogonic myths, creation myths, myths about the origin of the universe from chaos, the main starting plot of most mythologies. They begin with a description of chaos (emptiness), the absence of order in the Universe, the interaction of the primordial elements. The main motives of cosmogonic myths are the structuring of outer space and time, the division of the earth and the sky by the gods, the establishment of the cosmic axis - the world tree, luminaries (separation of day and night, light and darkness), the creation of plants and animals. Creation ends, as a rule, with the creation of man.

Various peoples have myths about the origin of the world from the world egg, the primary Ocean, God the Creator.

Purpose of the work: to reveal the similarities and differences in the myths about the creation of the world of different peoples;

Tasks: analysis of myths from the point of view of their origin;

Research object: myths of the peoples of the world about the creation of the world;

Hypothesis: the creation of the world from the World Egg, from the primary Ocean and by God the Creator.

Research method: acquaintance with the myths about the creation of the world and their analysis.

creation world myth bible

I. Myths about the creation of the Universe from the World Egg

Ancient China

In the beginning, the universe was like an egg. In this egg was born by itself

Ancient india

In the beginning there was nothing. There was no sun, no moon, no stars. Only water

stretched infinitely. At the beginning of everything, the primordial cosmic waters gave birth to fire. By the power of cosmic heat - tapas - an egg was born in the waters. It floated in the waters when the time was not yet measured, but after an interval equal to a year, the creator of the Universe, Brahma, arose from a golden embryo. Brahma divides the egg into two halves by the power of thought: from one the sky is created, from the other - the earth; there is an air space between them. Brahma established the earth among the waters, created the cardinal points - not without reason he has four faces and four arms - and began the countdown. But when the creator looked around and saw that the universe was empty, the fear of loneliness seized him. Since then, everyone is afraid of loneliness. Brahma, on the other hand, continued to reflect and became firmly established in the thought that one can be afraid of something outside of oneself. A lonely person has no one to fear, but his existence is bleak. Then Brahma, by the power of thought, gave birth to seven sons - the lords of all creatures. The eldest is Marici, the embodiment of starlight, he was born from the soul of Brahma. From his eyes was born a second son - Atria. From the mouth was born Angiras, the mediator between people and gods. The fourth, Pulastya, is from the right ear, and from the left is Pulah. The sixth son of Kratu was born from the nostrils of Brahma. The youngest - the seventh son of Brahma was Daksha, born from the big toe on his right foot; from the toe on the left foot was born the only daughter - Virini. They produced numerous offspring with Daksha, their children became constellations in the sky.

Slavic mythology

At the beginning of time, the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, in which the Rod was imprisoned - the Parent of all that exists. Rod gave birth to Love - Lada-mother and, by the power of Love, destroying its dungeon, gave birth to the Universe - countless starry worlds, as well as our earthly world.

The sun came out then, out of His face.

The moon is bright - from His bosom.

Frequent stars are from His eyes.

The dawns are clear - from His eyebrows.

Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.

The violent winds are out of breath.

So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that is in Rod, - everything that we call Nature. Rod separated the visible, manifested world, that is - Reality, from the invisible, spiritual world - from Novi. Rod separated the Truth from Krivda. In the fiery chariot Rod approved the thundering Thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the face of Rod, was confirmed in a golden boat, and the Moon in a silver one. Rod gave up the Spirit of God from its lips - the Mother bird. By the Spirit of God, the Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father. Svarog finished peacemaking. He became the master of the earthly World, the ruler of God's Kingdom. Svarog approved twelve pillars supporting the firmament. From the Word of the Almighty, Rod created the god Barma, who began to mutter prayers, glorifications, and recount the Vedas. He also gave birth to the Spirit of Barma, his wife Tarusa. Rod became the Heavenly Spring and gave birth to the waters of the Great Ocean. From the foam of the waters of the Ocean, the World Duck appeared, giving birth to many gods - Yasuns and demons-Dasuns. Rod gave birth to Cow Zemun and Goat Sedun, milk spilled out of 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, the Mother of Cheese Earth was created.

All three myths are united by the general idea of ​​the origin of the world from the Egg. From the Egg, a creator is born, who subsequently separates the earth from the sky and creates all living things.

II. Myths about the creation of the world from the primary Ocean

Ancient Egypt

A long time ago, many millions of years ago, there was Chaos - an endless and bottomless ocean. This ocean was called Nun. It was a grim sight! The frozen, cold waters of Nun seemed to be forever frozen in immobility. Nothing disturbed the peace. Centuries, millennia passed, and the Nun ocean remained motionless. But one day a miracle happened. The water suddenly splashed, swayed, and the great god Atum appeared on the surface. - 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 an incredible effort, Atum broke away from the water, soared over the abyss and, raising his hands, uttered a magic spell. At the same moment, there was a deafening roar, and Ben-Ben Hill rose from the depths of the foamy spray. Atum descended the hill and began to ponder what to do next. I will create the wind - so Atum thought. Without the wind, this ocean will freeze again and remain motionless forever. And I will also create a goddess of rain and moisture - so that the ocean water obeys her. And Atum created the wind god Shu and the goddess Tefnut - a woman with the head of a fierce lioness. This was the first divine couple on earth. But then misfortune happened. An impenetrable darkness still enveloped the Universe, and in the darkness of Chaos Atum lost his children. No matter how much he called them, no matter how much he shouted, deafening the water desert with weeping and groaning, silence was his answer. In complete despair, Atum tore out his Eye and, turning to him, exclaimed: - My eye! Do as I tell you. Go to the ocean, find my children Shu and Tefnut and return them to me. The eye went to the ocean, and Atum sat down and waited for his return. Having finally lost all hope of seeing his children again, Atum shouted: - Oh woe! What should I do? Not only did I lose my son Shu and my daughter Tefnut forever, I also lost my Eye! And he created a new Eye and placed it in his empty eye socket. The Faithful Eye, after many years of searching, nevertheless found them in the ocean. As soon as Shu and Tefnut stepped onto the hill, God rushed to meet them in order to quickly embrace them, when suddenly the Eye, all flaming with rage, jumped up to Atum and rasped angrily: - What does this mean ?! Was it at your word that I went to Ocean Nun and gave you back your lost children! I have done you a great service, and you. - Do not be angry, - said Atum. - I will place you on my forehead, and from there you will contemplate the world that I will create, you will admire its beauty. But the offended Eye did not want to listen to any excuses. Striving at all costs, to punish God for betrayal, he turned into a poisonous snake cobra. With a menacing hiss, the cobra puffed out its neck and bared its deadly teeth, aimed directly at Atum. However, the god calmly took the snake in his hands and placed it on his forehead. Since then, the serpent-eye adorns the crowns of the gods and pharaohs. This snake is called Urey. A white lotus rose from the waters of the ocean. The bud opened, and from there flew out the sun god Ra, who brought the world the long-awaited light. Seeing Atum and his children, Ra wept with joy. His tears fell to the ground and turned into people.

Sumerian mythology

A long time ago, when there was no heaven or earth yet, there lived Tiamat - the goddess of sweet waters, Apsu - the god of salt waters, and their son - a fog that rises 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 their elders. Anshar and Kishar had a child named Anna. Anna became the god of the sky. Ea is born to Anna. This is the god of underground waters, magic. The younger gods - Lahma, Lahama, Anshar, Kishar, Anna 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 festivities, but they were not listened to. The elders decided to kill everyone who interfered with sleep.

Ea decided to kill Apsu, who was plotting against the younger ones.

Tiamat decided to avenge her husband's death. Her new husband, the god Kingu, strongly supported this idea. So Tiamat and Kingu came up with a plan for revenge. Upon learning of Tiamat's plan, Ea turned to Anshar's grandfather for advice. Anshar offered to hit Tiamat with the help of magic, because her husband was dealt with in this way. But Ea's magical powers have no effect on Tiamat. Anu, Ea's father, tried to reason with the angry goddess, but nothing came of it. Since magic and negotiations have led nowhere, it remains to turn to physical strength. Whom to send to the battle? All decided that only Marduk could do it. Anshar, Anu and Ea dedicated the secrets of divine magic to young Marduk. Marduk is ready to fight Tiamat, as a reward for victory he demands the undivided power of the supreme god. Young Marduk gathered all the Anunnaki (as the gods called themselves), so that they approved the war with the supreme goddess and recognized him as their king. Anshar sent his secretary Kaku to call Lahma, Lahama, Kishara and Damkina. Upon learning of the impending war, the gods were horrified, but a good dinner with lots 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 removed the "tables of destinies" from Kingu (they determined the movement of the world and the course of all events) and put it on 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.

What should be distinguished from these myths ... In both Sumerian and Egyptian mythology, we find the concept of the original existence of only one boundless ocean, which was by itself. This ocean was lifeless. Then from the Ocean gods are born, who give birth to other deities, with many relatives, and create the whole world. Gods create people. That is, in these myths, three main stages are traced, following one after the other: 1 - the existence of the original Ocean, 2 - the birth of gods and the creation of the world, 3 - the creation of man.

III. Creation Bible

Christianity views the emergence of the universe as the creation of a single Creator God. God created the whole world in six days: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was waterless and empty, and darkness was over the deep; and the Spirit of God hovered over the water. And God said: Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw. light, that it is good: and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day and the darkness night. And there was evening and there was morning: day one. And God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it separate the water from And it was so. On the third day he gathered together all the waters on the earth. So the ocean poured out, and dry land appeared out of the water. On the fourth day he created two luminaries: one to shine during the day and the other at night. On the fifth day he created fish and reptiles, as well as birds in the heavens. And the sixth day created all kinds of animals roaming the earth. Then God created man in his image and likeness, and on the seventh day God rested from his labors and blessed this day, making it a holiday forever.

A distinctive feature of the Biblical myth is that the true creator of man is the only Creator God. The whole world was created only for the sake of being a man who is the image of God and who is destined to reign over the world. And in mythologies, the appearance of man looks like a secondary event against the background of the origin of the gods. The creation of the world in six days is sequential, stepwise. After the next stage of creation, God characterizes the primordial nature and creation as perfect in his own eyes. There is no such recognition in myths. The biblical understanding of the creation of the world and man differs from the myths about the creation of the world from the Egg and the primary Ocean.

Conclusion

Cosmogonic myths of the peoples of the world are an integral part of mythology. Their material clearly shows the common and the differences. The interpenetration of cultures is observed and this explains the similarity of motives and elements in the myths of different peoples.

These myths will be passed down from generation to generation. They will be forever. And I think that the secrets of the Universe will always attract a person to them.

Literature

1. Myths about the creation of the world / V.Ya. Petrukhin. - M: Astrel: AST: LUX, 2005.

2. Myths of Ancient India / E.N. Temkin. - M: Science, 1976.

3. Religion of Ancient Egypt / M.А. Korostovtsev. - M: Science, 1976.

4. History of the Ancient World / А.А. Vigasin. - M: Education, 1993.

5.http: // ru. wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BC % D0% B8% D1% 80% D0% B0_% D0% B2_% D0% 91% D0% B8% D0% B1% D0% BB% D0% B8% D0% B8

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