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The world was created from tears. Creation of the world - biblical legend and myths about the creation of the world. At first there was nothing. There was no sun, no moon, no star. Only water

Introduction

One of the most important and interesting questions for every person is the question of the origin of the world. This question arises naturally, since the example of many changeable things, phenomena or processes of the surrounding world, the example of the birth and existence of living beings, man, society and cultural phenomena teaches us that everything has its beginning. Much in the world once began, originated and began to change and develop over a relatively short or long period of time. True, before the eyes of man there were examples of such long-lived things that seem to be eternal. For example, the ocean, rivers flowing into it, mountain ranges, the shining sun or moon seemed eternal. These examples suggested the opposite idea, that the world as a whole could be eternal and have no beginning. Thus, human thought, human intuition suggested two opposite answers to the question posed: the world once began to exist and the world has always existed and had no beginning. Between these two extreme points of view, various options are possible, for example, that the world arose from the primary Ocean, which itself has no beginning, or that the world periodically arises and then is destroyed, etc. This content of human thought is reflected in mythology, religion, philosophy and later in natural science. In this work, we will briefly consider the most famous myths about the creation of the world and allow ourselves a small comparative analysis of mythological plots with the Biblical story of creation. Why might we be interested in mythology? Because in mythology, in the collective consciousness of people, which is a special way of understanding the world around us, inherent in people in the early stages of historical development, certain ideas of people were reflected. And these ideas may have a historical, speculative or some other basis.

1 Creation myths

Let's make some introductory remarks. Firstly, we will confine ourselves to considering only the cosmogonic part of the myths and Holy Scripture, leaving out of sight the story of the human settlement in Paradise. Secondly, the content of the myths will be abbreviated, since a full description of the adventures of the gods and their genealogies will take up a lot of space and distract us from the main goal - a comparative analysis of mythologies with the Biblical narrative about the creation of the world and man.

1.1 Myths of ancient Egypt. Memphis, Hermopol, Heliopolis and Theban cosmogony

All four ancient Egyptian cosmogonies have significant similarities in the story of the creation of the world and are therefore united. At the same time, there are certain differences in the nature and sequence of creations and births of deities, people and the rest of the world. As a preliminary analysis, we will single out three main stages in creation, following one after another: A - the existence of the primordial Ocean, B - the birth of the gods and the creation of the world, C - the creation of man.

A) A common feature of these creation myths is the original existence of only one vast ocean, which was in itself. This ocean was lifeless, according to some myths, or full of potencies, according to others, but at the same time he himself turned out to be the first deity.

Memphis Cosmogony: The Nun Ocean was cold and lifeless.

Germanic cosmogony: in the beginning Chaos existed in the form of the primordial Ocean. The Primordial Ocean was full of forces and potentialities, both destructive and creative.

Heliopolis cosmogony: the vast Ocean of Chaos-Nun was a dark, cold, lifeless watery desert.

Theban cosmogony: there were initial waters.

B) Then gods are born from the Ocean, who give birth to other deities, with a list of genealogies, and create the whole world.

Memphis cosmogony: the very first god Ptah-Earth, by an effort of will, creates himself, his flesh from the earth. Then Ptah-Earth creates with Thought and Word, giving birth to her son - the solar god Atum, who arose from the Ocean of Nun. God Atum, helping his father, creates the great Ennead - the nine gods. Ptah-Earth endows the Ennead with divine attributes: power and wisdom, and also establishes a religion: temples, sanctuaries, festivals and sacrifices (but at the same time there was no man on earth yet). From his body, Ptah created everything that exists: living beings, rivers, mountains, established cities, crafts and work. The god Ptah, his wife, the goddess Sokhmet, and their son, the god of vegetation, Nefertum, made up the Memphis Triad of gods.

Germanic cosmogony: in the Ocean hid the forces of destruction - Darkness and Disappearance, Emptiness and Nothingness, Absence and Night, as well as the forces of creation - the great eight (Ogdoad) - 4 male and 4 female deities. The male deities are Huh (Infinity), Nun (Water), Kuk (Darkness), Amon (Air). Male deities have their own female deities, which act as their incarnations. This eight creative deities initially swam in the Ocean, but then the deities decided to engage in creation. They raised the Primordial Hill from the water and in complete darkness grew a lotus flower on it. From the flower appeared the baby Ra - the sun god, who for the first time lit up the whole world. Later, the god Ra gave birth to a couple of deities: the god Shu and the goddess Tefnut, from whom all other gods were born.

Heliopolis cosmogony: from the cold dark waters, the sun god Atum jumped out - the first of the gods. Atum created the Primordial Hill, and then created a pair of deities: the god Shu and the goddess Tefnut, spewing them out of his mouth. God Shu is the god of wind and air; the goddess Tefnut is the goddess of the world order. When Shu and Tefnut got married, they had twins: the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. This couple of twins, when they grew up and got married, gave birth to many children: stars, and then other gods: Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephthys, Harver, who, together with their parents and grandparents, formed the great Ennead. The god Shu cut off the sky from the earth so that Nut and Geb would not give birth to more gods (stars), and so that Nut would not eat her children. Thus heaven was separated from earth.

Theban cosmogony: the first god of the earth - Amon - created himself, standing out from the initial waters. Then Amon created everything that exists from himself: people and gods. Later, the god Amon became the sun god Amon-Ra. The god Amon-Ra, his wife, the goddess Mut, and their son, the lunar deity Khonsu, made up the Theban Triad of gods.

c) Gods create people. People appear after the first gods, but simultaneously with some other gods, or even before some of them.

Memphis cosmogony: as already mentioned, the god Ptah from his body creates everything that exists, including people. This happened after the creation of the Ennead and the establishment of religion. God Ptah, after creation, resides in the body of all creatures, animate and inanimate, endows people with a part of his creative power, which previously allowed him to create the world. In the place where Ptah created the world, the city of Memphis was formed.

Germanic cosmogony: when the baby Ra saw the wonderful world illuminated by its rays, he wept for joy. From these tears of Ra, dropped on the Primordial Hill, the first people arose. In the same place, on the Hill, the city of Germopol later arose.

Heliopolis cosmogony: the god Atum once temporarily lost his children: the god Shu and the goddess Tefnut. He sent his fiery divine Eye after them, which stubbornly wandered and illuminated the darkness. Instead of the first Eye, Atum created a second one for himself. This is how the sun and moon appeared. Meanwhile, the Eye of Fire found the children of Atum. For joy that there were children, the god Atum wept. From these tears of Atum that fell on the Primordial Hill, people arose. Later, the city of Heliopolis and its main temple were built on the Primordial Hill.

Theban cosmogony: the god Amon created everyone from himself. From his eyes appeared people, and from his mouth - gods. He taught people to build cities. Thebes was the first city built.

Aivazovsky. Among the waves

(Taken from the site: http://see-art.ru/art.php?genre=all)

Boundless Ocean or water Chaos at the beginning of creation

1.2 Myth of ancient Mesopotamia

Here we will apply the same three-step sequence of creation, since the Mesopotamian cosmogony is similar to the ancient Egyptian cosmogony.

A) At the beginning, only the World Ocean existed for a long time. In the bowels of the Ocean, his daughter, the goddess Nammu, was hiding.

B) Birth of gods (with pedigree) and creation of the world

A great mountain emerged from the womb of the goddess Nammu, on top of which the god An (heaven) lived, and the goddess Ki (earth) reclined below. The god An and the goddess Ki got married and gave birth to the mighty god Enlil, and then seven more gods. So the eight gods appeared, ruling the world. Then the world gradually overflowed with the younger Anunnaki gods, who gave birth to An and Ki, as well as the older gods. Then Enlil separated the sky from the earth (An from Ki), cutting off the firmament from the earth in order to stop the birth of new gods. Since then, a spacious and wide land has opened up, on which there was enough space for all the gods. God Enlil filled the vast earth with the breath of life and created in its center the city of Nippur with the temple of Enlil, where all the gods came to worship.

c) Gods create people.

Enlil's brother god Enki, the demiurge and sage, began to equip the world while Enlil dealt with the gods. Enki launched fish into the water, forbade the seas to flood the earth, filled the bowels of the earth with minerals, planted forests, established the procedure for irrigating the earth with rain, created birds and their singing. However, many lesser gods began to devastate the earth in search of shelter and food. Then Enki creates the divine Sheep - the god Lahar and the divine Grain - the goddess Ashnan. Thanks to them, cattle breeding and agriculture appeared on the earth. Then Enki created assistants for the younger gods - people, hardworking and reasonable. Enki and his wife Ninmah together began to mold people from clay and assign them a destiny and a job. So people were created - men and women, endowed with soul and mind, similar in image to the gods.

1.3 Myth of ancient Babylonia

Babylonian culture is seen as a continuation of Mesopotamian culture. Therefore, we will also apply the three-stage sequence of creation to the Babylonian cosmogony.

A) In the beginning there was the primordial Ocean. The seeds of life were already ripening in him.

B) The birth of the gods with their genealogy and the creation of the world.

Two primogenitors lived in the Ocean, interfering with its waters: the all-creator god Apsu and the mother goddess Tiamat. Then, pairs of gods were born from the Ocean: Lahmu and Lahamu, Anshar and Kishar, as well as the god Mummu. Anshar and Kishar gave birth to the god Anu, and this one gave birth to the god Ey. When the god Eya dealt with his evil great-grandfather Apsu (he was annoyed by the hubbub and restlessness of the gods), he married Damkin, and they gave birth to the god Marduk. This Marduk then became the supreme god. Marduk dealt with the great-grandmother Tiamat, and from her corpse he created the whole world - heaven and earth. Marduk adorned the sky with planets, stars, sun and moon; made clouds and rains, made rivers flow; created animals. Marduk also instituted religious rites. Later, many younger gods appeared, and the younger gods worked for the benefit of the older ones.

c) Gods create people.

Marduk decided to create people from divine clay, mixed with the blood of one of the younger gods who fought on the side of Tiamat against Marduk, so that people would serve many gods. People appeared industrious and intelligent.

1.4 Myths of ancient Greece. Five variants of cosmogonies

Let's apply the three-step sequence of creation to ancient Greek cosmogony.

A) Primordial existence of Chaos, Ocean or Darkness, full of potencies and essentially being deities.

The first option: in the beginning there was Chaos.

The second option: at first the whole world was covered by the Ocean.

The third option: in the beginning there was the goddess Night and the god Wind.

The fourth option: in the beginning there was Chaos.

Fifth option: Darkness and Chaos existed in the beginning.

B) The birth of the gods with a listing of their genealogies, and the creation of the world.

The first option: Eurynome, the goddess of all things, rose naked from Chaos, separated the sky from the sea and began her lonely dance over its waves. It was cold; behind the goddess came the north wind. The goddess caught the north wind, and the great serpent Ophion appeared before her eyes. The goddess danced more and more furiously, warming herself, and Ophion embraced her and possessed her. The pregnant Eurynome laid the World Egg, and Ophion incubated it. From this Egg the whole world was born. After a quarrel between Eurynome and Ophion, the goddess herself created the planets and gave birth to the titans and titanides.

The second option: gods are born in the streams of the Ocean. Mother progenitor of all gods - the goddess Tefis.

The third option: the goddess Night responded to the courtship of the god of the Wind and laid a silver Egg. From it came the androgynous god Eros. Eros set the whole world in motion, made the earth, sky, sun and moon. The world began to be ruled by the triune Night - the triad of goddesses.

The fourth option: the Earth arose from Chaos and gave birth to Uranus in a dream. Uranus poured fertilizing rain on the Earth, and it gave birth to the gods. From the rain came the waters.

Fifth option: Chaos and Darkness gave birth to all the titans and gods, Sky, Gaia-Earth, Sea.

c) Gods create people.

The first option: Eurynome and Ophion settled on Mount Olympus after the creation of the world. They then had a quarrel as Ophion declared himself the creator of the universe. The goddess drove the snake into the underground, knocking out his teeth. From these teeth of Ophion, people were born.

Fifth option: humans were created by the titan Prometheus and the goddess Athena. Prometheus made people out of earth and water, and Athena breathed life into them. The soul in people appeared thanks to the wandering divine elements, preserved from the time of creation.

1.5 Myths of ancient India. Three variants of cosmogony

Indian myths have gradually undergone strong changes, so there is no single system of views on the origin of the world. We will consider three storytelling options.

1.5.1 One of the oldest variants of cosmogony is as follows. The gods created the Primordial Man Purusha. Then this Man was sacrificed by the gods, his body was cut into pieces. The moon, sun, fire, wind, sky, cardinal points, earth and various classes of human society arose from parts of the body.

1.5.2 The next best-known version of cosmogony is somewhat reminiscent of the creation myths discussed above. Therefore, we will present it according to the same three-stage scheme.

A) In the beginning, there was nothing but the primordial Chaos, which rested without movement, but concealed great powers.

B) From the darkness of the primordial Chaos, waters arose before other creations. The waters gave birth to fire. The Golden Egg was born in them by the great power of warmth. Since there was no sun, no moon, no stars, there was nothing and no one to measure time, there was no year; but as long as the year lasts, the Golden Egg floated in the boundless and bottomless ocean. After a year of swimming, the ancestor Brahma arose from the Golden Egg. Brahma broke the egg: the upper half of the Egg became the Sky, the lower half became the Earth, and between them Brahma placed the air space. And he established the earth among the waters, created the countries of the world and laid the foundation for time. This is how the universe was created. By the power of his thought, Brahma gave birth to six sons - six great lords, as well as other gods and goddesses. Brahma gave them power over the universe, and he himself, tired of creation, retired to rest.

C) People are born from Vivasvat and goddess Saranyu. Vivasvat was the son of the goddess Aditi and became a man after the gods remade his nature (later he became the god of the sun). The first children of Vivasvat and Saranyu were mortal people: Yama, Yami and Manu. The younger children of Vivasvat and Saranyu were gods. The first person to die is Yama. After his death, he became the lord of the realm of the dead. Manu was destined to survive the Great Flood. From him come the people who now live on earth.

1.5.3 Late Hindu cosmogony. There is a trinity of gods - Trimurti - Brahma the creator, Vishnu the guardian and Shiva the destroyer, whose functions are not strictly delineated. The universe is cyclically born by Brahma, kept by Vishnu and destroyed by Shiva. The day of Brahma lasts as long as the universe exists; night of Brahma - when the universe perishes and does not exist. The day of Brahma and the night of Brahma are equal every 12 thousand divine years. The divine year consists of a day equal to one human year. The life of Brahma lasts 100 years of Brahma, after which there will be another Brahma. (It can be calculated that the period of existence of the Universe is 4 million 380 thousand years, and the life of Brahma lasts 159 billion 870 million years.)

Relationship" href="/text/category/vzaimootnoshenie/" rel="bookmark"> relationships of deities, their marriages and conflicts, their divine lineage, who was born from whom. In many mythologies, deities act as personified forces or times of nature: the deity Ocean -Nun, the god Ptah-Earth, the god Atum-Sun, the god An-Heaven, the goddess Ki-Earth, the daughter of Brahma, the goddess Virini-Night, etc.

The third common feature of myths is the story of the creation of the world and man by one or more of the elder gods. Moreover, some narratives state that man was created to serve the gods, while others tell of the creation of man as an accidental, side event of divine history.

2.2 Comparison of creation myths with the Biblical account of the creation of the world and man

We believe that the reader is familiar with the content of the Biblical narrative about the creation of the world and man (Six Days), so there is no need to quote it. Let us point out that the three common features of cosmogonies listed above are fundamentally different from the Biblical Six Days.

Instead of the primordially, eternally existing progenitor of the Ocean-Chaos, the Bible asserts that God created the world out of nothing. That is, according to the Biblical legend, once the world did not exist, but then it was created by God.

Instead of long, intricate and fabulous stories about the relationship of the gods and their genealogies, the Bible tells in ascetic language about the one God (monotheism), who is the true Creator of the entire existing world. The God of the Bible and Christianity is not a personified force of nature, not dissolved in natural elements, but He is transcendent to the world, exists outside the world, outside physical space and time, unlike mythological deities.

Instead of ideas about the creation of man by one of the elder gods, Christianity asserts that the true creator of man is the one God the Creator. Moreover, according to Christianity, the whole world was created only for the sake of the existence of man, who is the image of God and who is destined to reign over the material world. While in mythologies, the appearance of a person looks like a minor event against the background of stories about the adventures of the gods.

An essential distinguishing feature of the Biblical Six Days is the statement about the sequential, stepwise creation of the world during the six days (periods) of creation. At the same time, each time after the next stage of creation, God characterizes the primordial nature and creation as perfect in His eyes. We will never find this recognition of the perfection of the creature in mythologies.

So, in its main features, the Biblical, Christian understanding of the creation of the world and man does not coincide with pagan mythologies.

But at the same time, there are some similarities, analogies between these narratives, which we will now consider.

1) In mythologies, the initial state of the world is characterized as Chaos-Ocean-Darkness. In the Biblical Six Days, the initial state of the created earth appears formless and empty, covered with water and immersed in darkness.

2) Primordial Chaos-Ocean-Darkness of mythologies conceals forces and potencies and is the environment for the birth of gods. In the Bible, the Spirit of God hovers over the waters and gives them life.

3) In many mythologies, land appears from the waters. In the Bible, God collects the waters under the sky into one place, revealing dry land.

4) Some analogy between the stories is the birth of many gods in mythology and the creation of spiritual entities - angels in the Christian Holy Tradition. True, the Biblical Shestodnev does not directly say this. But many interpreters of the Bible understand the creation of the angelic world under the phrase about God's creation of heaven.

5) In some mythologies, there is a motif of separation (separation), for example, the separation of heaven from earth. In the Biblical Six Days, the separation motif is clearly visible: the separation of light from darkness, the separation of water from water by the heavenly firmament, the actual separation of land from water.

6) In some mythologies, the gods mold people from clay or earth. And, for example, in the Babylonian cosmogony, clay was mixed with the blood of one of the younger gods to create a person. In the Bible, God molded Adam from the dust of the ground, then breathed life into him. The name Adam itself can mean "clay" or, as they say, "red clay".

The question arises how to interpret the differences and similarities of mythological cosmogonies with the Biblical narrative. How to evaluate the degree of similarity and degree of difference? Was the Biblical Six Day borrowed from earlier myths of other peoples? Isn't the similarity of cosmogonies an effect of parallel independent collective creativity, a manifestation of the archetype, the collective unconscious of many peoples? And if so, then Who or what put this archetype into the minds of mankind. Or maybe there is a single Source of true knowledge, from which all known myths about creation originated, only different peoples decorated them in accordance with their inclinations, their mentality? This is the most difficult question. Moreover, the presence of a real mystery is felt behind this question ... And the reader, in the end, must come to comprehend it on his own. In atheistic and non-Christian literature, one can find claims that the Biblical account of the creation of the world and man is borrowed from earlier Babylonian and Egyptian or other mythology. After all, there are some analogies between them. But the brief comparative analysis presented here speaks against this, according to which there is a significant difference between these stories. More precisely, we want to say that there are differences between the Bible and pagan cosmogonies, while there are many similarities between the cosmogonies themselves. And, on the contrary, Orthodox literature speaks of the polemical aspect of the Biblical Shestodnev, that it was written (including) against the religious and philosophical views of the pagans then dominant, i.e. against the myths of creation among the peoples surrounding the ancient Jews. All the same essential differences between the Bible and the creation myths speak in favor of this. Moreover, the Bible looks apart: the language of the Bible is ascetic, there are no stories about the adventures of the gods, there are no divine genealogies. If the Bible were written simply as a Hebrew myth, then instead of the Six Days, we would most likely have a Jewish version of the relationship of spiritual entities and their genealogies, against which people appear as a secondary detail, either from the tears of a deity, or from the teeth of a snake, and even then only to serve the gods. Then one could say that the Biblical narrative is the same as other myths, a product of the collective creativity of the people, a product of an archetype or a simple borrowing from more ancient legends. But it doesn't look like it. The biblical story in fundamental points differs from pagan cosmogonies. But then the question may arise: did not Moses personally come up with all this? Did he not take the Egyptian myths of creation as a basis and rework them in favor of the assertion of a single Creator of heaven and earth? It is, of course, possible to assume this. Moses could theoretically get people to confess Bible truth, but this is only theoretical. It is hard to imagine that a person himself, without the will of God, was able to achieve such colossal authority among the Jews, in order to impose on an entire people, and a very stubborn people, the strict Shestodnev instead of popular myths. That same Six Days, in which greenery and trees flourish before the Sun is created, contrary to everyday observations, contrary to the natural worship of the luminary and contrary to all common sense! And thus the Biblical story became fundamentally different from pagan myths. And in this one should see the manifestation of the will of God.

But we still did not sufficiently elucidate such a question: where did the individual analogies between the narratives come from? Do they have a common source? The hypothesis of the existence of a common archetype does not solve the problem, but only pushes it back, since then the question of the reason for the existence of this archetype follows. Here we adhere to the point of view, the logic of which let the reader evaluate for himself: there are at least two reasons for the existence of analogies between the Bible and pagan cosmogonies. The first and main probable reason is that they all have a common Source - Divine revelation, transmitted from generation to generation through tradition. Perhaps Adam knew this tradition when he had the closest communion with the Creator. After the fall of Adam and Eve, people fell away from God and the content of tradition began to be lost. On the basis of tradition, various pagan myths grew and blossomed. The pagan peoples embellished the ancient legend by composing fabulous genealogies of the gods, adding speculative moments, for example, the birth of the world from the Silver or Golden Egg, and obscuring the reason for the appearance of man, making the destiny of man in this world secondary. But at the right moment, the Divine revelation was once again revealed to Moses to shape it into Holy Scripture and to educate the Jewish people, and then all Christians in worship of God. That is why the language of the Bible is ascetic, the texts of which stand apart from the myths of other peoples. The second probable reason for the presence of analogies between the Bible and pagan myths is that, by denying these myths, arguing with them, Holy Scripture is partly expressed in their own language. Apparently, otherwise the Jewish people, who were captured by the pagans, heard their cosmogonies and tempted to worship their gods, could not have penetrated the essence of the story of Moses. Thus we see the reasons for the existence of analogies between narratives.

The following question may arise: if the pagan creation myths are distorted retellings of an ancient tradition, then why do we claim that there are more fundamental similarities between the myths themselves than with the Bible? They would have to differ more from each other than each from the original source. The answer is this. In fact, if the reader has noticed, great similarities are observed only between the myths of ethnically related and geographically close peoples, for example, the cosmogony of the Semitic-Hamitic peoples is very similar: Egyptian (Memphis, Hermopolis, Heliopolis and Theban), Mesopotamian and Babylonian, as descended from one branches of interpretation of ancient tradition. The further the mutual kinship and location of peoples, the less similarities in their mythologies, since they already come from different branches of retellings of tradition. Further. The distortion of the ancient legend among the pagan peoples could go along a certain general channel, conditioned by the collective consciousness and the collective unconscious of mankind, prone to polytheism, deification of the elements and times of nature. In all likelihood, this allowed us in this work to single out a common three-stage scheme for the creation of the world among many peoples: A - the existence of the primordial Ocean-Chaos-Darkness, B - the birth of the gods and the creation of the world, C - the creation of man. Let us explain this using the example of stage A. The ancient tradition, judging by the Bible, should have stated that in the beginning there was no world, but God always existed, that He created heaven and earth, and that the initial state of the created earth seemed formless and empty, covered with water. and plunged into darkness. But this truth, this secret of the creation of the universe, the pagan consciousness of the peoples could not keep unchanged, but began to see here the original state of the world as Chaos-Ocean-Darkness, which itself is a deity. So there was a distortion of tradition in favor of the deification of the elements of nature.

Conclusion

This work does not claim to be complete. And it is impossible to fully illuminate one of the most important mysteries of the universe - the mystery of its creation. We limited ourselves to considering only the cosmogonic part of pagan myths and Holy Scripture, leaving out of sight the story of a man's settlement in Paradise and his expulsion from Paradise. In general terms, the similarities and differences between pagan myths and the Biblical story of the creation of the world are considered. It has been suggested that pagan cosmogonies are distorted retellings of the Divine revelation given to mankind from Adam and revealed a second time to Moses for shaping it into Holy Scripture and for educating the Jewish people, and then all Christians in worship of God.

Literature

1. Ovchinnikova A. G. Legends and myths of the Ancient East. - St. Petersburg: Publishing House "Litera", 2002. - 512 p.

2. Graves R. Myths of Ancient Greece. Publishing house "Progress", 1992.

3. Myths of ancient India. Literary presentation by V. G. Erman and E. N. Temkin. M.: The main editorial office of oriental literature of the publishing house "Nauka", 1975. - 240 p.

4. Priest Oleg Davydenkov. Dogmatic Theology. Part three. About God in relation to the world and man. Section I. God as the Creator and Provider of the world. http://www. sedmitza. ru/index. html? id=239&did=3686

5. Alexander Men. Experience of the course in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. Sacred writing before the era of prophetic writers. Prologue of the Book of Genesis. http://www. krotov. info/library/m/menn/1_8_104.html

6. Deacon Andrei Kuraev. Polemicality of Six Days.

http://ao. orthodoxy. ru/arch/012/012-kuraev. htm

WORLD CREATION. MYTHS ABOUT CREATION

V. Yu. Skosar, Dnepropetrovsk

annotation

In general terms, the similarities and differences between pagan myths and the Biblical story of the creation of the world are considered. It has been suggested that pagan cosmogonies are distorted retellings of the Divine revelation given to mankind from Adam and revealed a second time to Moses for shaping it into Holy Scripture and for educating the Jewish people, and then all Christians in worship of God.

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EXCELSIOR-2011

History section

Creation myths

student

Ivanova Elina, 6th grade

Scientific adviser:

Izosimova Nadezhda Alexandrovna, 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 the planet Earth, which, along with other planets, revolves around the Sun. Our solar system enters 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 that explain the origin of the Universe and man, as well as tell about the initial stage of the Earth's existence. This part of mythology in science is usually called cosmogony, and myths - cosmogonic.

Cosmogonic myths, myths about creation, myths about the origin of the Universe from chaos, the main initial plot of most mythologies. They begin with a description of chaos (emptiness), the lack of order in the Universe, the interaction of the original elements. The main motives of cosmogonic myths are the structuring of outer space and time, the separation of the earth and sky by the gods, the establishment of the cosmic axis - the world tree, the 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.

The purpose of the work: to identify similarities and differences in the myths about the creation of the world of various peoples;

Tasks: analysis of myths in terms of their origin;

Object of study: 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 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

At first there was nothing. There was no sun, no moon, no star. Only water

extended indefinitely. 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 time was not yet measured, but after a period equal to a year, the creator of the Universe, Brahma, arose from the golden embryo. Brahma, by the power of thought, divides the egg into two halves: from one the sky is created, from the other - the earth; between them there is an air space. Brahma approved the earth among the waters, created the cardinal directions - it is not for nothing that he has four faces and four hands - 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, every person is afraid of loneliness. Brahma, on the other hand, continued to meditate and became convinced that one could be afraid of something outside 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 Marichi, the embodiment of starlight, he was born from the soul of Brahma. From his eyes was born the second son - Atria. From the mouth was born Angiras, mediator between people and gods. The fourth - Pulastya - from the right ear, and from the left - Pulah. The sixth son 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 finger 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 Family was enclosed - the Parent of all things. Rod gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its dungeon, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.

The sun then went out of His face.

A bright moon - from His chest.

Frequent stars - from His eyes.

Clear dawns - from His eyebrows.

Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.

Violent winds - out of breath.

So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that is with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The clan separated the visible, manifested world, that is, Reality, from the invisible world, the spiritual from Novi. Rod separated Pravda from Krivda. In the fiery chariot Rod was approved by thundering Thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the face of the Family, was approved in a golden boat, and the Month in a silver one. Rod emitted from his mouth the Spirit of God - the bird Mother. By the Spirit of God, Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father. Svarog finished peacemaking. He became the owner of the earthly World, the lord of the Kingdom of God. Svarog approved 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. 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. The clan gave birth to the Cow Zemun and the Goat Sedun, milk spilled from their nipples and became the Milky Way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. Mother Earth Cheese was created from the butter obtained after churning.

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

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 - a boundless and bottomless ocean. This ocean was called Nun. It was a gloomy sight! The petrified cold waters of Nun seemed to be forever frozen in immobility. Nothing disturbed the peace. Centuries passed, millennia, 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, cast a magic spell. At the same moment, there was a deafening roar, and Ben-Ben Hill grew out of the abyss among the foamy splashes. Atum sank down on the hill and began to think about what to do next. I will create the wind - so thought Atum. Without wind, this ocean will freeze again and remain forever motionless. And I will also create the goddess of rain and moisture - so that the water of the ocean obeys her. And Atum created the wind god Shu and the goddess Tefnut, a woman with the head of a ferocious lioness. It was the first divine couple on earth. But then misfortune happened. Impenetrable darkness still shrouded 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 watery desert with weeping and wailing, the answer was silence. In complete despair, Atum pulled out his Eye and, turning to him, exclaimed: - My eye! Do what 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: - Woe! What should I do? Not only did I lose my son Shu and my daughter Tefnut forever, but I also lost the Eye! And he created a new Eye and placed it in his empty socket. Faithful Eye, after many years of searching, nevertheless found them in the ocean. As soon as Shu and Tefnut stepped onto the hill, the god rushed to meet them in order to hug them as soon as possible, when suddenly the Eye, all blazing with rage, jumped up to Atum and croaked angrily: - What does this mean ?! Was it not at your word that I went to the Nun Ocean and returned your lost children to you! I have done you a great service, and you. "Don't be angry," said Atum. - I will place you on your 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. In an effort to punish God for betrayal at all costs, he turned into a poisonous snake cobra. With a menacing hiss, the cobra puffed out its neck and bared its deadly teeth, pointing straight at Atum. However, the god calmly took the snake in his hands and placed it on his forehead. Since then, the serpent eye has adorned the crowns of gods and pharaohs. This snake is called uraeus. From the waters of the ocean grew a white lotus. The bud opened, and the sun god Ra flew out, bringing the long-awaited light to the world. Seeing Atum and his children, Ra wept for joy. His tears fell to the ground and turned into people.

Sumerian mythology

Long 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, 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 plotted 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 devised a plan for revenge. Upon learning of Tiamat's plan, Ea turned to Anshar's grandfather for advice. Anshar offered to strike Tiamat with the help of magic, because 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 came of it. Since magic and negotiation led nowhere, it remained to turn to physical strength. Whom to send to battle? Everyone decided that only Marduk could do it. Anshar, Anu and Ea initiated young Marduk into the secrets of divine magic. 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 upcoming war, the gods were horrified, but a good meal with plenty of wine reassured them. In addition, Marduk demonstrated his magical power, 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 fate" 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. Humans 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 vast ocean, which was in itself. This ocean was lifeless. Then gods are born from the Ocean, who give birth to other deities, with many relatives, and create the whole world. The gods create people. That is, in these myths, three main stages can be traced, following one after another: 1 - the existence of the primordial Ocean, 2 - the birth of the gods and the creation of the world, 3 - the creation of man.

III. Creation Bible

Christianity considers 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 without water and empty, and darkness was over the deep; and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. 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, one day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it separate the water from water. And it was so. On the third day he gathered together all the waters of the earth. So the ocean overflowed, and dry land appeared from 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 sky. And on the sixth day he created all the animals that roam the earth. Then God created man in his own image and likeness, and on the seventh day God rested from his labors and blessed this day, making it a holiday for eternity.

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 the existence of 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 within six days is sequential, stepwise. After the next stage of creation, God characterizes the primordial nature and creation as perfect in his 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. On their material, common and differences are clearly traced. 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.

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: Nauka, 1976.

3. Religion of Ancient Egypt / M.A. Korostovtsev. - M: Nauka, 1976.

4. History of the Ancient World / A.A. Vigasin. - M: Enlightenment, 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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The myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth can be called the myth of Pan-gu, a 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 he lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one day he got tired of such a life, and, waving a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts subsequently became Heaven and Earth. He was unimaginably tall - about fifty kilometers long, 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 decayed really cool: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the firmament of the earth, and his head became Cosmos. So, his death gave life to our world.

Chernobog and Belobog

This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. He tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one solid sea around, Belobog decided to create 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, there was one small problem: 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 sat on a goat and went to negotiate. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comedy of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.

Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to spy on Chernobog, making a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which was as follows: 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 did not lose his head, and made the bee feces sweet, like 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.

Armenian duality

Armenian myths are reminiscent of 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 that doesn't make it any less interesting.

So, here is a summary: Heaven and Earth are husband and wife 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 he shakes his horns, the earth bursts 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 flopping. When Leviathan finally bites his own tail, life on Earth will end and the apocalypse will come. Have a nice day.

Norse myth of the ice giant

It would seem that there is nothing in common between the Chinese and the Scandinavians - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the origin of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was icy 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 Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there, from the merging of two opposite elements, Ymir was born.

And now closer to us, to the people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman emerged from his right armpit along with the sweat. It's strange, yes, we understand this - well, that's how they are, harsh Vikings, there's nothing to be done. But back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son Bor, and Bor had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. The three brothers were gods and ruled Asgard. This seemed not enough to them, 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 created the vault of heaven, they broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and they made clouds out of the torn brains of poor Ymir.

This new world Odin and the company immediately decided to populate: 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.

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 dumped into one big heap, where things were inseparable from each other.

But then a certain god came, looked at the chaos reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and set to work: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from the clear day, and all that sort of thing.

Then he set about 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 they tore it in two, making a man and a woman out of it - the future of us.

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 there was nothing else besides it. It was not until Atum, by an effort of will and thought, created himself from this Chaos. Yes, the man had balls. But further - more and more interesting. So, he created himself, now it was necessary to create the earth in the ocean. Which he did. Having wandered around the earth and realizing his total loneliness, Atum became unbearably bored, and he decided to plan more gods. How? And so, with an ardent, passionate feeling for his own shadow.

Thus 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 regained his children. He was so happy about the reunion that he wept for a long, long time, and his tears, touching the earth, fertilized it - and people grew out of the earth, many people! Then, while people were fertilizing each other, Shu and Tefnut also had coitus, and they gave birth 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.

The myth of the Yoruba people is about the Sands of Life and the 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 one God, his name was Olorun, and one fine day the thought came to his mind - 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, Obotalu, to Earth. However, at that time, Obotala had more important things to do (in fact, a chic party was planned in heaven then, and Obotala simply could not miss it).

While Obotala was having fun, all the responsibility was thrown on Odudawa. With nothing at hand but chicken and sand, Odudawa nevertheless set to work. His principle was as follows: he took sand from a cup, poured it on the Earth, and then let the chicken run along the sand and trample it well.

Having carried out several such simple manipulations, Odudava created the land of Lfe or Lle-lfe. This is where the story of Odudava ends, and Obotala reappears on the stage, this time completely drunk - the party was a success.

And so, being in a state of divine alcoholic intoxication, the son of Olorun set about creating us humans. It went out of his hands badly, and he made invalids, dwarfs and freaks. Having sobered up, Obotala was horrified and quickly corrected everything, creating normal people.

According to another version, Obotala never recovered, and Odudava also made people, simply lowering us from the sky and at the same time assigning himself the status of the ruler of mankind.

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, in some strange way, the Supreme God - Ometeotl lived. He had a dual nature, having both a feminine and a masculine beginning, was kind and at the same time evil, was both warm and cold, truth and falsehood, white and black.

He gave birth to the rest of the gods: Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe-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 into battle with him and lost to him. Quetzalcoatl threw Tezcatlipoc from the sky and became the Sun himself. Then, Quetzalcoatl gave birth to humans and gave them nuts to eat.

Tezcatlipoka, still holding a grudge against Quetzalcoatl, decided to take revenge on his creations by turning people into monkeys. Seeing what happened to his first people, Quetzalcoatl fell into a rage and caused a powerful hurricane that scattered vile monkeys around the world.

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

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

Japanese "World Cauldron"

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

While they were hiding, new gods appeared, including Ijinami and Ijinaga. They began to stir the ocean until it thickened and formed the land - Japan. Ijinami and Ijinaga 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 - Susanoo, who, for his violent temper, received the status of the god of wind and storms.

Lotus flower and "Om-m"

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

Time passed, days succeeded each other one after another, and it seemed that it would always be like this. But one day, a sound that had never been heard before - the sound of "Om-m" - sounded all around, and the previously empty world was overwhelmed with energy. Vishnu awakened from his sleep, and Brahma appeared from the lotus flower at 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, another to create the Earth, and a third to create the sky. Then Brahma created animals, birds, people and trees, thus creating all living things.

In any mythology, myths about the creation of the world and people form the basis. It is difficult to single out any particular trend in all this. The creators of the world are somewhere gods, somewhere animals, and even plants. How the primordial creature arose from the primordial Chaos and how the world created - each myth has its own story for this. This article presents several myths about the creation of the world of the Slavs, Greeks, Sumerians, Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, Scandinavians, Zoroastrians, Arikara, Huron, Maya 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 the three princesses to the underworld. First, he falls into the copper kingdom, then into silver and gold. Each princess gives the hero an egg, into which he turns in turn, enclosing each kingdom. Having got out into the world, he throws eggs on the ground and unfolds all three kingdoms.

One of the old legends says: “In the beginning, when there was nothing in the world but a boundless sea, a duck, flying over it, dropped an egg into the abyss of water. The egg split open, and from its lower part came out mother-cheese earth, and from the upper rose a high vault of heaven.

Another legend connects the appearance of the world with the duel of the hero with the serpent, which was guarding the golden egg. The hero killed the snake, split the egg - three kingdoms came out of it: heavenly, earthly and underground.

And here is how the Carpathian Slavs told about the birth of the world:
When was the beginning of the world
Then there was no sky, no earth, only the blue sea,
And in the middle of the sea - a tall oak,
Two marvelous doves sat on an oak tree,
Began to think how to establish the world?
We'll go down to the bottom of the sea
Let's take out the fine sand
Fine sand, golden stone.
We sow fine sand
We will lift the golden stone.
From fine sand - black earth,
Studena water, green grass.
From the golden stone - blue sky, Blue sky, bright sun,
The moon is clear and all the stars.

Here is another myth. At the beginning of time, the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, in which the Family was enclosed - the Parent of all things.
Rod gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its dungeon, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.
The sun then went out of His face.
A bright moon - from His chest.
Frequent stars - from His eyes.
Clear dawns - from His eyebrows.
Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.
Violent winds - out of breath)..
"The Book of Kolyada", 1 a
So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that is with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The clan separated the visible, manifested world, that is, Reality, from the invisible world, the spiritual from Novi. Rod separated Pravda from Krivda.
In the fiery chariot Rod was approved by thundering Thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the face of the Family, was approved in a golden boat, and the Month in a silver one. Rod emitted from his mouth the Spirit of God - the bird Mother Swa. By the Spirit of God, Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father.
Svarog finished peacemaking. He became the owner of the earthly World, the lord of the Kingdom of God. Svarog approved 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.
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. The clan gave birth to the Cow Zemun and the Goat Sedun, milk spilled from their nipples and became the Milky Way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. Mother Earth Cheese was created from the butter obtained after churning.

Sumerians.

The Sumerians explained the origin of the universe in the following way.
In Sumerian mythology, heaven and earth were originally thought of as a mountain, the basis 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, himself 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 arranged the cosmos-universe. Thanks to Enlil, the luminaries also appear. Enlil falls in love with the goddess Ninlil and possesses 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 takes the form of guardians of the underworld three times, gives birth to three underground gods with Ninlil. They return to the heavenly world. From now on, Nanna in a barque, accompanied by stars and planets, travels through the sky at night, and through the underworld during the day. He gives birth to a son, the solar god Utu, who travels through the sky during the day, while at night he travels through the underworld, bringing light, drink and food to the dead. Then Enlil equips the earth: he grew the "seed of the fields" from the earth, produced "everything useful", invented the hoe.
There is another version of the myth about the creation of the world.
The beginning of this story is quite beautiful. Long 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, 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 plotted 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 devised a plan for revenge. Upon learning of Tiamat's plan, Ea turned to Anshar's grandfather for advice. Anshar offered to strike Tiamat with the help of magic, because 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 came of it. Since magic and negotiation led to nothing, it remained to turn to physical strength.
Whom to send to battle? Everyone decided that only Marduk could do it. Anshar, Anu and Ea initiated young Marduk into the secrets of divine magic. 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 upcoming war, the gods were horrified, but a good meal with plenty of wine reassured them.
In addition, Marduk demonstrated his magical power, 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 fate” 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. Humans were created from the blood of the murdered Kingu.

Egyptians.

In the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, the “proud of the Sun,” as the Greeks called it, Atum was considered the creator and primary being. It arose from Nun, the primary ocean, which Atum called his father, when there was still nothing - no sky, no earth, no soil.
Atum rose like a hill among the waters of the oceans.
The prototypes of such hills were real hills that stood out on the water surface of the flooded Nile. Appropriately fortified, they became the platform for the first temples, the erection of which seemed to perpetuate the act of creation of the world. The shape of the pyramid is apparently connected with the concept of the 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 an incredible effort, Atum broke away from the water, soared over the abyss and, raising his hands, cast a magic spell. At the same moment, there was a deafening roar, and Ben-Ben Hill grew out of the abyss among the foamy splashes. Atum sank down on the hill and began to think about what to do next.
But the lone creator had nothing to create from, and he copulated with his own hand and swallowed his own seed, and then vomited out of the mouth of the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut, the first divine couple. Ocean Nun blessed creation, commanding it to grow. As soon as they were born, the children disappeared somewhere. Atum could not find them in any way and sent his daughter, the Divine Eye of Atum, to look for them. The goddess returned the fugitives, and the overjoyed father shed a tear. His tears turned into the first people.
From the first couple born by Atum, the god Geb and Nut, the goddess and incarnation of Heaven, descended. The air god Shu and his wife divided the earth and the sky: Nut rose in the form of a firmament above Geb, leaning on him 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 while they are together, in an embrace, there is no place on earth for other creatures.
But Geb and Nut managed to give birth to the twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris was destined to be the first to be killed and resurrected for an eternal afterlife.
Earth and sky are surrounded on all sides by water. 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 everything that exists by the power of thought and the word: “Ptah was pacified, having created all things and divine words. He gave birth to the gods, created cities, placed the gods in their sanctuaries. conceived by the heart and expressed by the tongue that 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 that 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, Amon and Amaunet. The male deities had the heads of frogs, the female deities had snakes. They dwelt in the waters of primeval chaos and created the primordial egg there. From this egg emerged a solar deity in the form of a bird, and the world was filled with light. "I am a soul born from chaos, my nest is invisible, my egg is not broken."
During the period of 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 Amon says:
Father of fathers and all gods,
He lifted up the sky and established the earth,
People came out of his eyes, gods came out of his mouth
King, long live he, long live,
May it be prosperous, head of all gods
In the myth of Amon, pre-existing versions of the myth of the creation of the world were combined. It tells that in the beginning there was the god Amun in the form of a snake. He created eight great gods, who gave birth to Ra and Atum in June, and Ptah in Memphis. Then they 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, the god Khnum blinded people from clay.
Nevertheless, the Egyptians believed that humans were "God's flock" and that God created the world for humans. "He created heaven and earth for them. He destroyed the impenetrable darkness of water and created air so that they could breathe. He created plants, livestock, birds and fish for them in order to feed them." It should be noted that in almost all traditions, legends and myths - this is a common

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

But not only religion tried to find the answer to this age-old question. As science developed, it also joined 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 it that the article begins the consideration of myths that explain the origin of the world and man. According to the mythology of this people, Chaos was in the beginning.

Gods appeared from it: Chronos, personifying time, Gaia - the earth, Eros - the embodiment of love, Tartarus and Erebus - this is 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 from now on 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 we 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, Nothing and Nothingness reigned. These forces were very strong and sought to destroy everything, but the great eight acted in opposition to them, of which 4 had a male appearance with frog heads, 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 Om, produced by Shiva's drum.

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 heat" that gave birth to the world.

The fourth myth sounds rather bloodthirsty: the first man, whose name was Purusha, made a sacrifice of parts of his body to himself. Out of them came the rest of the people.

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

Buddhism

In this religion, as such, there is no myth about the origin of people and the world. It is dominated by the idea of the constant 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 may be reborn into a more highly developed one. For example, a person who has led a righteous life, in the next life will either again be a man, or a demigod, or even a god.

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

About the very appearance of man and the whole world in Buddhism there is no explanation.

Viking beliefs

The Scandinavian myths about the origin of man are not so well known to modern people than the same Greek or Egyptian ones, 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 that she licked to get salt became the basis for the appearance of the gods, among which was the main god of Scandinavian mythology, Odin.

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

Old Slavic beliefs

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

Swa, to please Svarog, removed the old skin from the snake, waved her hands and created all living things from 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 creeds, the myth of the origin of people and the world is similar.

The Jews believe that the world was created by God. However, there are some discrepancies. Thus, 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 wove several threads together: two (fire and snow) used to create his world, two more (fire and water) went to create the sky. Later, man was created.

Christianity

This religion is dominated by the idea of the creation of the world from "nothing". God created the whole world by 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 creed 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.

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

Scientific theories of human origin

Today it is generally accepted that people appeared in the course of a long biological process of evolution. Darwin's theory states that man emerged from higher primates, so man and great apes in antiquity 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 alien aliens who visited the Earth in ancient times.

Even more daring hypotheses have begun to appear today. For example, there is a theory according to which our world is a virtual program, and everything that surrounds us, including the people themselves, is part of a computer game or a program used by more developed beings.

However, such bold ideas without due factual and experimental confirmation are not much different from the 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 of the theories to believe.

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

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

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Introduction

All modern people know how our world works. We live on the planet Earth, which, along with other planets, revolves around the Sun. Our solar system enters 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 that explain the origin of the Universe and man, as well as tell about the initial stage of the Earth's existence. This part of mythology in science is usually called cosmogony, and myths - cosmogonic.

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

The purpose of the work: to identify similarities and differences in the myths about the creation of the world of various peoples;

Tasks: analysis of myths in terms of their origin;

Object of study: 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 God the Creator.

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

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

At first there was nothing. There was no sun, no moon, no star. Only water

Slavic mythology

The sun then went out of His face.

A bright moon - from His chest.

Frequent stars - from His eyes.

Clear dawns - from His eyebrows.

Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.

Violent winds - out of breath.

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

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

Ancient Egypt

Sumerian mythology

Long 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.

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

III. Creation Bible

Conclusion

Cosmogonic myths of the peoples of the world are an integral part of mythology. On their material, common and differences are clearly traced. 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.

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: Nauka, 1976.

3. Religion of Ancient Egypt / M.A. Korostovtsev. - M: Nauka, 1976.

4. History of the Ancient World / A.A. Vigasin. - M: Enlightenment, 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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In Ancient Greece

Ancient Egypt

Indian beliefs

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Judaism

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Scientific theories of human origin

Finally

What else to read

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