mythology myth parallels. global myth parallels flood stories creation stories miraculous births...
TRANSCRIPT
Mythology
Myth Parallels
Global Myth Parallels
FloodStories
Creationstories
Miraculous births
First Man/Woman stories
underworldStories
Hero/quest
The Creative Sacrifice
Life-Death-Rebirth
Order Vs. Chaos
Hubris
Fate and Destiny
Creation stories
All mythologies have a story of how the universe, world, humans, and elements were created.
Creation Myths always begin with nothingness.
Divine figures whose death creates an essential part of reality
Mesopotamian Tiamat
Killed by Marduk
Norse Ymir
Killed by the gods
The Creative Sacrifice
Hubris
Hubris: excessive pride or self-confidence. Whenever a character exhibits hubris in myths, it
leads to the character’s quick punishment, usually from the gods
Many humans/gods/demigods follow a pattern of self-destructive behavior
Hubris
Greek Mythology Icarus – he flew too close to the sun, which
melted his wings and he fell to his death Prometheus – gave humans fire, which he
wasn’t supposed to do. He was punished for stealing the fire.
Floods Stories
Stories of floods are widespread. Floods were likely experienced frequently, as
people needed to live near a water source. Floods also occurred from melting glaciers.
Said to be a punishment from gods
Flood Stories
Hebrew Tradition: Noah and the Great Flood
God commands Noah to build an Ark in advance of a flood sent by God as punishment.
Mesopotamian (Babylonian) Tradition: The Epic of Gilgamesh
One of the great gods, Ea, commands Utanapishtim (a hero) to build a boat to save living creatures from a flood caused by the gods.
Greek Tradition Deucalion and Pyrrha
Zeus, unhappy with civilization, puts a great flood on the earth, wiping out all but two people.
Flood Stories
Deucalion and
Pyrrha
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Noah’s Ark
Fate and Destiny
Many mythologies involve a character’s destiny which drives his/her actions
No human or god can escape fate.
Roman: Aeneas’ destiny to found the Roman Empire
Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh’s fate is to die
Greek: Hector’s fate is to die by Achilles
First Man/ Woman
The first humans are either fashioned by gods or emerge from natural elementsNorse Mythology
Ash and Elm (Ask and Embla)Greek Mythology
Prometheus and Epimetheus/ PandoraBabylonian Mythology
Marduk’s creation of man
from Kingu’s blood
Order Vs. Chaos
Often in creation myths, a group of younger, more civilized gods who represent order conquers and/or struggles against a group of older gods or monsters who represent the forces of chaos.
Greek Mythology: Titans vs. Gods
Mesopotamian: Younger vs. Older Gods
Miraculous Births
Miraculous conceptions occur through intervention by a deity/ supernatural
Miraculous births make divine status obvious usually when the mother is human and father is a deity. Babylonian/ Sumerian
Marduk Created in the heart of Apsu
Greek Mythology Heracles
Fathered by a god (Zeus), virgin mother
Egyptian: Set
Born through his mother’s side
Quests
Greek Mythology Hercules Odysseus
Sumerian Gilgamesh on the quest for immortality
English Mythology Percival (one of King Arthur’s knights) and his quest
for the Holy Grail
A hero goes on a journey and oftentimes must overcome their own weaknesses and faults in order to succeed.
Underworld
The land of the dead the destination of human souls in the afterlife Often the hero travels to the underworld as an
ultimate challenge. If he/she returns from the underworld, the hero has passed the true test of bravery and skill.
Underworld Myths
Roman Mythology Pluto/ Inferno Cupid and Psyche
Greek Mythology Hades/Tartarus/ Elysium Persephone
Norse Mythology Hel/ Niflheim The Death of Balder
Egyptian Mythology Duat Osiris, Isis, and Horus