Creation Myths Common Elements Feminine Process – birth of the cosmos Starts with Water or an egg, which are feminine elements

Egyptian Creation From Heliopolis Khepri - Primordial Being Causes Primal Mound to Rise out of Primeval Waters Takes the shape of Re at the top of the Mound

Khepri Shu - god, Atmosphere and Moisture Geb - Father Earth Tefnut - goddess, World Order Nut - Mother Sky

Geb - Nut Osiris - First King of Egypt, fertility, later - underworld Isis- Mother Goddess Horus - Divine Child Seth - god of the Desert, Chaos Nephthys - Goddess of Dusk and Death –Anubis - God of Mummification, protection

Khepri, Ra, Shu Tefnut

Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys

Mesopotamia The Enuma Elish In the beginning, there was Watery Chaos Personified as Dragons –Apsu - God of Sweet Waters –Tiamat - Goddess of Bitter (Salt) Waters –Mummu - their Vizier (Prime Minister)

Apsu and Tiamat

Apsu - Tiamat AnEnlil Many more gods EaMarduk Anshar Ninlil Many more goddesses Damkina

Ea and Marduk

Battle amongst the gods Apsu, angered by the noise of so many gods, decides to kill them Apsu attacks the gods against Tiamat’s wishes Ea kills Apsu and makes a House out of his body. He becomes the new King of the Gods Ea and Damkina have Marduk

The Anger of Tiamat Tiamat, angry at the death of Apsu, takes Tiamat, angry at the death of Apsu, takes a 2 nd husband, Kingu. Together they a 2 nd husband, Kingu. Together they create a race of monsters to harass the create a race of monsters to harass the gods and cause them grief. gods and cause them grief. None of the gods is able to defeat her. None of the gods is able to defeat her.

Marduk and Tiamat battle Marduk kills Tiamat. He splits her body into two parts to make the earth and the sky. Marduk becomes King of the Gods. He assigns jobs to the gods and goddesses. They have to tend the Earth. The gods complain. Marduk orders a race of servants, humans, to be created from the blood of Kingu to tend the earth.

India: the Upanishad Purusa = human form of Brahman. Splits into male and female halves, they mate, create humans

The creation of animals The female half is uncomfortable and turns into a cow to hide. The male half turns into a Bull. They mate = all bovines are created. She turns into a mare, he turns into a stallion, all horses are created. She turns into an ewe, he turns into a ram, all sheep are created. And so it continued all the way down to ants.

All things are Brahman When Purusa was done creating, he looked at everything and said, “All of this am I.”

Greek Creation based on Hesiod’s Theogony (the birth of the Gods)

In the beginning there was a Void, from the Void came Gaia and black Night… Gaia, Mother Earth, creates offspring by herself The mountains The Seas The Heavens = Ouranos (Uranus in Latin)