Discuss Egyptian, Biblical and Near Eastern creation mythology. What made the creation mythology of each of these cultures distinct?
Creation myths are powerful in cultures because they speak to our deep spiritual and social need for a sense of place and a sense of belonging. Through offering accounts of how everything began from animals, plants, earth, moon, sky and more, they provide universal coordinates within which people can imagine their own existence and find a role in the larger scheme of things. There are multiple creation stories throughout the world, however the creation myths for discussion in this paper include the Egyptian version from the Pyramid Texts (insert footnote), the Biblical version from Genesis(insert footnote), and the Near Eastern Version from the Enuma Elish tablet, Arahastis account, and Epic of Gilgamesh (insert footnotes). These …show more content…
For example The Near Eastern myth is polytheistic(believing in multiple gods) as according to the Enuma Elish it begins solely with 2 deities “Only Apsu, the first being, their father, had a name, and Tiamut, mother of all” the deities of salt and fresh water. Then these deities “waters mixed together” having sexual relations to create Lahmu and Lahamu(slime and silt), then there was Anshar and Kishar(whole sky and horizon) who had Anu(sky), who begot Ea, or Nudimmud. These beings were the first elements, representing the world around which the Babylonians lived, showing the act of creation here is conceptualised as the creation of the Gods and it is enacted through sexual intercourse , explaining that the creation of the world, for the Babylonians, was through the relationships between the gods. This notion has similarities with the Egyptian creation
Creation myths are powerful in cultures because they speak to our deep spiritual and social need for a sense of place and a sense of belonging. Through offering accounts of how everything began from animals, plants, earth, moon, sky and more, they provide universal coordinates within which people can imagine their own existence and find a role in the larger scheme of things. There are multiple creation stories throughout the world, however the creation myths for discussion in this paper include the Egyptian version from the Pyramid Texts (insert footnote), the Biblical version from Genesis(insert footnote), and the Near Eastern Version from the Enuma Elish tablet, Arahastis account, and Epic of Gilgamesh (insert footnotes). These …show more content…
For example The Near Eastern myth is polytheistic(believing in multiple gods) as according to the Enuma Elish it begins solely with 2 deities “Only Apsu, the first being, their father, had a name, and Tiamut, mother of all” the deities of salt and fresh water. Then these deities “waters mixed together” having sexual relations to create Lahmu and Lahamu(slime and silt), then there was Anshar and Kishar(whole sky and horizon) who had Anu(sky), who begot Ea, or Nudimmud. These beings were the first elements, representing the world around which the Babylonians lived, showing the act of creation here is conceptualised as the creation of the Gods and it is enacted through sexual intercourse , explaining that the creation of the world, for the Babylonians, was through the relationships between the gods. This notion has similarities with the Egyptian creation