Lecture 2

Question 1

What are the western religion creation myths generally? (Christian, Jewish, Muslim)

Answer 1

Only god in the beginning, god was the creator and made sun earth heavens over time,

man created from earth and given life by god.

women created from a mans rib

Question 2

Norse creation Myth

Answer 2

1st millennium CE
formless void called ginnungagap
ice to the north called Niflheim
fire to the south called muspellheim
ice and fire meet and create Ymir the giant
Ymir slain by odin
odin creates earth from ymirs flesh bonnes and blood
sparks from muspellheim form sun moon stars

Question 3

Hindu creation myth (Rig Veda)

Answer 3

2nd millennium CE
initially chaos
vishnu commanded brahma to create world
from lotus flower brahma created earth sky heaven
brahma separated earth, water, fire, air and heavens
it questions whether brahma knew how everything truly began

Question 4

Mesopotamian: enuma elish myth

Answer 4

2nd millenium CE
primordial state: watery chaos
god of fresh water apsu emerges with wife Tiamat
one of their kids kills apsu, Tiamat is angry and summons army of chaos
marduk emerges as champion, defeats Tiamat
marduk creates earth and heavens from tiamats body

Question 5

Egyptian: hermopolitan

Answer 5

from 3rd millennium BCE
Atum speaks himself into existence
grows mound of earth from watery chaos
creates other cods
gods shu and tefnut birth sky god nut and earth god geb

Question 6

Egyptian: memphite

Answer 6

from 3rd millennium BCE
god of craftsmen Ptah creates everything by speaking into existence

Question 7

Egyptian: atenism

Answer 7

from 3rd millennium BCE
aten(Ra) was the sun god and created all. closest out of all Egyptian myths to pre-abrahamic monotheism

Question 8

what are the 4 classes of cosmogonies

Answer 8

Ex Nihilo, world parents, cosmic egg, watery chaos

Question 9

what is ex nihilo and examples

Answer 9

eternal creator brings forth the universe by fiat
examples: Hebrew, Christian, islamic

Question 10

what is world parents and examples

Answer 10

creation from the union or separation of primal parents
examples:
greek: gaia(earth) and Uranus (stars)
maori : rangi(sky) and papa(earth)
Mesopotamian: apis and tiamats union creates gods who create land

Question 11

what is cosmic egg and examples

Answer 11

body of divine being provides materials
examples:
chinese: pang forms heaven and earth from his body
Hindu: purusha offers his body to brahma to fashion the cosmos

Question 12

what is watery chaos and examples

Answer 12

water serves as primordial source
examples:
sumerian: Primordial sea name births utu who creates earth and sky
Egyptian: atum creates himself from infinite primordial ocean called nu
Iroquois: upstate ny natives stories begin with watery chaos

Question 13

START FROM TRADITIONAL AFRICAN COSMOGONIES