Ap Creation Myth Essay
Pre-AP English 10
22 October 2012
Creation Myths Around the World There are many commonalities between creation myths from around the world. Two items most creation stories have in common is that the god(s) improved the earth, and people generally view themselves as the center of reality. Human beings tend to liken themselves to the gods they worship. The theme of God(s) improving the earth in mythology can be noted in the bible when God keeps making improvements to the earth because He “saw how good [they] were” (New, 4). The creation story of the Aztecs is similar in that the gods kept replacing the world because each world’s people had moral flaws (World, 146). In essence, the world was being bettered for the human race. This theme is also incorporated into Greek mythology. The Greek approach is that at first there was only Chaos, but gradually, things like Love and Light and Day developed, making the world a less hostile place (Hamilton 65-66). While the gods did not necessarily contribute to this, the principle is the same. Humans imagine gods being on their side, fighting for them because gods are associated with human traits such as empathy and love. Another motif in creationism is that humans have a very human-centric perspective of the world, just as Americans tend to look at early civilizations from a Euro-centric perspective. One example of this is the bible. God “created man in His own image, in the divine image he created him”(New, 4). God creating the man in His own image shows that humans personify gods. God is viewed as human. A second specimen is not just Greek creationism, but Greek culture. Greek culture revolved around the appreciation of the basic human form, as evidenced by the Greek gods, whose human form is the very essence of their importance. The Aztec myth is similar to the biblical creation story because they believed that the man and woman were made from the blood and bones of gods, which shows that the Aztecs personified
22 October 2012
Creation Myths Around the World There are many commonalities between creation myths from around the world. Two items most creation stories have in common is that the god(s) improved the earth, and people generally view themselves as the center of reality. Human beings tend to liken themselves to the gods they worship. The theme of God(s) improving the earth in mythology can be noted in the bible when God keeps making improvements to the earth because He “saw how good [they] were” (New, 4). The creation story of the Aztecs is similar in that the gods kept replacing the world because each world’s people had moral flaws (World, 146). In essence, the world was being bettered for the human race. This theme is also incorporated into Greek mythology. The Greek approach is that at first there was only Chaos, but gradually, things like Love and Light and Day developed, making the world a less hostile place (Hamilton 65-66). While the gods did not necessarily contribute to this, the principle is the same. Humans imagine gods being on their side, fighting for them because gods are associated with human traits such as empathy and love. Another motif in creationism is that humans have a very human-centric perspective of the world, just as Americans tend to look at early civilizations from a Euro-centric perspective. One example of this is the bible. God “created man in His own image, in the divine image he created him”(New, 4). God creating the man in His own image shows that humans personify gods. God is viewed as human. A second specimen is not just Greek creationism, but Greek culture. Greek culture revolved around the appreciation of the basic human form, as evidenced by the Greek gods, whose human form is the very essence of their importance. The Aztec myth is similar to the biblical creation story because they believed that the man and woman were made from the blood and bones of gods, which shows that the Aztecs personified
Cited: Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Warner Books, 1999. World Myths and Legends. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996. New American Bible, St. Joseph Edition, Catholic Book Publishing Co, 1992.