Differences Between Greek Creation Myth and Native American Creation Myth
The history of a culture is based upon stories or myths passed down from generation to generation. Every culture has a variety of myths about the way life came to be. These creation myths tell the tales of how human kind came to be and how they looked when they got here and their relationship with nature and the world around them. The two creation myths that are the most opposing are the Judeo-Christian and the Native American myths.
The creation myths tell two polar opposite stories about how human kind came to be on Earth. In the Judeo-Christian myth, God created the Earth first then he created water, the sun, and the plants and animals. Once everything was created, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (53). When God wanted something created it appeared; no growth or development was necessary. Man was placed on Earth from above. In the Native American creation myths it was not as simple for humankind to come to be on Earth. “They (humans) were living in the fourth world. It was dark.” (91) This fourth world is not Earth. Human kind was created before they came to be on Earth, they were just living in a different ‘world’. The Native American creation myths explain a journey which humans have to embark on before reaching the first world which is Earth. The first major difference of the creation myths is found here. In Judeo-Christian myth, man appeared on Earth from above, while in Native American myth man journeyed to Earth from the underworld.
The way humans physically looked when they came to be on Earth is another contradictory detail of the creation myths. In the Judeo-Christian myth God wanted to create, “man in our image, after our likeness.” (53) One must remember God is seen to be perfect, so creating a man in his image would mean creating a perfect being. He created a perfect man and a perfect woman and placed them in Eden (a perfect world). In Native American creation myths, humans were not perfect when they came to be on
The creation myths tell two polar opposite stories about how human kind came to be on Earth. In the Judeo-Christian myth, God created the Earth first then he created water, the sun, and the plants and animals. Once everything was created, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (53). When God wanted something created it appeared; no growth or development was necessary. Man was placed on Earth from above. In the Native American creation myths it was not as simple for humankind to come to be on Earth. “They (humans) were living in the fourth world. It was dark.” (91) This fourth world is not Earth. Human kind was created before they came to be on Earth, they were just living in a different ‘world’. The Native American creation myths explain a journey which humans have to embark on before reaching the first world which is Earth. The first major difference of the creation myths is found here. In Judeo-Christian myth, man appeared on Earth from above, while in Native American myth man journeyed to Earth from the underworld.
The way humans physically looked when they came to be on Earth is another contradictory detail of the creation myths. In the Judeo-Christian myth God wanted to create, “man in our image, after our likeness.” (53) One must remember God is seen to be perfect, so creating a man in his image would mean creating a perfect being. He created a perfect man and a perfect woman and placed them in Eden (a perfect world). In Native American creation myths, humans were not perfect when they came to be on