Order vs. Chaos in Greek Mythology
Order vs. Chaos
Respected Storm God’s in ancient mythological literary works such as the Enuma Elish, The Baal Cycle, and both versions of the Illuyanka Myth play an important role in associating cultural beliefs with the defeat of chaos. These three works show a variety of ways in which the Storm God defeats dragon-like monsters and how the gods bestow their trust in the Storm God to maintain order, as the Storm God is the protector of all creation. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast these three literary works to demonstrate the defeat of order over chaos. In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Marduk, the Storm God defeats the dragon-like monster Tiamat. In the Ugaritic Baal Cycle, the Storm God, Baal, defeats the serpent Yam. In both versions of the Illuyanka Myth, the Storm God defeats Illuyanka to restore order to the land. All three of these myths demonstrate the victory of a Storm God over a dragon-like monster in order to restore order over the chaos these monsters created.
In both the Enuma Elish and The Baal Cycle, the Storm God’s are given articles of power to defeat the serpent like monsters. In Enuma Elish, Anu who is Marduk’s grandfather presents Marduk with four winds, with these winds he is able to defeat Tiamat as Tiamat is the sea and these winds disturb the sea. As the author of Enuma Elish says “Anu brought forth and begot the fourfold wind consigning to its power the leader of the host. He… stationed the whirlwind, he produced streams to disturb Tiamat.” The powerful winds disrupted Tiamat and signified the initiation of battle as the author of Enuma Elish says, “When he created the dread fourfold wind, your vitals were diluted and so we can have no rest.” The fourfold wind was what enticed Tiamat to create the monsters and prepare for battle; these winds were what ultimately disturbed the Sea and gave Marduk an advantage over his foe. In The Baal Cycle, Kothar-wa-Hasis who is the craftsman god makes Baal two magic clubs to smash
Respected Storm God’s in ancient mythological literary works such as the Enuma Elish, The Baal Cycle, and both versions of the Illuyanka Myth play an important role in associating cultural beliefs with the defeat of chaos. These three works show a variety of ways in which the Storm God defeats dragon-like monsters and how the gods bestow their trust in the Storm God to maintain order, as the Storm God is the protector of all creation. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast these three literary works to demonstrate the defeat of order over chaos. In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Marduk, the Storm God defeats the dragon-like monster Tiamat. In the Ugaritic Baal Cycle, the Storm God, Baal, defeats the serpent Yam. In both versions of the Illuyanka Myth, the Storm God defeats Illuyanka to restore order to the land. All three of these myths demonstrate the victory of a Storm God over a dragon-like monster in order to restore order over the chaos these monsters created.
In both the Enuma Elish and The Baal Cycle, the Storm God’s are given articles of power to defeat the serpent like monsters. In Enuma Elish, Anu who is Marduk’s grandfather presents Marduk with four winds, with these winds he is able to defeat Tiamat as Tiamat is the sea and these winds disturb the sea. As the author of Enuma Elish says “Anu brought forth and begot the fourfold wind consigning to its power the leader of the host. He… stationed the whirlwind, he produced streams to disturb Tiamat.” The powerful winds disrupted Tiamat and signified the initiation of battle as the author of Enuma Elish says, “When he created the dread fourfold wind, your vitals were diluted and so we can have no rest.” The fourfold wind was what enticed Tiamat to create the monsters and prepare for battle; these winds were what ultimately disturbed the Sea and gave Marduk an advantage over his foe. In The Baal Cycle, Kothar-wa-Hasis who is the craftsman god makes Baal two magic clubs to smash