What types of myths existed. Classification of myths

Mythology is a very interesting cultural phenomenon. The importance of myths in modern culture is difficult to overestimate, because on their basis works of art and literature arose, and philosophical teachings were based. The uniqueness of this phenomenon lies in the fact that it has passed through millennia, remaining in the memory of generations. Let's consider the definition of myth, examine their types in detail, and also clarify how myth differs from fairy tales and legends.

Myth: definition, properties, occurrence

Our distant ancestors tried to explain all sorts of natural phenomena, their place in the world, the emergence of the Universe and its possible demise. After all, they had no scientific knowledge, they did not know physics, astronomy or anthropology. This is how myths were created. Gradually, with the development of science, interest in myths waned, but they were passed on from mouth to mouth and thus reached the present day. This phenomenon is a real chronicle of human knowledge and ideas.

It is a mistake to believe that myth-making is the prerogative of ancient people. This is not so: even in modern times we encounter this phenomenon. There is still something unreal and fantastic in human life. This is explained by modern myths.

In the question of how a myth differs from a fairy tale, one should be guided by the functions of these phenomena. The fairy tale is intended to teach, educate, maybe even entertain. A completely different matter is a myth, which aims to explain the essence of things. Researchers place the closest thing to it in fairy tales, where natural elements help the heroes.

Even more polar concepts are myths and legends. The latter are a reflection of a certain historical event, which is always perceived as really existing. Myths and legends and fairy tales were created by the people.

Cosmogonic myths

Cosmogonic is the first myth of any system. It talks about how the world was created. As a rule, creation is preceded by chaos (ancient Greece), fragmentation, lack of order (ancient Egypt), the power of fire and water (Scandinavian mythology) or earth and sky in the world egg (mythology of ancient India).

All the cosmogonic myths of the world are united by one plot: the creation of a world order system around a certain axis. This could be a tree - the world ash, like the ancient Scandinavians, or a luminary to control night and day in the Jewish tradition. Also, “order out of chaos” can create a marriage union. So, in the mythology of ancient Greece they are Uranus and Gaia, and in Polynesia they are the Pope and Rangi. It is noteworthy that the impetus for all this action is given by the supreme deity: Vishnu, God.

Anthropogonic myths

Close in theme to cosmogonic myths are anthropogogical myths. Some scientists do not classify them as a separate group, but consider them an integral part of the legends about the origin of the Universe. They tell the story of a married couple. The emergence of the first people may be different. Having summarized the myths of the world, we come to the conclusion that a person occurs in the following ways:

Astral, solar and lunar myths

Close to cosmogonic are the types of myths that tell about the origin of stars and planets - astral. It is on them that astrology is based, which still exists today. From the point of view of the ancients, constellations are transformed animals, plants and even people (for example, a hunter). The interpretation of the Milky Way in various mythologies is interesting. Most often this is a connection between worlds. The ancient Greeks associated it with the milk of Hera, the Babylonians imagined it as the ropes holding the Earth in the Universe.

Our distant ancestors tended to identify certain deities or animals with planets and stars; they observed their movement across the night sky and identified patterns. This is how they appear in the mythologies of China and the Middle East. It was these beliefs that gave rise to the development of astrology.

Ancient myths about the sun occupy a special place. They are in almost all mythologies. In some, these are heroes who somehow ended up in heaven, sometimes for misdeeds (Scandinavia), in others, they are a pair of spouses or a brother and sister, where one (the moon) is subordinate to the other (the sun). For example, this is typical for

Many peoples identified their rulers with the children of the sun. These were the myths of the peoples of Egypt, Japan, and South America (Inca tribe).

Etiological myths

Myths that explain the emergence of plants, animals, weather phenomena, and landscape features are called etiological. These are very ancient myths, dating back to primitive society. Of course, the ability to discover the cause of things unites mythological beliefs in general, however, it is the etiological ones that specifically tell about the origin of everything that surrounds a person.

At the very first stage there are myths, which we now perceive as fairy tales of the peoples of Australia, New Guinea, and the Adaman Islands. For example, they explain the day blindness of bats and the lack of a tail in the marsupial bear.

One step higher are the beliefs that explain the appearance of plants and animals in principle. These are the myths about the origin of dolphins from evil shipbuilders, and the spider is the weaver Arachne, punished by Aphrodite.

The most advanced etiological beliefs tell about the origin of the luminaries: the sun, the moon, the firmament. There are such myths in every religion. For example, in New Zealand and Egypt, the appearance of the sky is explained by a higher power that “teared” the sky from the earth. Also, the myths of absolutely all peoples explain the daily and annual movement of the sun across the sky.

Heroic myths

The heroes of myths on this topic are the center of the story. It tells about life, some heroic deeds, and the accomplishment of impossible tasks. The structure is approximately the same:

• The miraculous birth of a hero.
• Feats or trials imposed by the father or some other close relative; the initiator can also be a future father-in-law, a tribal leader, or even a deity. As a rule, at this stage the hero is an exile: he violated a social taboo and committed a crime.
• Meeting with his future wife and marriage.
• Continuation of exploits.
• Death of a hero.

If we talk about the mythology of the ancient Greeks, then the heroes of myths are the children of God and a mortal woman. It is these beliefs that underlie fairy tales and other epic works.

Totemic and cult myths

The following types of myths are quite similar in theme: totemic and cult. A classic example of the former is the deities of Ancient Egypt, each of which had certain zoomorphic features: crocodile, cat, jackal and others. These myths reflect the kinship of certain people and totems, which are animals or plants.

In addition to Egyptian deities, one can cite as an example the mythology of Australian tribes, where sacred stones, animals, plants are reincarnated zoomorphic ancestors who once lived. The Papuans and Bushmen had the same beliefs.

Quite often in totemic myths the theme of marriage of a zoomorphic creature and an ordinary person occurs. As a rule, this is how the origin of nationalities is explained. The Kyrgyz, Orochi, and Koreans have this. Hence the images of fairy tales about the frog princess or Finist the Bright Falcon.

Cult myths are perhaps the most mysterious. Their contents are known to few, mainly the guardians of the cult. They are very sacred and tell about the root cause of any action. A classic example is the bacchanalia held in honor of the ancient Greek god Dionysus. Another example comes from Ancient Egypt. Myths about Isis formed the basis of the cult action, when Isis searched for the body of her lover, after which he was resurrected.

Eschatological myths

The logical conclusion of most beliefs is eschatological legends telling about the end of the world. These types of myths are antonymous with cosmogonic ones. Only the world is not created here, but destroyed. As a rule, the impetus is the impoverishment of the moral foundations of society. Such beliefs are typical for highly developed mythologies. For example, among the ancient Scandinavians, Hindus, Christians.

The topics of eschatological beliefs can be divided into several groups:

1. A catastrophe on a global scale is described, separating the world of myth from the present. These are the ideas of the Kets and Sami.
2. The loss of the “golden age” of humanity, its imperfection. An example is Iranian mythology, which describes three cosmic eras, each worse in moral qualities than the previous one. This also includes Ragnarok from Scandinavian mythology - a universal fire that will renew the planet.
3. Another theme is the cyclical nature of civilizations, where at the end of each period a catastrophe occurs, as if cleansing the Earth. This is, for example, the era of the four suns in Aztec mythology. The first ends with an attack by jaguars, the second with hurricanes, the third with a fire, and the fourth with a flood.
4. Messiahship. It is a mistake to believe that this is the prerogative of Christian beliefs. There are myths about messiah gods in Hinduism (Kalki), Islam (Mahdi), and Buddhism (Maitreya Buddha).

Calendar myths

Calendar types of myths are closely related to cosmogonic and cult myths. It was common for humanity to explain the change of seasons, day and night, the dying of nature in autumn and winter and resurrection in spring.

These thoughts are reflected in calendar myths. They are based on observations of astronomical phenomena, festivities marking the entry into the new calendar year, and harvesting and planting. Let us consider the most interesting mythologies from the perspective of this topic.

If we talk about the change of months of the year, there is a close connection with astral myths. The alternating months are explained from the point of view of the zodiac signs. Mesopotamian mythology was particularly successful in this.

In the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, he was responsible for time, its changes and the movement of the stars in astrology and astronomy. It is thanks to him that the year is divided into 365 days. The last 5 were allocated so that the deities Osiris, Set, Isis and others were born. Five-day celebrations at the end of the calendar year were dedicated to them. If we talk about the change of day and night, the Egyptians explained it this way: the god Ra descends on a boat to the underworld or Seth and Horus are fighting.

In Ancient Rome, each calendar month was assigned to a specific deity: April - Aphrodite, June - Juno, March - Mars. The beginning of each month was determined by the priest according to the new moon. Adjacent to the Roman one there were deities - mountains, responsible for the change of seasons.

The god Marduk from Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was responsible for the calendar. The New Year for these peoples began on the day of the spring equinox.

The change of seasons in some mythologies is associated with the life and death of a deity. Suffice it to recall the ancient Greek story of Demeter and Persephone. Hades stole the latter into his underground kingdom. Demeter, being the goddess of fertility, missed her daughter so much that she deprived the earth of fertility. Although Zeus obliged Hades to return Persephone, she was forced to return to the kingdom of the dead once a year. The Greeks associated the change of seasons with this. Roughly similar plots with the mythical heroes Osiris, Yarila, Adonis, Balder.

Modern mythology

It is a mistake to believe that only ancient civilizations engaged in myth-making. This phenomenon is also characteristic of modern times. The difference between modern mythology is that it is based on extensive scientific knowledge. Having built powerful telescopes and seen the surface of Mars, people began to create mythical theories about the possible existence of life there, and this also includes all sorts of explanations for “black holes.” We can say that all modern science fiction is a kind of myth, because it tries to explain as yet incomprehensible phenomena.

Also, such heroes of films and comics as Spider-Man, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can be considered a transformation of heroic myths. Indeed, each of them has its own story, rejection by society (exile); they perform fantastic feats for the benefit of society.

Modern urban mythology is also worth mentioning. Fantastic creatures, its fruits, appeared in the minds of people already in the 20th-21st centuries. Along with creatures such as gremlins, entire urban myths have emerged.

As a rule, they are based on the historical realities of a particular city and its inhabitants. For example, stories about the dungeons of Kaliningrad and the treasures hidden there by the retreating Nazis during the capture of the city by the Soviet army.

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We are sure that many of you still believe in unicorns. It seems wonderful to imagine that they still exist somewhere, and we just haven’t found them yet. However, even the myth about such a magical creature has a very prosaic and even somewhat frightening explanation.

If you feel like website If you are very skeptical and no longer believe in magic, then at the end of the article a real miracle awaits you!

Great Flood

Scientists believe that the legend of the Great Flood is based on the memory of major flood, the epicenter of which was Mesopotamia. At the beginning of the last century, during excavations of the tombs of Ur, a layer of clay was found that separated two cultural layers. Only a catastrophic flood of the Tigris and Euphrates could lead to the appearance of such a phenomenon.

According to other estimates, 10–15 thousand years BC. e. An incredible flood happened in the Caspian Sea, which spilled over an area of ​​about 1 million square meters. km. The version was confirmed after scientists found sea shells in Western Siberia, the closest distribution area of ​​which is in the Caspian Sea. This flood was so powerful that there was a huge waterfall on the Bosphorus, through which approximately 40 cubic meters were poured per day. km of water (200 times the volume of water passing through Niagara Falls). There was a flow of this power for at least 300 days.

This version seems crazy, but in this case, ancient people cannot be accused of exaggerating events!

Giants

In modern Ireland, legends are still told about people of gigantic stature who can create an island simply by throwing a handful of earth into the sea. Endocrinologist Martha Korbonitz came up with the idea that ancient legends could have a scientific basis. Incredibly, the researchers found what they were looking for. A huge number of people in Ireland have mutations in the AIP gene. It was these mutations that caused the development of acromegaly and gigantism. If in the UK the mutation carrier is 1 in 2,000 people, then in the province of Mid-Ulster it is every 150th.

One of the famous Irish giants was Charles Byrne (1761–1783), his height was over 230 cm.

Legends, of course, endow giants with enormous power, but in reality, not everything is so rosy. People with acromegaly and gigantism often suffer from cardiovascular diseases, vision problems and frequent joint pain. Without treatment, many giants may not live to see 30 years of age.

Werewolves

The legend about werewolves has several origins. Firstly, people's lives have always been connected with the forest. Rock paintings of hybrids of humans and animals have reached us from ancient times. People wanted to be stronger, they chose a totem animal and wore its skin. These beliefs were also the basis for the narcotic drugs that warriors took before battle and imagined themselves to be invincible wolves.

Secondly, the belief in the existence of werewolves was also supported by the presence in people of such a genetic disease as hypertrichosis- excessive growth of hair on the body and face, which was called “werewolf syndrome.” It was only in 1963 that doctor Lee Illis gave the disease a medical basis. In addition to the genetic disease, there was also a mental disease known as lycanthropy, during attacks of which people lose their minds and lose their human qualities, considering themselves wolves. In addition, there is an exacerbation of the disease during certain lunar phases.

By the way, the wolf from the world famous “Little Red Riding Hood”, according to, was none other than a werewolf. And he didn’t eat the grandmother, but fed it to her granddaughter.

Vampires

As for the scientific basis for these myths, in 1914, paleontologist Otenio Abel suggested that the ancient finds of dwarf elephant skulls became the reason for the birth of the myth of the Cyclops, since the central nasal opening can easily be mistaken for a giant eye socket. It is curious that these elephants were found precisely on the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus, Malta, and Crete.

Sodom and Gomorrah

We don’t know about you, but we always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah are a very large-scale myth and rather some kind of personification of vicious cities. However, this is quite a historical fact.

For a decade now, excavations of an ancient city have been underway in the town of Tell el-Hammam in Jordan. Archaeologists are confident that they have found the biblical Sodom. The approximate location of the city has always been known - the Bible described the “Sodom Pentate City” in the Jordan Valley. However, its exact location has always raised questions.

In 2006, excavations began, and scientists found a large ancient settlement surrounded by a powerful rampart. According to researchers, people lived here between 3500 and 1540 BC. e. There is no other option for the name of the city, otherwise the mention of such a large settlement would have remained in written sources.

Kraken

The Kraken is a legendary mythical sea monster of gigantic size, a cephalopod, known from descriptions of sailors. The first extensive description was made by Eric Pontoppidan - he wrote that the kraken is an animal “the size of a floating island.” According to him, the monster is capable of grabbing a large ship with its tentacles and dragging it to the bottom, but the whirlpool that occurs when the kraken quickly sinks to the bottom is much more dangerous. It turns out that a sad end is inevitable - both when the monster attacks and when it runs away from you. Really creepy!

The rationale for the myth of the “creepy monster” is simple: Giant squids still exist today and reach 16 meters in length. They really are an impressive sight - in addition to suckers, some species also have claws and teeth on their tentacles, but they can only threaten someone by pressing him down from above. Even if a modern person, having met such a creature, is very frightened, let alone medieval fishermen - for them the giant squid was definitely a mythical monster.

Unicorn

When it comes to unicorns, we immediately imagine a graceful creature with a rainbow horn in its forehead. Interestingly, they are found in the legends and myths of many cultures. The very first images were found in India and are over 4,000 years old. Later, the myth spread across the continent and reached Ancient Rome, where they were considered absolutely real animals.

Jindo in South Korea. Here the waters between the islands part for an hour, revealing a wide and long road! Scientists explain this miracle by the difference in the timing of low and high tides.

Of course, many tourists come there - in addition to simple walks, they have the opportunity to see the marine inhabitants who remained on the opened land. The amazing thing about the Moses Trail is that it leads from the mainland to the island.

The debate between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continues to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more).

The Myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth is the myth of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.
According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, swinging a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts later became Heaven and Earth. He was of unimaginable height - about fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it. Pan-gu decomposed in a really cool way: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the earth's surface, and his head became the Cosmos. Thus, his death gave life to our world.

Chernobog and Belobog

Armenian duality

Scandinavian myth of the ice giant

Greek myth about marbles

Kocheganova Polina

a bat, looking into a hollow tree, came across a twig with its eye (an explanation of why bats are blind during the day);

a marsupial bear quenched its thirst by a pond, and a kangaroo cut off its tail (an explanation for the taillessness of the bear);

a parrot and an opossum fought, both were wounded: the parrot had blood on its neck and chest, the opossum had a bruise on its face (explanation of spots on the animals’ bodies)

Cosmogonic myths

The cosmogonic myths of Ancient Greece are well known from the poem “Theogony” by Hesiod. Chaos, according to Theogony, is the primordial deity who gave birth to Erebus and Nyukta (Darkness and Night). Other cosmic principles generated from it: Gaia, Tartarus and Eros.

Ra, the sun god, born of Chaos, was the ruler of the Universe. After he defeated the forces of Darkness, he gave birth to a son, Shu, and a daughter, Sokhnet, who created Heba (Earth) and Nut (Sky). And they, in turn, gave life to Osiris and all the other gods

After Uranus (Heaven) became the master of the whole world, he married the blessed Gaia (Earth). And they had six sons and six daughters - powerful and terrible titans and titanides.

Titan Hyperion and Uranus's eldest daughter Theia had three children - Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn).

Totemic myths

The Christian myth (which has become a religious dogma) about the conception of Jesus Christ by the Virgin Mary from the holy spirit also has its roots in the ancient totemic myth (a woman’s pregnancy from the entry of a totemic embryo into her), although here it receives a completely different meaning.

Myrmidons. Aeacus, the grandfather of Achilles, lost all his people during a pestilence sent by Hera. But at his request, his father Zeus turned ants into people, and therefore the new people began to be called “myrmidons.”

In China, there is a legend about the amazing and brave five-colored dog Pan-hu, who destroyed the enemy and as a reward received a beautiful princess as his wife. The children from this marriage formed four clans - Pan, Lan, Lei and Zhong, who revered Pan-hu as a common ancestor.

In South Africa, there is a tale about a girl who grew up so tall and fat that no man wanted to marry her, and she was also accused of witchcraft. She was kicked out of the village and sent into the wild forests. There she met an elephant, who began to speak politely to her in good Zulu. She agreed to stay with him, and he helped her find wild cucumber and other forest fruits. She gave birth to four children, who were all very tall and strong and became the ancestors of the Indhlovu clan, rulers of the mountains.

Theogonic myths

The myth of the birth of Zeus. Cronus and his wife Rhea had five children before Zeus, who were swallowed by their father. While carrying Zeus, Rhea, not wanting another child to suffer the same fate as her previous children, turned to her parents for help. Following their advice, she went to Crete and hid in one of the mountain caves to bring a child into the world in secret from her husband. During the birth of Rhea, the entrance to the cave was guarded by the legendary Kurites, who in many myths are called Dactyls. Rhea, having given birth to Zeus, a healthy boy who later became the father of the Olympian gods, handed him over to Kurites for upbringing.

The myth of the Birth of Dionysus. Dionysus was born from the thigh of Zeus

The myth of the Birth of Aphrodite. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Aphrodite was born near the island of Cythera from the seed and blood of Uranus castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed snow-white foam

Calendar myths

In Ugarit, the calendar myth of the dying and resurrecting god of vegetation is associated with Baal and Anat. The death god Mot kills Aliyan-Baal and takes his throne, which leads to withering and drought. Anat looks for her husband and deals with Mot - he cuts him with a sword, burns him in the fire and grinds him into millstones. Mot then comes to life, but he is defeated again, and the resurrection of Baal entails a flowering in nature

The myth of the abduction of Cora-Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus, by Hades. In this myth, the goddess of fertility, agriculture and ripening grain, Demeter appears as a disappearing and returning goddess. Angry over the kidnapping of her daughter, Demeter leaves Olympus and wanders the earth in the form of an old woman. Crop failure and famine sets in. After Persephone's return from the kingdom of the dead, Demeter herself returns to Olympus, and the earth again bears fruit.

Hittite mythology. The role of the disappearing god is played by the god of fertility Telepinus, and the god of the storm, and the god of the sun (who fell from the sky), and the goddesses Inara and Anzili. The storm god, for example, was so angry with Queen Ashmunikal that he even put his shoes on the wrong foot and left. As a result, livestock and people stopped reproducing, and the springs dried up. The gods gathered for the feast cannot eat or drink. An eagle is sent for the disappeared god, then a bee. Stung by a bee, he begins to destroy everything around him. The gods finally bring him back with the help of magic. The return of the gods causes an increase in fertility and fertility.

Anthropogonic myths

Scandinavian mythology. Ask and Embla are the first people who were found by the gods on the seashore in the form of tree prototypes, lifeless and “devoid of fate.” In the Elder Edda - in the song "Divination of the Völva" - these are three aces - Odin (gave the soul), Lodur (gave feelings), Hoenir (gave reason). The gods revived them (completed them as people).

The most ancient epic about the origin of man, the Sumerian poem "The Tale of Atrahasis" says:

"In the first month, on the seventh and fifteenth days

He (Enki) performed the rite of purification.

The "wise" god, who has reason,

They (the gods) killed in their assembly.

From his body, on his blood

The goddess Nintu mixed clay...

…I broke off fourteen pieces of clay,

She put seven to the right

She put seven to the left

The brick is in the middle between them.

Gathered in wisdom and knowledge

Goddesses of birth - seven and seven of them,

They created seven men,

Seven they created women"…etc.

Ancient China. For a long time, chaos reigned in the world, the Chinese said, nothing could be discerned in it. Then, in this chaos, two forces emerged: Light and Darkness, and from them heaven and earth were formed. And at that time the first person appeared - Pangu. He was huge and lived for a very long time. When he died, nature and man were formed from his body. His breath became wind and clouds, his voice became thunder, his left eye became the sun, his right eye became the moon. The earth was formed from Pangu's body. His arms, legs and torso turned into the four cardinal points and five major mountains, and the sweat on his body became rain. Blood flowed across the ground in rivers, muscles became the earth's soil, hair turned into grass and trees. From his teeth and bones simple stones and metals were formed, from his brain - pearls and precious stones. And the worms on his body became people.

Heroic myths

Most Scandinavian myths are about Thor. The giant Thrym stole his hammer Mjolnir from Thor, Thor went after him to Jotunheim, accompanied by Loki. Dressed in the clothes of the goddess Freya, Thor deceives Thrym and kills him with a hammer.

12 labors of Hercules. First feat: Nemean Lion. Hercules did not have to wait long for the first order of King Eurystheus. He instructed Hercules to kill the Nemean lion. This lion, born of Typhon and Echidna, was of monstrous size

12 labors of Hercules. Lernaean Hydra. After the first feat, Eurystheus sent Hercules to kill the Lernaean hydra. It was a monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon. Like the Nemean lion, the hydra was generated by Typhon and Echidna.

Eschatological myths

Ragnarok, or Ragnarok, in German-Scandinavian mythology is the death of the gods (the fate of the gods) and the whole world, following the last battle between the gods and chthonic monsters. Two people will survive, hiding in the Hoddmimir grove - Liv and Livtrasir, who will again give rise to the human race.

The Last Judgment, Judgment Day - in the eschatology of the Abrahamic religions - the last judgment performed by God on people in order to identify the righteous and sinners and determine the reward of the former and punishment of the latter.

Qiyamat is in Islamic eschatology the day of God's judgment, when all people will receive retribution for their deeds. Belief in the Last Day is one of the integral elements of Islamic belief. Qiyamat will begin with two trumpets (surahs) from the angel Israfil. The first will herald the destruction of all Allah's creations, and the second will announce the resurrection of humanity and the beginning of God's judgment.

Thanatological myths

The Ashanti people have a legend that Death was once a giant with long hair called Owuo (meaning death). A young man once hired himself to work for him. Ovuo fed him meat, which later turned out to be the flesh of the young man’s relatives. The young man told his fellow villagers what happened to him. People decided to set fire to the giant's long hair when he fell asleep. The giant burned down completely, and with the help of the ashes the young man brought his relatives back to life. Out of his own stupidity and recklessness, he sprinkled these ashes on the eye of the dead giant. Death allegedly appeared from that eye; every time the eye blinks, someone dies on earth.

The Baganda also have a myth that Death (Walumbe) is the son of Gulu (Heaven), he came to earth through the negligence of the first man Kinto: when he married Nambu, he was warned not to return to Gulu’s house. But he did not listen to either his wife or her relatives; it seemed to him that he had forgotten something and returned to his father-in-law’s home. Walumbe also came to the house, he wanted to go to earth with his sister and her husband and no one could stop him.

Among the Luyi, death is explained as follows: when Nyambe (the god) and his wife Nasilele lived on earth, they had a dog, which after some time died. Nyambe was sad and wanted to bring the dog back to life, but his wife was against it because she didn’t like the dog. However, Nasilele’s mother soon died, this time Nyambe himself refused to bring the deceased back to life, and she died “forever.” And so people began to die

The debate between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continues to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more). In this article we will talk about ten of the most unusual myths of antiquity.

10. The myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth is the myth of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.

According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, swinging a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts subsequently became Heaven and Earth. He was of unimaginable height - about fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.

Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it - Pan-gu decomposed in a really cool way: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the firmament of the earth, and his head became the Cosmos. Thus, his death gave life to our world.

9. Chernobog and Belobog

This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. It tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one continuous sea around, Belobog decided to create dry land, sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.

Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, one small problem arose: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.

Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth with the goal of finding out from Chernobog how to stop this matter. Well, Chernobog sat on a goat and went to negotiate. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comedy of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand the humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.

Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to spy on Chernobog, making a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which was as follows: in order to stop the growth of land, you need to draw a cross on it and say the cherished word - “enough.” Which is what Belobog did.

To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting revenge, he cursed Belobog, and he cursed him in a very original way - for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces for the rest of his life. However, Belobog was not at a loss, and made bee excrement as sweet as sugar - this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared... The main thing is that there is honey.

8. Armenian duality

Armenian myths resemble Slavic ones, and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created; it only explains how everything around us works. But that doesn't make it any less interesting.

So here's the quick gist: Heaven and Earth are a husband and wife separated by an ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when it shakes its horns, the earth bursts at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.

There is an alternative myth where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan floats around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its flopping. When Leviathan finally bites its tail, life on Earth will cease and the apocalypse will begin. Have a nice day.

7. The Scandinavian myth of the ice giant

It would seem that there is nothing in common between the Chinese and the Scandinavians - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the origin of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was icy and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim - the kingdoms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there, from the fusion of two opposing elements, Ymir was born.

And now closer to us, to the people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman emerged from his right armpit along with the sweat. It’s strange, yes, we understand this - well, that’s how they are, harsh Vikings, nothing can be done. But let's get back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son Ber, and Ber had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. Three brothers were gods and ruled Asgard. This seemed to them not enough, and they decided to kill Ymir’s great-grandfather, making a world out of him.

Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans; From the skull of the unfortunate man, the brothers created the vault of heaven, broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and made clouds from the torn brains of poor Ymir.

Odin and the company immediately decided to populate this new world: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - ash and alder, making a man from the ash, and a woman from the alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.

6. Greek myth about marbles

Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only complete Chaos around. There was neither the sun nor the moon - everything was dumped into one big pile, where things were inseparable from each other.

But then a certain god came, looked at the chaos reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and got down to business: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from a clear day, and everything like that.

Then he set to work on the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: at the equator it was very hot, at the poles it was extremely cold, but between the poles and the equator it was just right, you couldn’t imagine anything more comfortable. Further, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.

And then they tore him in two, making him a man and a woman - the future of you and me.

5. An Egyptian god who loved his shadow very much

In the beginning there was a great ocean, whose name was “Nu,” and this ocean was Chaos, and besides it there was nothing. It was not until Atum, by an effort of will and thought, created himself out of this Chaos. Yes, the man had balls. But further - more and more interesting. So, he created himself, now he had to create land in the ocean. Which is what he did. After wandering around the earth and realizing his total loneliness, Atum became unbearably bored, and he decided to plan on more gods. How? And just like that, with an ardent, passionate feeling for your own shadow.

Thus fertilized, Atum gave birth to Shu and Tefnut, spitting them out of his mouth. But, apparently, he overdid it, and the newborn gods were lost in the ocean of Chaos. Atum grieved, but soon, to his relief, he found and rediscovered his children. He was so glad to be reunited that he cried for a long, long time, and his tears, touching the earth, fertilized it - and people grew out of the earth, many people! Then, while people impregnated each other, Shu and Tefnut also had coitus, and they gave birth to other gods - more gods to the god of gods! - Gebu and Nutu, who became the personification of the Earth and the sky.

There is another myth in which Atum is replaced by Ra, but this does not change the main essence - there, too, everyone fertilizes each other en masse.

4. The myth of the Yoruba people - about the Sands of Life and the chicken

There is such an African people - the Yoruba. So, they also have their own myth about the origin of all things.

In general, it was like this: there was one God, his name was Olorun, and one fine day the idea came to his mind that the Earth needed to be equipped somehow (at that time the Earth was one continuous wasteland).

Olorun didn’t really want to do this himself, so he sent his son, Obotala, to Earth. However, at that moment, Obotala had more important things to do (in fact, there was a gorgeous party planned in heaven, and Obotala simply could not miss it).

While Obotala was having fun, all the responsibility fell on Odudawa. Having nothing at hand except chicken and sand, Odudawa nevertheless set to work. His principle was the following: he took sand from a cup, poured it onto the Earth, and then let the chicken run around in the sand and trample it thoroughly.

After carrying out several such simple manipulations, Odudawa created the land of Lfe or Lle-lfe. This is where Odudawa's story ends, and Obotala appears on the stage again, this time completely drunk - the party was a great success.

And so, being in a state of divine alcoholic intoxication, the son of Olorun set about creating us humans. It turned out very badly for him, and he created disabled people, dwarfs and freaks. Having sobered up, Obotala was horrified and quickly corrected everything by creating normal people.

According to another version, Obotala never recovered, and Odudawa also made people, simply lowering us from the sky and at the same time assigning himself the status of ruler of humanity.

3. Aztec "War of the Gods"

According to Aztec myth, there was no primordial Chaos. But there was a primary order - an absolute vacuum, impenetrably black and endless, in which in some strange way the Supreme God - Ometeotl - lived. He had a dual nature, possessing both feminine and masculine principles, was good and at the same time evil, was both warm and cold, truth and lies, white and black.

He gave birth to the remaining gods: Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe Totec, who, in turn, created giants, water, fish and other gods.

Tezcatlipoca ascended to the heavens, sacrificing himself and becoming the Sun. However, there he encountered Quetzalcoatl, entered into battle with him and lost to him. Quetzalcoatl threw Tezcatlipoca from the sky and became the Sun himself. Then, Quetzalcoatl gave birth to people and gave them nuts to eat.

Tezcatlipoca, still harboring a grudge against Quetzalcoatl, decided to take revenge on his creations by turning people into monkeys. Seeing what happened to his first people, Quetzalcoatl flew into a rage and caused a powerful hurricane that scattered the vile monkeys throughout the world.

While Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc were at war with each other, Tialoc and Chalchiuhtlicue also turned into suns in order to continue the cycle of day and night. However, the fierce battle between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca affected them too - then they too were thrown from heaven.

In the end, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc stopped their feud, forgetting past grievances and creating new people - the Aztecs - from the dead bones and blood of Quetzalcoatl.

2. Japanese “World Cauldron”

Japan. Again Chaos, again in the form of an ocean, this time as dirty as a swamp. In this ocean-swamp, magical reeds (or reeds) grew, and from this reeds (or reeds), like our children from cabbage, gods were born, a great many of them. All of them together were called Kotoamatsukami - and that’s all that is known about them, for as soon as they were born, they immediately hastened to hide in the reeds. Or in the reeds.

While they were hiding, new gods appeared, including Ijinami and Ijinagi. They began to stir the ocean until it thickened, and from it the land was formed - Japan. Ijinami and Ijinagi had a son, Ebisu, who became the god of all fishermen, a daughter, Amaterasu, who became the Sun, and another daughter, Tsukiyomi, who became the Moon. They also had one more son, the last - Susanoo, who, for his violent temper, received the status of the god of wind and storms.

1. Lotus flower and “Om-m”

Like many other religions, Hinduism also features the concept of the world emerging from the void. Well, as if out of nowhere, there was an endless ocean in which a giant cobra swam, and there was Vishnu, who slept on the cobra’s tail. And nothing more.

Time passed, days followed each other one after another, and it seemed that it would always be like this. But one day, everything around was filled with a sound that had never been heard before - the sound of “Om-m”, and the previously empty world was overwhelmed with energy. Vishnu awoke from sleep, and Brahma appeared from the lotus flower at his navel. Vishnu ordered Brahma to create the world, and in the meantime he disappeared, taking with him a snake.

Brahma, sitting in the lotus position on a lotus flower, set to work: he divided the flower into three parts, using one to create Heaven and Hell, another to create Earth, and the third to create heaven. Brahma then created animals, birds, people and trees, thus creating all living things.