There is a myth about the origin of the name. Origin of the myth

In the sixth grade, from the first literature lessons, we begin to get acquainted with the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods and heroes of ancient times. But the myths of every country and nationality have their own interpretation of the origin of the world and humanity. Some talk about a flat plate that replaced the globe, others talk about three elephants that held the earth's surface. And there are many controversial issues about the origin of the first man. But how did the ancient Greeks look at this? How do they explain the origin of the world and humanity on earth. ? This is what I decided to do in my research.

From Greek mythology I learned that in the beginning there was only eternal, boundless, dark Chaos. It contained the source of life. Everything arose from boundless Chaos - the whole world and the immortal gods. The goddess Earth, Gaia, also came from Chaos. It spreads wide, powerful, giving life to everything that lives and grows on it. Far under the Earth, as far as the vast bright sky is far from us, in immeasurable depths the gloomy Tartarus was born - a terrible abyss full of eternal darkness. From Chaos was born a mighty force that animates everything, Love - Eros. Boundless Chaos gave birth to the eternal Darkness - Erebus and the dark Night - Nyukta. And from Night and Darkness came the eternal Light - Ether and the joyful bright Day - Hemera. The light spread throughout the world, and night and day began to replace each other.

The mighty, fertile Earth gave birth to the endless blue Sky - Uranus, and the Sky spread over the Earth. The high Mountains born of the Earth rose proudly towards him, and the ever-noisy Sea spread widely. Uranus - Heaven - reigned in the world. He took the fertile Earth as his wife. Uranus and Gaia had six sons and six daughters - powerful, formidable titans. Their son, the Titan Ocean, flowing around the entire earth, and the goddess Fedita gave birth to all the rivers that roll their waves to the sea, and the sea goddesses - the Oceanids. Titan Hipperion and Theia gave the world children: the Sun - Helios, the Moon - Selene and the ruddy Dawn - pink-fingered Eos (Aurora). From Astraeus and Eos came the stars that burn in the dark night sky, and the winds: the stormy northern wind Boreas, the eastern Eurus, the humid southern Notus and the gentle western wind Zephyr, carrying clouds heavy with rain.

In addition to the titans, the mighty Earth gave birth to three giants - cyclops with one eye in the forehead - and three huge, like mountains, fifty-headed giants - one hundred hands (hecatoncheires), so named because each of them had a hundred arms. Nothing can resist their terrible power; it knows no limits.

Uranus hated his children - the giants; he imprisoned them in deep darkness in the bowels of the Earth goddess and did not allow them to come into the light. Their mother Earth suffered. She was oppressed by the terrible burden contained in her depths. She summoned her children, the Titans, and convinced them to rebel against their father Uranus, but they were afraid to raise their hand against their father. Only the youngest of them, the treacherous Kron, overthrew his father by cunning and took away his power.

As punishment for Kron, the Goddess Night gave birth to a whole host of terrible deities: Tanata - death, Eris - discord, Apata - deception, Kerra - destruction, Hypnos - a dream with a swarm of gloomy heavy knowledge, Nemesis who knows no mercy - revenge for crimes, and many others. Horror, strife, deception, struggle and misfortune brought these gods into the world where Cronus reigned on the throne of his father.

Kron was not sure that power would remain in his hands forever. He was afraid that his children would rebel against him and doom him to the same fate to which he doomed his father Uranus. And Kron ordered his wife Rhea to bring him the children that were born and mercilessly swallowed them. Cronus has already swallowed five: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. Rhea did not want to lose her last child.

On the advice of her mother Earth, Rhea wrapped a stone in baby's swaddling clothes, and Cronus swallowed this stone in place of the newborn Zeus, who was secretly raised in a refuge on the island of Crete.

Meanwhile, Zeus grew up on Crete in a deep cave hidden from view on the slopes of wooded Ida. The nymphs Adrastea and Idea cherished little Zeus. They fed him with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. And the Kurete youths guarding the cave hid the crying of Zeus with the blows of copper shields and the rattling of weapons.

Let the singer share your fleeting age!

Is it the Promethean cry or the scolding of the air camps?

Where I am! Around the clouds there is fire - the darkness of the abyss - and snow on the wings

And the proud muscles of the titans straining their might

Vyach. Ivanov

Having matured, Zeus became stronger than his father, and not by cunning, like Cronus, but by force, he overcame him and forced his father to vomit the swallowed stone, thus freeing the rest of the children.

The end of the era of the titans was approaching, who by this time had filled the spaces of heaven and earth with several of their generations. The era of the gods had begun, but they still had to defeat their powerful predecessors.

Sons and daughters had already been born and matured to the gods when the time finally came for the decisive battle. The rage and strength of the gods and titans going at each other were equal, and there was no end in sight to their battle until Zeus knew that only by freeing the Hundred-Handed Ones hidden in the bowels of the earth from captivity would the gods win. The Cyclopes and some of the Titans also joined the gods.

The Titans were defeated and thrown into Tartarus. Crohn's time has ended. And although after this there were other uprisings - for example, the monster Typhon, Zeus suppresses them all.

Zeus reigns high on bright Olympus, surrounded by a host of gods. Here are his wife Hera, and golden-haired Apollo with his sister Artemis, and golden Aphrodite, and the mighty daughter of Zeus Athena, and many other gods. Three beautiful Orras guard the entrance to high Olympus and raise a thick cloud covering the gates when the gods descend to earth or ascend to the bright halls of Zeus. High above Olympus the blue bottomless sky stretches, and golden light pours from it. There is no rain or snow in the kingdom of Zeus; There is always a bright, joyful summer there. Deep in the depths of the sea stands the wonderful palace of the brother of the thunderer Zeus. Poseidon rules over the seas, and the waves of the sea are obedient to the slightest movement of his hand, armed with a formidable trident. And deep underground reigns the inexorable, gloomy brother of Zeus Hades. The rays of the bright sun never penetrate there. Bottomless abysses lead from the surface of the earth to the sad kingdom of Hades. Dark rivers flow through it. The sacred river Styx flows there, the gods themselves swear by its waters.

There are many wonderful forces in nature,

But there is no stronger person

There was a place in this world for humanity. The Greeks had only one ancient myth about the emergence of man: the story of how, after the global flood sent by Zeus, only Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha (daughter of Prometheus) survived. All people descended from them or arose from stones that the spouses threw behind their backs. It is possible that in the oldest version of the myth, Prometheus himself was the creator of people (as in later legends), since this would explain the close connection between his actions and the fate of humanity. At the same time, some Greek tribes considered themselves “autochthons” who arose from the earth. In particular, the Thebans thought that they came from the teeth of the dragon killed by the Phoenician Cadmus, which he sowed into the ground. The most ancient idea of ​​​​the origin of man is indicated by the title of Zeus - “father of gods and people.”

First of all, they created the golden generation of people

Ever-living gods, owners of Olympic dwellings

The first human race was created happy; it was a golden age. Like blessed gods, people lived in those days, knowing neither care, nor labor, nor sadness. They did not know the infirmity of old age; their legs and arms were always strong and strong. Their painless and happy life was an eternal feast. Death, which came after a long life, was like a calm, quiet sleep. The gods themselves came to them for advice. But the golden age on earth ended, and none of the people of this generation remained. After death, people of the golden age became spirits, patrons of people of new generations. Shrouded in fog, they rush across the earth, defending truth and punishing evil. This is how Zeus rewarded them after their death.

The second human generation, called the silver, lived much worse than the first. But it did not know about this, for the gods did not give it reason. For a hundred years, people grew up stupid in their mothers' houses and amused themselves with children's games. Having barely reached maturity and gained some intelligence, they soon died without having time to enjoy a full life. Not seeing any benefit from this generation, Zeus hid it deep underground.

Zeus created the third generation and the third age - the Copper Age. It doesn't look like silver. From the shaft of the spear Zeus created people - terrible and powerful. From an early age, people were armed with spears with copper tips, wore copper armor, and lived in houses with copper roofs and impenetrable copper walls. The people of the Copper Age loved pride and war and destroyed each other. They quickly descended into the dark kingdom of the terrible Hades. No matter how strong they were, yet the black death kidnapped them, and they left the clear light of the sun.

As soon as this race descended into the kingdom of shadows, Zeus immediately created the fourth age on earth and a new human race, a nobler, more just race of demigods - heroes, equal to the gods. Many heroes died in battles under the walls of Thebes or Troy, killing each other, or died while returning to their homeland. Zeus resettled the survivors to islands washed by the Ocean, and gave them the blissful life of the people of the Golden Age.

The last, fifth century and the human race is iron. It continues now on earth. Night and day, without ceasing, sorrow and exhausting work destroy people. The gods send people difficult worries. True, gods and good are mixed with evil, but everything is even greater than evil, it reigns everywhere. Children do not honor their parents, each other is not faithful to each other, the guest does not find hospitality, there is no love between brothers. People do not observe this oath, they do not value truth and goodness. They are destroying each other's cities. Violence reigns everywhere. Only pride and strength are valued.

The goddesses Conscience and Justice left people. In their white robes they flew up to high Olympus to the immortal gods, and left people only with grave troubles, and they have no protection from evil. The troubles of the people of the Iron Age are also spoken of in the future tense, which will come if people do not stop in their atrocities and the lost respect for parents by children, camaraderie, and brotherhood is not restored:

Children with fathers, with children - their fathers will not be able to come to an agreement.

Friend will become stranger to friend, and host to guest.

There will no longer be love between brothers, as there once was.

The truth will be replaced by a fist. Cities will be sacked

The shame will disappear. People are bad for a good person

Those who are deceitful will harm with their testimony, swearing falsely

Mournfully from the wide-road land to the many-headed Olympus,

Wrapping her beautiful body tightly in a snow-white cloak,

They will then ascend to the eternal gods, flying away from mortals,

Conscience and shame. Only the most severe and grievous troubles

Will remain for people

Thus, the Olympian gods entered the modern world and continue to live in it, not interfering with people in any way and enriching them with beauty, valor, spiritual breadth, and love of life.

This is where my research ends. I learned a lot of new and interesting things. Thanks to this work, I plunged deeply into the secrets of the ancient world. Myths capture the history of the origin of the world, man's exploration of the environment and his knowledge of his place in it. Myths reflect not only a person’s understanding of the power of these forces, but also false ideas about the possibility of somehow protecting oneself from them. With the help of myth, man soared above the wingless reality, sought justice, defeated the strongest opponents, and penetrated into the most remote corners of the earth and the universe. This ensured the myth the love of all human generations.

I really wanted to know more about him, about the gods and heroes of Ancient Greece. In my next work I will try to highlight the Pantheon of gods of Ancient Greece.

Legends about the origin of humanity. Legends of different nations surprisingly have many similarities. Initially, all ancient peoples had faith in one God, the most important, the creator of the entire Universe and everything that exists. It is characteristic of many ancient myths that initially everything had an anthropomorphic appearance - all creatures, animals, objects, natural phenomena. Therefore, the emergence of man is often presented not so much as his creation, but as his separation from other human-like creatures who gradually lose their human appearance, which is preserved only by humans. (Totemistic myths).

Myths of the ancient Indians. The progenitor of the world was Brahma. People emerged from the body of Purusha - the primordial man whom the gods sacrificed at the beginning of the world. From this sacrifice, hymns and chants, horses, bulls, goats and sheep were born. From his mouth arose priests, his hands became warriors, from his thighs farmers were created, and from his feet the lower class was born. From the mind of Purusha arose the month, from the eye - the sun, fire was born from his mouth, and from his breath - the wind. The air came from his navel, the sky came from his head, and the cardinal directions were created from his ears, and his feet became the earth. Thus, from a great sacrifice, the eternal gods created the world. Other gods began to arise from the descendants of Brahma, and in total there were thirty-three thousand, thirty-three hundred and thirty-three more.
According to Hindu beliefs, the Universe is divided into 14 regions, and the Earth is the seventh from the top. Along with the sun, the ruler of the solar disk also arose - the god Vishnu, who could take various forms, from a fish and a turtle to a human form. In the form of a boar, Vishnu plunged into the abyss and lifted the entire earth from the depths with his tusks. Soon the land was populated by animals and birds.

The birth of a person. In ancient Slavic mythology, people were born Gods, and considered their Gods family, relatives.

It is worth noting that the legends of ancient peoples underwent significant changes during the wars of conquest (especially the American continent). But in the mythology of various peoples, an amazing flavor of local customs has been preserved.
The creation of man.
In many ancient beliefs, people were artificially created by gods. Man was created or created by God, deified beings. So in the Sumerian myths - the origin of humanity from aliens. Perhaps this also includes Indian myths about the Lunar ancestors in the legend of the Prologue - “The Great Lords gave the order to the Lords of the Moon - the Pitris - to create people.”
Why were people created? This issue is not discussed in totemic legends. The main thing is to create a good, right person. All Sumerian and Babylonian myths converge on one thing: for a person to serve the gods, perform temple rituals and feed the gods. Also in Egyptian mythology, the gods created the world specifically for people, demanding from them in return only worship, the construction of temples and regular sacrifices. In Jewish mythology, man was created to cultivate the land.

How man was created. Norse mythology Northern, Scandinavian and Germanic, the ancient religion is known as Odinism (in honor of Odin), and also as ásatrú (an Icelandic term meaning “belief in the gods (Æsir)”) or simply as troth (from the English troth - faith or fidelity). It was believed that the structure of the world cannot be reflected in a two-dimensional or even three-dimensional model. It consists of nine worlds, or spheres. The first man and woman were created from trees by the triad of gods of consciousness (Wotan-Willi-Ve, or Odin-Henir-Lodur). The man was created from ash, and the woman from elm. The first people did not breathe, they had no spirit, no color on their faces, no warmth, and no even voice. But then Odin gave them breath, Henir - spirit, and Lodur - warmth and blush. This is how the first people appeared, and their names were: the man was Ask, and the woman was Embla.
Greece. The ancient Greeks, as far as can be judged from the sources that have come down to us, cared little about the origins of people. They were interested in the gods, their birth and death, their intrigues and exploits. The Greek gods did not separate themselves from people with an impregnable wall, but even took part in earthly affairs. In Greek mythology, a new race of people emerged from stone. The only people who were able to survive the flood were Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. And the great gods invited them to create a new humanity. According to legend, Deucalion and Pyrrha began throwing stones behind their backs, and the stones began to turn into statues. The statues sang songs, Deucalion and Pyrrha had to choose one they liked
them a song about humanity, and from all the songs they chose a story about Greek heroes: Theseus, Hercules and other demigods. And humanity was thus reborn on earth. But not all Greeks traced their ancestry to stones. Some tribes considered themselves autochthonous, that is, arising from the earth. The Thebans, for example, thought that they came from the teeth of the dragon killed by the Phoenician Cadmus, which he sowed into the ground.

Apparently, a later borrowing from Greek mythology: People were fashioned from earth and water by Prometheus, son of the Titan Iapetus, cousin of Zeus. According to some myths, people and animals were created by the Greek gods in the depths of the earth from a mixture of fire and earth, and the gods instructed Prometheus and Epimetheus to distribute abilities between them.

The creation of people from clay or earth, by analogy with the Biblical version, is found in almost all Indo-European mythology. Linguists even point out that in Hebrew the words for “earth” and “man” have similar origins. (there is a connection between the Latin words homo - man and humus earth).
Egyptian mythology In ancient Egyptian myths, practically no attention is paid to the creation of man. Although the myths make it clear that Ra - Atum - Khepri created himself, arising from chaos, which was called Nun, or the Prime Ocean. This ocean had neither physical nor temporal dimensions. The newborn god could not find a place where he could stay, and therefore created a hill, or rather, the island of Ben-ben. Already on solid ground, he began to create other gods. This is how the Great Nine of Gods arose - the Heliopolis Ennead. In Memphis, many gods were included in the creation myth, subordinating them to Ptah, who acted as the creator of everything. It is interesting that here the creation of the world was not a physical process, but exclusively of thought and word.
The Egyptians believed that people and their Ka (soul) were molded from clay by the ram-headed god Khnum. He is the main creator of the world. He sculpted the whole world on a potter's wheel, the first people and animals from clay.

Among the peoples of Africa (the supreme deity of the Dogon, Amma, makes the first human pair from raw clay.
In one version of the Sumerian myth, Enki and Ninmah first sculpt “successful” people from the clay of the underground world ocean, and then, after getting drunk, they create monsters.
In the Sumerian myth about Lahar and Ashnan: By order of Nammu, the mother of the gods and Ninmah, with the help of other gods, man was created by mixing water and clay.
According to the Akkadian version, Marduk (together with the god Eya) makes people from clay mixed with the blood of the monster Kingu he killed.
In the Babylonian creation myth, called the Enuma Elish, the creation of man is described in the sixth tablet (seven have been found). God Marduk, from clay mixed with the blood of the murdered god Kingu, creates people in the image and likeness of Kingu,

In Jewish mythology, there are two versions of the creation of the world. In both versions of the myth, man is created from clay, and life fills the clay in one case with the blood of Yahweh in the other with divine breath

Among the Turks. Humanity was born on the black mountain. In a cave alone
a hole was formed, which in shape resembled a human body,
streams of rain carried the clay with them and filled the mold. Clay,
warmed by the sun, she remained in shape for nine months. And through
nine months the first man came out of the cave: AY ATAM, whom
called the father of the moon.

At the Arabs. There is an option for creating the Old Testament. In their cosmogony
In order for a person to be born, earth of four different colors is needed:
blue, black, white and red. God sent the angel Gabriel for her,
but when he bent down to pick up some earth, the earth spoke
and asked what he wanted. "The earth, so that God could create
person,” Gabriel explained. The earth replied: “I can’t do that for you.”
allow it, because the person will be uncontrollable and want to destroy me.”
Angel Gabriel conveyed her opinion to God. Then God sent the angel Michael.
The same story happened. Exactly the same failure. The earth rebelled again
the birth of a person. Then God sent the angel Azrael, whose specialty was
that he was the angel of death. He was not convinced by the land's arguments. So
Thus, man exists thanks to the angel of death, and therefore man is mortal.
From the brought earth God created Adam. But for forty years he did nothing
did, just lay on the ground. The angel could not understand why the man did not move.
He looked into Adam's mouth to find out what was inside, and realized
why Adam remains motionless. Inside, the man's body was empty. Then an angel
I told God about this, and he decided to give the man a soul. Adam came to life, and God, for
in order to give it an advantage over the earth, nature, plants and
animals, allowed him to name everything that surrounded him. One person has
the right to give names even to spirits (genies) and mountains. And every time he
pronounces a name, he conquers the one he names. (Taba ri, Arabic
9th century chronicler, Abba Sid caliphate.)

In Mongol. Man was created by God, who dug a hole in the earth in the shape
human figure. Then God caused a storm, and clay with streams of water
filled the hole (very similar to the Turkish version). The rain has stopped, moisture
dried up, and the man, like a cake out of a mold, came out of the hole.
In Altai mythology (Ulgen creates the first seven people from clay and reeds),

America. Iroquois. Ioskeha sculpts the first people from clay based on his reflection in the water.
Cahuilla Indians. The demiurge Mucat, who took the black earth out of his heart, creates the bodies of people. Temayahuit, who took the white earth out of his heart, unsuccessfully sculpts people with bellies on both sides; with eyes on both sides of the head; when Mukat proved to him the failure of his creations, Temaiahuit, angry, hides with them in the underworld, trying to take the whole earth with him.
Mexicans (XVII century). The formation of the legend was equally influenced by ancient cults and Catholicism. God made a man from potter's clay and put him in the oven. But I left it in the oven for too long. The man therefore came out of the oven burnt and black. God decided that he was mistaken, threw his child to the ground and ended up in Africa. But God did not stop there and created another person, whom he left in the oven for a much shorter time. The man turned out completely white. God decided he was wrong again. And again he threw the man to the ground and ended up in Europe. The third time, God approached the process more carefully and monitored the degree of readiness of his product. He waited until the man was cooked properly, until golden brown. This time God got it right. And slowly, very carefully he placed the successful man in America. This is how the Mexicans appeared
North American Acoma tribe. The first two women learned in a dream that people live underground. They dug a hole and freed the people.
The Incas. In Tiwanaku, the creator of all things created the tribes there. He made one person from each tribe out of clay and drew a dress for them to wear; those who should have long hair were sculpted with long hair, and those who should be cut were sculpted with short hair; and each people was given its own language, and its own songs, and grains, and food. When the creator finished this work, he breathed life and soul into every man and woman and ordered them to go underground. And each tribe went out where it was ordered.
Central America. The gods molded the first people from wet clay. But they did not live up to the hopes of the great gods. Everything would be fine: they are alive and can speak, but can clay fools even turn their heads? They stare at one point and roll their eyes. Otherwise they will start to crawl, and a little rain will sprinkle them. But the worst thing is that they came out soulless, brainless... The gods got down to business for the second time. “Let's try to make people out of wood!” - they agreed. No sooner said than done. And the earth was populated by wooden idols. But they had no heart, and they were foolish.
And the gods decided to once again take on the creation of people. “To create people from flesh and blood, we need a noble material that will give them life, strength, and intelligence,” the gods decided. They found this noble material - white and yellow maize (corn). They threshed the cobs, kneaded the dough, from which they molded the first intelligent people.
Indians of Mexico. When everything was ready on Earth, Nohotsakyum created people. The first were the Calcia, that is, the monkey people, then the Koha-ko - the boar people, then the Kapuk - the jaguar people and, finally, the Chan-ka - the pheasant people. This is how he created different nations. He made them from clay - men, women, children, fitted their eyes, noses, arms, legs and everything else, then put the figures in the fire, on which he usually baked tortillas (corn cakes). The clay hardened from the fire, and people came to life.

Of great interest are Anthropogonic myths of a totemic nature, according to which man was once not different from animals (for example, he was covered with hair, as in the mythological beliefs of the Selkups, Western Siberia). In anthropogonic myths of a totemic nature, most often we are talking about the origin not of all people, but of a certain group, the zoomorphic totemic symbol of which is this or that animal.
The Tibetans arose independently. Their ancestors were the mountain spirit Aryabalo and the monkey, who was the embodiment of Darehe. According to another legend, which explains the origin not of the world, but only of the Tibetan people, Tibetans descend from the monkey and the deity of the underworld and waters Lu. According to another version of the legend, it was not Avalokiteshvara himself who took the form of a male monkey, but rather sent his disciple a monkey to Tibet. A male monkey, settled in Tibet for contemplation, became the king of the monkeys who lived there. The king of the monkeys was handsome, and the demoness of the mountains and rocks, Lu, fell in love with him. The similarity between man and monkey gave rise to two types of A. m. of opposite nature. According to one of them, existing in Tibet and among the Hadzapi tribe in South Africa, man descends from a monkey. According to another, known among the Bushmen, monkeys (baboons) were once people, but the mythological hero Tsagn turned them into monkeys, punishing them for killing his son. According to the myths of some other African peoples (Bambuti, Efe), chimpanzees are an ancient people who went into the forest because the pygmies deceived them.
America. Among the Sioux tribes. According to Sioux legend, man was created by the rabbit of the universe, who found
there's a blood clot on the road, it turned out to be a real little boy,
the first boy in the world. The rabbit called this first person a rabbit
boy This was the ancestor of the Sioux.
Myth of the North American Indians. One day there was such a hot summer that the pond in which the turtles lived dried up. Then the turtles decided to look for another place to live and hit the road. The fattest turtle, to make his way easier, took off his shell. So she walked without a shell until she turned into a man - the ancestor of the Turtle family.
Among the Navajo Indians. At first, half-humans and half-beasts lived on earth. They crossed
three heavens, from where they were expelled because of their stupid actions. In the end
they descended to earth, where there are four local gods: blue, white, black
and yellow, came to look at them. The gods tried to teach them something
the help of gestures, but the subhumans did not understand anything. Then all the gods except
they left them alone, the black one. The black god told the demihumans that they
dirty and smelly fools. “The rest of the gods will return in four days,” said
he named them “Wash yourself, and we will indulge in the ceremony of creating people.”
The gods brought with them various objects, deer skins and two ears of corn,
yellow and white. A man came out of the white cob, and a woman came out of the yellow one. They
made love under a canopy and gave birth to five pairs of twins. The first twins were
hermaphrodites, but the rest gave birth to children, and these children married the newcomer
by the people. This is how modern humanity appeared.

Australian myths. At first, the Earth was covered with sea, and at the bottom of the dried-up primeval ocean and on the slopes of rocks protruding from the waves, there were already... lumps of helpless creatures with glued fingers and teeth, closed ears and eyes. Other similar human “larvae” lived in water and looked like shapeless balls of raw meat, in which the rudiments of human body parts could only be discerned. The flycatcher bird used a stone knife to separate human embryos from each other, cut out their eyes, ears, mouth, nose, fingers... She taught them how to make fire by friction, how to cook food, gave them a spear, a spear thrower, a boomerang, and provided each one with a personal churing-ga ( guardian of the soul).
Various Australian tribes consider the kangaroo, emu, opossum, wild dog, lizard, crow, and bat as their ancestors.
Once upon a time there lived two brothers, two twins - Bunjil and Palian. Bunjil could transform into a falcon, and Palian into a raven. One brother made mountains and rivers on the earth with a wooden sword, and the other made salt water and fish that live in the sea. One day Bunjil took two pieces of bark, put clay on them and began to crush it with a knife, sculpting legs, torso, arms and head - so he created a man. He also made a second one. He was pleased with his work and performed a dance with joy. Since then people have existed, since then they have been dancing for joy. He attached wood fibers to one man as hair, and to another too - the first had curly hair, the second had straight hair. Since then, men of some births have curly hair, while others have straight hair.

PS/ Preliminary version. A brief incomplete overview of the mythology of the peoples of the World, materials of scientific research works, numerous Internet articles

The creation of the world is the original question in any religion. How and when everything that surrounds man was born - plants, birds, animals, man himself.

Science promotes its theory - a big explosion occurred in the universe, which gave rise to the galaxy and the planets around it. If the general scientific theory of the creation of the world is united, then different peoples have their own legends about it.

Myths about the creation of the world

What is a myth? This is a legend about the origin of life, the role of God and man in it. There are a huge number of such legends.

According to Jewish history, Heaven and Earth were original. The material for their creation was the clothes of God and snow. According to another version, the whole world is an intertwining of threads of fire, water and snow.

According to Egyptian mythology, initially darkness and chaos reigned everywhere. Only the young God Ra, who shed light and gave life, was able to defeat him. In one version, he hatched from an egg, and in another version, he was born from a lotus flower. It is noteworthy that there are many variations in the Egyptian theory, and many contain images of animals, birds, and insects.

In the stories of the Sumerians, the world came into existence when the flat Earth and the dome of Heaven united and gave birth to a son - the God of Air. Then the deities of water and plants appear. Here for the first time we speak of the emergence of a person from the organ of another.

The Greek myth about the origin of the world is based on the concept of chaos, which swallowed up everything around, the sun and moon were inseparable, cold was combined with heat. A certain God came and separated all opposites from each other. He also created man and woman from a single matter.

The parable of the ancient Slavs is based on the same chaos that reigned everywhere and around. There are deities of time, earth, darkness, wisdom. According to this legend, all living things appeared from dust - humans, plants, animals. The stars came from here. Therefore, it is said that the stars, like man, are not eternal.

Creation of the world according to the Bible

The Holy Scripture is the main book of Orthodox believers. Here you can find answers to all questions. This also applies to the origin of the world, humans and animals, plants.

The Bible has five books that tell the whole story. These books were written by Moses during his wanderings with the Jewish people. All the revelations of God were initially recorded in one volume, but then it was divided.

The beginning of the Holy Scriptures is the Book of Genesis. Its name from Greek means “beginning,” which speaks of the content. It is here that the story is told about how the birth of life, the first man, the first society occurred.

As the Scripture says, man, by his existence, carries the highest goal - love, beneficence, improvement. It contains within itself the breath of God himself - the soul.

According to biblical history, the world was not created in eternity. How many days did it take for God to create a world filled with life? Even children know about this today.

How God created the earth in 7 days

The appearance of the world in such a short time is briefly described in the Holy Scriptures. There is no detailed description in the book, everything is symbolic. Understanding transcends age and time - it is something that lasts for centuries. History says that only God can create the world out of nothing.

First day of creation of the world

God created “heaven” and “earth”. This should not be taken literally. This does not mean matter, but certain forces, entities, angels.

On this same day, God separated darkness from light, thus creating day and night.

Second day

At this time, a certain “firmament” is created. The personification of the separation of water on earth and air. Thus, we are talking about creating air space, a certain atmosphere for life.

The third day

The Almighty orders the water to gather in one place and make room for the formation of land. This is how the earth itself appeared, and the water around became seas and oceans.

Fourth day

It is notable for the formation of celestial bodies - night and day. The stars appear.

Now the possibility of counting time arises. The successive sun and moon count days, seasons, years.

Fifth day

Life appears on earth. Birds, fish, animals. This is where the great phrase “be fruitful and multiply” comes into play. God gives the beginning, the first individuals who will themselves raise their offspring in this paradise.

Sixth day

God creates man “in His image and likeness” and breathes life into him. Man is molded from clay, and the breath of God revives dead material and gives him a soul.

Adam is the first person, man. He lives in the Garden of Eden and understands the languages ​​of the world around him. Despite the diversity of life around him, he is lonely. God creates a helper for him, the woman Eve, from his rib while Adam sleeps.

Seventh day

Called Saturday. It is reserved for rest and serving God.

This is how the world was born. What is the exact date of creation of the world according to the Bible? This is still the main and most difficult issue. There are claims that time is being described long before the advent of modern chronology.

Another opinion says the opposite, that the events in the Holy Book are our time. The figure varies from 3483 to 6984 years. But the generally accepted point of reference is considered to be 5508 BC.

Creation of the world according to the Bible for children

Initiating children into the doctrine of God teaches correct principles of behavior and points to undeniable values. However, the Bible in its present form is difficult for an adult to understand, let alone a child’s perception.

In order for a child to study the main book of Christians himself, a children's Bible was invented. A colorful, illustrated publication, written in a child-friendly language.

The story of the creation of the world from the Old Testament tells that initially there was nothing. But God has always been. All seven days of creation are narrated very briefly. It also tells the story of the emergence of the first people and how they betrayed God.

The story of Adam and Abel is described. These stories are instructive for children and teach them the right attitude towards others, elders, and nature. Animated and feature films come to the rescue, which clearly show the events described in the Holy Scriptures.

There is no age or time for religion. She is beyond everything essential. Understanding the origin of the environment and the role of man in the world, finding harmony and one’s path is possible only by understanding the values ​​that faith carries.

Chinese.

Scandinavians.

Greeks.

Zoroastrians.

Arikara Indians.

Huron Indians.

Mayan Indians.

What are myths? In the everyday understanding, these are, first of all, ancient, biblical and other ancient “tales” about the creation of the world and man, stories about the deeds of ancient gods and heroes - Zeus, Apollo, Dionysus, Hercules, the Argonauts who were looking for the “Golden Fleece”, the Trojan War and misadventures Odyssey.

The word “myth” itself is of ancient Greek origin and means “tradition”, “legend”. European peoples until the 16th-17th centuries. Only the famous Greek and Roman myths were known to this day; later they became aware of Arab, Indian, Germanic, Slavic, Indian legends and their heroes. Over time, first to scientists and then to the wider public, the myths of the peoples of Australia, Oceania, and Africa became available. It turned out that the sacred books of Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists are also based on various mythological legends that have been processed.

What is surprising: it was discovered that at a certain stage of historical development, more or less developed mythology existed among almost all peoples known to science, that some plots and stories are repeated to one degree or another in the mythological cycles of different peoples.

So the question arose about the origin of the myth. Today, most scientists are inclined to believe that the secret of the origin of myth should be sought in the fact that mythological consciousness was the oldest form of understanding and comprehension of the world, understanding of nature, society and man. The myth arose from the need of ancient people to understand the natural and social elements surrounding them, the essence of man.

The features of this way of understanding the world will be discussed below, after we consider the issue of the content of mythical tales.

Among the whole multitude of mythical legends and stories, it is customary to highlight several most important cycles. Let's call them:

• - Cosmogonic myths - myths about the origin of the world and the universe;
• - anthropogonic myths - myths about the origin of man and human society;
• - myths about cultural heroes - myths about the origin and introduction of certain cultural goods;
• - eschatological myths - myths about the “end of the world”, the end of times.

Let us dwell in more detail on the characteristics of these mythical cycles.

Cosmogonic myths are usually divided into two groups:

Very often these motives are combined in one myth: a detailed description of the initial state ends with a detailed story about the circumstances of the creation of the Universe.

Anthropogonic myths are an integral part of cosmogonic myths. According to many myths, man is created using a wide variety of materials: nuts, wood, dust, clay. Most often, the creator creates first a man, then a woman. The first person is usually endowed with the gift of immortality, but he loses it and becomes at the origins of mortal humanity (such is the biblical Adam, who ate the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). Some peoples believed that humans descended from an animal ancestor (monkey, bear, raven, swan).

Myths about cultural heroes tell how humanity mastered the secrets of crafts, agriculture, sedentary life, the use of fire - in other words, how certain cultural benefits were introduced into its life. The most famous myth of this kind is the ancient Greek tale of Prometheus, the cousin of Zeus. Prometheus (literally translated - “thinking before”, “foreseeing”) endowed wretched people with reason, taught them to build houses, ships, engage in crafts, wear clothes, count, write and read, distinguish between seasons, make sacrifices to the gods, tell fortunes, introduced state principles and rules of living together. Prometheus gave fire to man, for which he was punished by Zeus: chained to the Caucasus mountains, he endures terrible torment - an eagle pecks out his liver, which grows again every day.

Eschatological myths tell about the fate of humanity, the coming of the “end of the world” and the onset of the “end of times”. The greatest significance in the cultural and historical process was played by the eschatological ideas formulated in the famous biblical “Apocalypse”: the second coming of Christ is coming - He will come not as a victim, but as the Terrible Judge, subjecting the living and the dead to Judgment. The “end of times” will come, and the righteous will be predestined to eternal life, and sinners to eternal torment.