The document summarizes creation myths from several ancient civilizations. It describes how in Egyptian creation, Atem rose from chaos and gave rise to other gods. In Greek creation, Gaea and Uranus were the first entities and their children were the Titans. In Mesopotamian creation, two water beings created gods and monsters, and Marduk brought order by killing Tiamat. The creation stories reflect the cultures, geographies, religions and politics of each civilization.
2. EGYPT
In the Beginning:
• Only chaos, a lifeless water called Nu
• Atem, the sun god, rose out of Nu
• Atem gave rise to Geb and Nut, the earth
and the sky
• Geb and Nut’s children were Osiris, Isis, Set,
Nephthys, and Horus, five of the most major
gods of Egypt.
3. EGYPT
Symbols:
• Water is important in
Egyptian society (the
Nile). Therefore it plays a
major part in Egyptian
creation
• As with the Nile’s regular
flooding, Nu causes chaos
• Atem represents the sun,
another major part of
Egyptian society
4. GREECE
In the Beginning
• There was only darkness, from
which came Gaea, Mother Earth
• Gaea and Uranus, the sky, were
the first two entities.
• Their children were the Titans
5. GREECE
• Cronos, urged on by Gaea, took Uranus’
scythe and chopped him into many
pieces, throwing the pieces into Tartarus
• Cronos, the lead Titan, ate his children,
the gods, out of fear of them killing him.
• When Zeus escaped, he later returned
and forced Cronos to regurgitate the
other gods. He then killed Cronos and
threw him into Tartarus, establishing the
reign of the gods.
6. GREECE
Symbols
• Darkness The Twelve Olympian
symbolizes chaos Gods who control the
Silver Age
• Gaea, the earth, is
the most revered
entity for all life
came from her
• You get what you
give: Cronos
receives the same
fate which he
inflicted upon
7. ROME
In the Beginning
• There was only chaos.
• A god arose and separated the light
from the dark, the sea from the
land, and opposites apart
• Then man was created either from
this one god or by Prometheus, it is
not sure which
8. ROME
• The universe came under the
rule of Saturn in the golden age.
• Finally, Jupiter took control
from Saturn and created the
silver age, the age of gods and
of great prosperity.
9. ROME
Symbols
• Original god The Roman
symbolizes one Gods
higher power.
• Jupiter represents
order and
knowledge
prevailing,
because although
Saturn ruled the
golden age, he
kept humanity in
ignorance.
(Ignorance is bliss)
10. MESOPOTAMIA
In The Beginning:
• There are two watery beings, Apsu
and Tiamat
• From them comes a variety of
monsters and gods
• Tiamat tries to take control of the
universe
Tigris River
11. MESOPOTAMIA
• Marduk, god of Babylon, fights
against her and kills her
• Tiamat’s body is split into two parts,
heaven and earth.
• Marduk creates man to serve the
gods, and then plants and animals.
Tigris River
12. MESOPOTAMIA
Symbols
• Tiamat represents chaos
trying to win the universe
• Marduk represents order
and the Babylonians, who
also brought order to
Babylonian Hanging Gardens Mesopotamia
• Gods were very harsh and
combative. This
represents the violent
conditions before the
unification of
Mesopotamia.
Tigris River
13. CHRISTIAN/JEWISH
In the Beginning
• There was only God, who created the heaven
and the earth over seven periods, termed
“days”
• Man was put in the Garden of Eden.
• Man was placed in dominion over the world.
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Day and Night Sky and Sea Land and Oceans
Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
Sun, Moon, Stars Fish and Birds Beasts and Man
Day 7
God Rests
14. CHRISTIAN/JEWISH
Symbols
• God created everything good.
• Man was created on the sixth
day for the seventh day
• Each “day” is simply a period
of time.
• The Garden of Eden is an The Garden of Eden
earthly paradise.
• Man’s dominion represents
our need to take care of the
world
15. NORSE
In the beginning
• There was only Muspell and Niflheim.
Muspell was a place of fiery doom, and
Niflheim was a freezing place of ice.
• Between the two areas was the
Ginnungap, and here, where the heat met
the cold rose Ymir, the great frost giant.
• From Ymir came his son, who started the
race of frost giants, and humans.
16. NORSE
• Soon came Bor and Bestla,
whose children were Odin, Vili,
and Ve.
• The three killed Ymir and Odin
became the ruler of the
universe.
• From Ymir’s body Bor and
Bestla fashioned the earth and
the rest of the universe.
17. NORSE
Symbols
• Both Muspell and Nieflim
are chaos.
• Life can only arise in the
moderate area where they
cancel each other out.
• Ymir represents life, but he
is still a menace.
• Odin takes control and
brings order to the world.
18. AZTEC In the Beginning:
• There was only void.
• Out of this void rose one god
with two persons, Ometecuhtli
and Omecihuatl. They created
themselves.
• This god was opposites. It
was both good and bad, chaos
and order.
19. AZTEC • It’s children were the gods of
direction, Huizilopochtli (south),
Quetzalcoatl (east), Tezcatlipoca
(west), and Xipe Totec (west).
• These gods began to create. They
created the other gods and a huge
sea monster name Cipactli.
• When Cipactli began swallowing
the rest of creation, the gods
attacked him. They defeated him
and created the rest of the
universe from his body.
20. AZTEC
Symbols:
• The dual God represents that
there is good in evil and evil in
good.
• The directional gods are
important because the Aztecs
believed they lived in the center
of the world.
• Cipactil represents chaos and
destruction
21. MAYAN
In the Beginning:
• There is only Heart-of-the-Sky
• The Heart-of-the- Sky wants others to praise
him, so he creates the earth.
• It then creates animals and commands them to
pray, but they cannot. So they must serve those
who will pray.
• It creates men from clay, but they crumble.
• It creates men from wood, but they have no will.
• Finally, it creates the perfect man from maize.
22. MAYAN
The Mud Men of
Creation
Symbols:
• Animals are recognized to be
beneath man
• Man fails to satisfy the Heart-
of-the-Sky. (sin)
• Man made of maize represents
the Mayan reliance on maize as
their main staple crop.
23. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CIVILIZATIONS
• Many differences are seen in these
accounts of creation.
• Caused by differences in:
• Culture
• Geography
• Religion
• Politics
• Many different interpretations are seen in
Creation stories. These show the
differences in societies across history.
