James+Prell

__**Creation Myths**__ **Are There Any Themes Common in Different Creation Myths?**

**Christianity:** __**The Myth**__ 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. __**Analysis/ Points of Interest**__
 * One God Created all things, and is solely responsible.
 * Everything was created for the human race, so that they could rule over it.
 * Humans were formed out of nothing in this version, but in a later account, //Genesis 2//, The first man is formed from dust "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."(Genesis 2: 7). In this version, a woman is made later to help the man. "Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man."(Genesis 2: 22)

__**Beliefs within the Religion**__ There are different interpretations of this story even within the belief system of Christianity. The official position the Catholic Church for example is that the text is divinely inspired, but should not be taken literally. This, however does not even mean all Catholics don't take it seriously. Belief in this particular passage of the bible is based more on community. Interestingly, in most cases the more conservative a christian is, the more literally they take Genesis. Liberal Christians tend to agree with the position of the Vatican. The Challenges you face by believing a literal Genesis are scientific. There are many points to question, such as how two people are supposed to populate the earth without horrible mutations, or how archeological findings like early humans and dinosaurs fit into the story. The most evident of these of coarse is the fact that the earth is much older then the 6,000 years that the bible claims it to be.

**Ancient Greek Religion:** __**The Myth**__

In the beginning, Chaos, an amorphous, gaping void encompassing the entire universe, and surrounded by an unending stream of water ruled by the god Oceanus, was the domain of a goddess named Eurynome, which means "far-ruling" or "wide-wandering". She was the Goddess of All Things, and desired to make order out of the Chaos. By coupling with a huge and powerful snake, Ophion, or as some legends say, coupling with the North Wind, she gave birth to Eros, god of Love, also known as Protagonus, the "firstborn". Eurynome separated the sky from the sea by dancing on the waves of Oceanus. In this manner, she created great lands upon which she might wander, a veritable universe, populating it with exotic creatures such as Nymphs, Furies, and Charites as well as with countless beasts and monsters. Also born out of Chaos were Gaia, called Earth, or Mother Earth, and Uranus, the embodiment of the Sky and the Heavens, as well as Tartarus, god of the sunless and terrible region beneath Gaia, the Earth. Gaia and Uranus married and gave birth to the Titans, a race of formidable giants, which included a particularly wily giant named Cronus. In what has become one of the recurrent themes of Greek Mythology, Gaia and Uranus warned Cronus that a son of his would one day overpower him. Cronus therefore swallowed his numerous children by his wife Rhea, to keep that forecast from taking place. This angered Gaia greatly, so when the youngest son, Zeus, was born, Gaia took a stone, wrapped it in swaddling clothes and offered it to Cronus to swallow. This satisfied Cronus, and Gaia was able to spirit the baby Zeus away to be raised in Crete, far from his grasping father. In due course, Zeus grew up, came homeward, and got into immediate conflict with the tyrant Cronus, who did not know that this newcomer was his own son. Zeus needed his brothers and sisters help in slaying the tyrant, and Metis, Zeus's first wife, found a way of administering an emetic to Cronus, who then threw up his five previous children, who were Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Together they went to battle against their father. The results were that all of his children, led by Zeus, vanquished Cronus forever into Tartarus' domain, the Dark World under the Earth. Thus, Zeus triumphed over not only his father, and his father's family of Giants, he triumphed over his brothers and sisters as well, dividing up the universe as he fancied, in short, bringing order out of Chaos. He made himself Supreme God over all, creating a great and beautiful place for his favored gods to live, on Mount Olympus, in Thessaly. All the others were left to fend for themselves in lands below Mount Olympus. Zeus made himself God of the Sky and all its phenomena, including the clouds as well as the thunderbolts. Hestia became goddess of the Hearth. To his brother Poseidon, he gave the rule of the Sea. Demeter became a goddess of Fertility, Hera (before she married Zeus and became a jealous wife), was goddess of Marriage and Childbirth, while Hades, one of his other brothers, was made god of the Underworld. Zeus did indeed bring order out of Chaos, but one of his failings was that he did not look kindly upon the people, those creatures that populated the lands over which he reigned. Many were not beautiful, and Zeus had contempt for anyone who was not beautiful. And of course they were not immortal, as the Olympian gods were, and they complained about the lack of good food and the everlasting cold nights. Zeus ignored their complaints, while he and the other gods feasted endlessly on steaming hot game from the surrounding forests, and had great crackling fires in every room of their palaces where they lived in the cold winter. Enter Prometheus, one of the Titans not vanquished in the war between Zeus and the giants. It is said in many myths that Prometheus had created d a race of people from clay, or that he had combined specks of every living creature, molded them together, and produced a new race, The Common Man. At the very least he was their champion before Zeus. Fire for cooking and heating was reserved only for the gods to enjoy. Prometheus stole some of the sparks of a glowing fire from the Olympians, so that the people below Olympus could have fire for cooking and warmth in the winter, thus greatly improving their lot in life. Zeus was furious at this insult to his absolute power, and had Prometheus bound and chained to a mountain, sending an eagle to attack him daily. Adding insult to injury, Zeus had his fellow Olympian, Hephaestus, fashion a wicked but beautiful creature to torment Prometheus. It was a woman, whom they named Pandora, which means "all gifts". She was given a precious and beautiful box, which she was told not to open, but curiosity got the better of her, and out flew "all the evils that plague men." The only "gift" that stayed in the box was "Hope". So, from "far-ruling" Eurynome to the creation of the Common Man, Greek creation myths are inextricably filled with difficulties, though often ameliorated by the gift of Hope. A myriad of other myths tell of the joys and adventures of great heroes and heroines, other gods and goddesses, as well as fantastic creatures from all parts of ancient Greece. __**Analysis/ Points of Interest**__


 * There was one goddess in the beginning, who created the other gods by making order from the Chaos in the beginning.
 * Humans are lowly creatures in this story. When they were created, Prometheus their creator was punished after he gave them the gift of fire.
 * Each god represents another mystery to the Ancient Greeks, they told these stories to explain the parts of their existence that they didn't understand.

__**Beliefs within the Religion**__ There are many different variations of this story, they vary by community and time period. But the basic themes remain the same, even if the storyline differs. This is because all of the stories were recounted on word of mouth, and not written down until much later. Literal interpretation had a hard time existing since there was almost certainly a different version in every community. The story above consists of some of the key elements that were usually agreed upon, such as the war between the Titans and the Olympians.

**Lakota Mythology:** __**The Myth**__ A long time ago, a really long time when the world was still freshly made, Unktehi the water monster fought the people and caused a great flood. Perhaps the Great Spirit, Wakan Tanka, was angry with us for some reason. Maybe he let Unktehi win out because he wanted to make a better kind of human being.

Well, the waters got higher and higher. Finally everything was flooded except the hill next to the place where the sacred red pipestone quarry lies today. The people climbed up there to save themselves, but it was no use. The water swept over that hill. Waves tumbled the rocks and pinnacles, smashing them down on the people. Everyone was killed, and all the blood jelled, making one big pool.

The blood turned to pipestone and created the pipestone quarry, the grave of those ancient ones. That's why the pipe, made of that red rock, is so sacred to us. Its red bowl is the flesh and blood of our ancestors, its stem is the backbone of those people long dead, the smoke rising from it is their breath. I tell you, that pipe, that *chanunpa*, comes alive when used in a ceremony; you can feel power flowing from it.

Unktehi, the big water monster, was also turned to stone. Maybe Tunkshila, the Grandfather Spirit, punished her for making the flood. Her bones are in the Badlands now. Her back forms a long high ridge, and you can see her vertebrae sticking out in a great row of red and yellow rocks. I have seen them. It scared me when I was on that ridge, for I felt Unktehi. She was moving beneath me, wanting to topple me.

Well, when all the people were killed so many generations ago, one girl survived, a beautiful girl. It happened this way: When the water swept over the hill where they tried to seek refuge, a big spotted eagle, Wanblee Galeshka, swept down and let her grab hold of his feet. With her hanging on, he flew to the top of a tall tree which stood on the highest stone pinnacle in the Black Hills. That was the eagle's home. It became the only spot not covered with water.

If the people had gotten up there, they would have survived, but it was a needle-like rock as smooth and steep as the skyscrapers you got now in the big cities. My grandfather told me that maybe the rock was not in the Black Hills; maybe it was the Devil's Tower, as white men call it, that place in Wyoming.

Both places are sacred. Wanblee kept that beautiful girl with him and made her his wife. There was a closer connection then between people and animals, so he could do it. The eagle's wife became pregnant and bore him twins, a boy and a girl. She was happy, and said: "Now we will have people again. *Washtay*, it is good." The children were born right there, on top of that cliff. When the waters finally subsided, Wanblee helped the children and their mother down from his rock and put them on the earth, telling them: Be a nation, become a great Nation – the Lakota Oyate."

The boy and girl grew up. He was the only man on earth, she the only woman of child-bearing age. They married; they had children. A nation was born.

So we are descended from the eagle. We are an eagle nation. That is good, something to be proud of, because the eagle is the wisest of birds. He is the Great Spirit's messenger; he is a great warrior. That is why we always wore the eagle plume, and still wear it. We are a great nation. It is I, Lame Deer, who said this. .

__**Analysis/ Points of Interest**__


 * From the beginning, it is obvious that this myth is less serious than the others. The story teller does not pretend to know what happened when the universe began, he only is recounting how his grandfather told him the Lakota Nation came into existence.
 * The Lakota live a much smaller existence, they don't care so much about the universe as opposed to geographical landmarks.
 * The Lakota people are said to be descendants of an eagle and a woman
 * The first humans here were wiped out in a flood.

__**Beliefs within the Religion**__

The history of the Lakota, and their religion are almost one and the same. They were talked about in the same way, through the word of mouth, until they became muddled. There is not as much tension between the Lakota who believe a literal version of this story and those who don't. This is because the mythology of the Lakota is open to interpretation, you can accept and dismiss what you think is right.

__ **Conclusion** ** : **__Each of these creation myths talks about the origin of humans. In each of them, humans are created out of clay or earth. This is probably because in those days it was most appealing to imagine a cyclical process of coming, then returning to the earth when you die. There is also something to be said about written stories versus oral repetition. When something is written, it is more likely to be taken as a literal account. Mythology that is only recounted in stories however is much harder to set into stone because if you tried to piece together all of the different versions you would be hopelessly confused.

__ **Bibliography** ** : **__

Elliott, Daphne. "Greek Creation Myths." Encyclopedia Mythica. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov 2011. .

Deer, Lame. "Lakota Creation Myth." IndianLegend.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov 2011. .

Unknown,. "Hebrew/Christian Creation Myth." Hebrew/Christian Creation Myth. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov 2011. .

__ **Reflection** __

I've learned a lot from this unit. Mostly about the religions more common on the other side of the world, like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. I learned about their customs and how their religion affects their daily life. I also learned about the different denominations within different religions and how each one practices the same faith.
 * Overall summary of your learning from religion unit (focus on 2-3 general understandings).

I learned a lot about the Lakota myth, since I'd never read about it before. I learned how stories can change when they are not written down.
 * Why did you choose this topic? What different things did you learn while researching and creating the project?

I feel good about this project, I think it is very detailed but the topic isn't very in depth or controversial.
 * How do you feel about the final product? What are its strengths and what are its weaknesses?