The history of the creation of the world has excited people since ancient times. Representatives of different countries and peoples have repeatedly thought about how the world in which they live appeared. Ideas about this have been formed over the centuries, growing from thoughts and conjectures into myths about the creation of the world.
That is why the mythology of any nation begins with attempts to explain the origins of the origin of the surrounding reality. People understood then and understand now that any phenomenon has a beginning and an end; and the natural question of the appearance of everything around logically arose among the representatives of Homo Sapiens. The collective consciousness of a group of people at the early stages of development clearly reflected the degree of understanding of this or that phenomenon, including such as the creation of the world and man by higher powers.
People passed on the theories of the creation of the world by word of mouth, embellishing them, adding more and more details. Basically, the myths about the creation of the world show us how diverse the thinking of our ancestors was, because either gods, or birds, or animals acted as the primary source and creator in their stories. The similarity was, perhaps, in one thing - the world arose fromNothing, from Primal Chaos. But its further development took place in the way that representatives of this or that people chose for it.
Restoring the picture of the world of ancient peoples in modern times
The rapid development of the world in recent decades has given a chance for a better restoration of the picture of the world of ancient peoples. Scientists of various speci alties and directions were engaged in the study of found manuscripts, rock art, archaeological artifacts in order to recreate the worldview that was characteristic of the inhabitants of a particular country many thousands of years ago.
Unfortunately, the myths about the creation of the world have not survived in our time in full. From extant passages, it is not always possible to restore the original plot of the work, which prompts historians and archaeologists to conduct a persistent search for other sources that can fill in the missing gaps.
Nevertheless, from the material that is at the disposal of modern generations, you can extract a lot of useful information, in particular: how they lived, what they believed, who ancient people worshiped, what is the difference in worldviews among different peoples and what is the purpose of creating the world according to their versions.
Great help in finding and recovering information is provided by modern technologies: transistors, computers, lasers, various highly specialized devices.
Theories of the creation of the world, which existed among the ancient inhabitants of our planet, allow us to conclude that any legend was based on the understanding of the factthat all things arose from Chaos thanks to something Almighty, All-Encompassing, feminine or masculine (depending on the foundations of society).
We will try to briefly outline the most popular versions of the legends of ancient people in order to get a general idea of their worldview.
Creation Myths: Egypt and the Cosmogony of the Ancient Egyptians
The inhabitants of the Egyptian civilization were adherents of the Divine principle of all things. However, the history of the creation of the world through the eyes of different generations of Egyptians is somewhat different.
Theban version of the appearance of the world
The most common (Theban) version tells that the very first God, Amon, appeared from the waters of the endless and bottomless ocean. He created himself, after which he created other Gods and people.
In later mythology, Amon is already known under the name Amon-Ra or simply Ra (God of the Sun).
The first created by Amon were Shu - the first air, Tefnut - the first moisture. From them, the God Ra created the Goddess Hathor, who was the Eye of Ra and was supposed to monitor the actions of the Deity. The first tears from the Eye of Ra caused the appearance of people. Since Hathor - the Eye of Ra - was angry with the Deity for existing separately from his body, Amon-Ra put Hathor on his forehead as a third eye. From his mouth, Ra created other Gods, including his wife, the Goddess Mut, and his son Khonsu, the lunar Deity. Together they represented the Theban Triad of the Gods.
Such a legend about the creation of the world gives an understanding that the Egyptiansviews on its origin laid the Divine principle. But it was the supremacy over the world and people not of one God, but of their whole galaxy, which was honored and expressed their respect by numerous sacrifices.
Worldview of the ancient Greeks
The richest mythology was left to new generations by the ancient Greeks, who paid great attention to their culture and gave it paramount importance. If we consider the myths about the creation of the world, Greece, perhaps, surpasses any other country in their number and variety. They were divided into matriarchal and patriarchal: depending on who his hero was - a woman or a man.
Matriarchal and patriarchal versions of the appearance of the world
For example, according to one of the matriarchal myths, the progenitor of the world was Gaia - Mother Earth, who arose from Chaos and gave birth to the God of Heaven - Uranus. The son, in gratitude to his mother for his appearance, poured rain on her, fertilizing the earth and awakening the seeds sleeping in it to life.
The patriarchal version is more extended and deep: in the beginning there was only Chaos - dark and boundless. He gave birth to the Goddess of the Earth - Gaia, from whom all living things came, and the God of Love Eros, who breathed life into everything around.
In contrast to the living and striving for the sun, a gloomy and gloomy Tartarus was born underground - a dark abyss. Eternal Darkness and Dark Night also arose. They gave birth to Eternal Light and Bright Day. Since then Day and Night succeed each other.
Then other creatures and phenomena appeared: Deities, titans, cyclops, giants, winds and stars. ATAs a result of a long struggle between the Gods, Zeus, the son of Kronos, who was raised by his mother in a cave and overthrew his father from the throne, stood at the head of the Heavenly Olympus. Starting with Zeus, other famous Greek Gods, who were considered the progenitors of people and their patrons, take their history: Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes and others.
People revered the Gods, propitiated them in every possible way, erecting luxurious temples and bringing countless rich gifts to them. But in addition to the Divine creatures living on Olympus, there were also such respected creatures as: Nereids - marine inhabitants, Naiads - guardians of reservoirs, Satyrs and Dryads - forest talismans.
According to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, the fate of all people was in the hands of three goddesses, whose name is Moira. They spun the thread of each person's life: from the day of birth to the day of death, deciding when this life would end.
Myths about the creation of the world are full of numerous incredible descriptions, because, believing in forces that are higher than man, people embellished themselves and their deeds, endowing them with superpowers and abilities inherent only to gods to rule the fate of the world and man in particular.
With the development of Greek civilization, myths about each of the deities became more and more popular. They were created in great numbers. The worldview of the ancient Greeks significantly influenced the development of the history of the state that appeared at a later time, becoming the basis of its culture and traditions.
The appearance of the world through the eyes of the ancient Indians
In the context of the topic "Myths aboutcreation of the world" India is known for several versions of the appearance of everything on Earth.
The most famous of them is similar to the Greek legends, because it also tells that at first the impenetrable darkness of Chaos dominated the Earth. She was motionless, but full of latent potential and great power. Later, Waters appeared from Chaos, which gave rise to Fire. Thanks to the great power of heat, the Golden Egg appeared in the Waters. At that time, there were no heavenly bodies and no measurement of time in the world. However, in comparison with the modern account of time, the Golden Egg floated in the boundless waters of the ocean for about a year, after which the progenitor of everything named Brahma arose. He broke the egg, as a result of which its upper part turned into Heaven, and the lower part into Earth. Air space was placed between them by Brahma.
Further, the progenitor created the countries of the world and started the countdown. Thus, according to Indian tradition, the universe came into being. However, Brahma felt very lonely and came to the conclusion that living beings should be created. The power of Brahma's thought was so great that with its help he was able to create six sons - great lords, and other goddesses and gods. Tired of such global affairs, Brahma transferred power over everything that exists in the Universe to his sons, and he himself retired.
As for the appearance of people in the world, then, according to the Indian version, they were born from the goddess Saranyu and the god Vivasvat (who from God turned into a man by the will of the elder gods). The first children of these gods were mortals, and the rest were gods. First ofmortal children of the gods, Yama died, in the afterlife he became the ruler of the kingdom of the dead. Another mortal child of Brahma, Manu, survived the Great Flood. From this god people came.
Pirushi - The First Man on Earth
Another legend about the creation of the world tells of the appearance of the First Man, called Pirusha (in other sources - Purusha). This myth is characteristic of the period of Brahmanism. Purusha was born due to the will of the Almighty Gods. However, Pirushi later sacrificed himself to the Gods who created him: the body of the primordial man was cut into pieces, from which the heavenly bodies (the Sun, the Moon and stars), the sky itself, the Earth, the cardinal points and the classes of human society arose.
The highest class - caste - were Brahmins, who emerged from the mouth of Purusha. They were the priests of the gods on earth; knew the sacred texts. The next most important class were kshatriyas - rulers and warriors. Primordial Man created them from his shoulders. From the thighs of Purusha appeared merchants and farmers - vaishyas. The lower class that arose from the feet of Pirusha became the Shudras - forced people who acted as servants. The most unenviable position was occupied by the so-called untouchables - they could not even be touched, otherwise a person from another caste immediately became one of the untouchables. Brahmins, kshatriyas and vaishyas, upon reaching a certain age, were ordained and became "twice-born". Their life was divided into certain stages:
- Student (a person learns life from wiser adults and gains life experience).
- Family (a person creates a family andmust become a decent family man and householder).
- Hermit (one leaves home and lives the life of a hermit monk, dying alone).
Brahmanism assumed the existence of such concepts as Brahman - the basis of the world, its cause and essence, the impersonal Absolute, and Atman - the spiritual principle of each person, inherent only to him and striving to merge with Brahman.
With the development of Brahminism, the idea of Samsara arises - the circulation of being; Incarnations - rebirth after death; Karma - fate, the law that will determine in which body a person will be born in the next life; Moksha is the ideal to which the human soul should aspire.
Speaking of the division of people into castes, it is worth noting that they should not have contact with each other. Simply put, each class of society was isolated from the other. Too rigid caste division explains the fact that only brahmins, representatives of the highest caste, could deal with mystical and religious problems.
However, later more democratic religious teachings appeared - Buddhism and Jainism, which occupied a point of view opposed to the official teaching. Jainism has become a very influential religion within the country, but has remained within its borders, while Buddhism has become a world religion with millions of followers.
Despite the fact that the theories of the creation of the world through the eyes of the same people differ, in general they have a common beginning - this is the presence in any legend of a certain First Man - Brahma, who ineventually became the main deity believed in in ancient India.
Cosmogony of Ancient India
The latest version of the cosmogony of Ancient India sees at the foundation of the world a triad of Gods (the so-called Trimurti), which included Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Guardian, Shiva the Destroyer. Their responsibilities were clearly defined and delineated. So, Brahma cyclically gives birth to the Universe, which Vishnu keeps, and destroys Shiva. As long as there is the Universe, the day of Brahma lasts. As soon as the universe ceases to exist, the night of Brahma begins. 12 thousand Divine years - such is the cyclic duration of both day and night. These years are made up of days, which are equal to the human concept of a year. After a hundred years of Brahma's life, he is replaced by a new Brahma.
In general, the cult significance of Brahma is secondary. Evidence of this is the existence of only two temples in his honor. Shiva and Vishnu, on the contrary, received the widest popularity, which was transformed into two powerful religious movements - Shaivism and Vishnuism.
Creation of the world according to the Bible
The history of the creation of the world according to the Bible is also very interesting from the point of view of theories about the creation of all things. The holy book of Christians and Jews explains the origin of the world in its own way.
The creation of the world by God is covered in the first book of the Bible - "Genesis". Just like other myths, the legend tells that in the very beginning there was nothing, there was not even the Earth. There was only darkness, emptiness and cold. All this was contemplated by the Almighty God, who decided to revive the world. He began his work with the creation of the earth and sky, which did not have anycertain shapes and outlines. After that, the Almighty created light and darkness, separating them from each other and naming, respectively, day and night. It happened on the first day of creation.
On the second day God created the firmament, which divided the water into two parts: one part remained above the firmament, and the second - below it. The name of the firmament became Sky.
The third day was marked by the creation of land, which God called the Earth. To do this, he collected all the water that was under the sky in one place, and called it the sea. To revive what had already been created, God created trees and grass.
The fourth day was the day of the creation of the luminaries. God created them to separate the day from the night, and also to ensure that they always illuminate the earth. Thanks to the luminaries, it became possible to keep track of days, months and years. During the day, the big Sun shone, and at night - the smaller one - the Moon (stars helped him).
The fifth day was devoted to the creation of living beings. The very first to appear were fish, aquatic animals and birds. God liked what was created, and he decided to increase their number.
On the sixth day, creatures living on land were created: wild animals, cattle, snakes. Since God still had a lot to do, he created a helper for himself, calling him Man and making him look like himself. Man was supposed to become the master of the earth and everything that lives and grows on it, while God left behind the privilege to rule the whole world.
A man appeared from the dust of the earth. To be more precise, he was molded from clay and named Adam (“man”). His Godsettled in Eden - a paradise country, along which a mighty river flowed, overgrown with trees with large and tasty fruits.
In the middle of paradise, two special trees stood out - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. Adam was entrusted with guarding and caring for the Garden of Eden. He could eat fruit from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God threatened him that, having eaten the fruit from this particular tree, Adam would immediately die.
Adam was bored alone in the garden, and then God ordered all living beings to come to the man. Adam gave names to all birds, fish, reptiles and animals, but did not find someone who could become a worthy helper for him. Then God, taking pity on Adam, put him to sleep, took a rib out of his body and created a woman out of it. Waking up, Adam was delighted with such a gift, deciding that the woman would become his faithful companion, helper and wife.
God gave them parting words - to fill the earth, to subdue it, to rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and other animals that walk and crawl on the earth. And he himself, tired of the labors and satisfied with everything created, decided to rest. Since then, every seventh day is considered a holiday.
This is how Christians and Jews imagined the creation of the world by day. This phenomenon is the main dogma of the religion of these peoples.
Myths about the creation of the world of different peoples
In many ways, the history of human society is, first of all, the search for answers to fundamental questions: what was at the beginning; what is the purpose of the creation of the world; who is its creator. Based on worldviewspeoples living in different eras and in different conditions, the answers to these questions acquired an individual interpretation for each society, which in general terms could come into contact with interpretations of the emergence of the world among neighboring peoples.
Nevertheless, every nation believed in its own version, revered its own god or gods, tried to spread among representatives of other societies and countries their teachings, religion, concerning such an issue as the creation of the world. The passage of several stages in this process has become an integral part of the legends of ancient people. They firmly believed that everything in the world arose gradually, in turn. Among the myths of different peoples, there is not a single story where everything that exists on earth would appear in an instant.
Ancient people identified the birth and development of the world with the birth of a person and his growing up: first, a person is born into the world, every day acquiring more and more new knowledge and experience; then there is a period of formation and maturation, when the acquired knowledge becomes applicable in everyday life; and then comes the stage of aging, fading, which involves a gradual loss of vitality by a person, which ultimately leads to death. The same phasing applied in the views of our ancestors to the world: the emergence of all living things due to one or another higher power, development and flourishing, extinction.
Myths and legends that have survived to this day are an important part of the history of the development of the people, allowing you to associate your origin with certain events and get an understanding of whatwhere it all began.
