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→Some Types of Creation Myths
==Some Types of Creation Myths==
Creation myths can be found in many regions and, in fact, are probably the most common form of myth. Creation myths were likely evident in very early cultures around the world as they would have been likely told as oral stories that would be passed from one generation to another. Because creation myths are oral stories, these stories probably have changed numerous times and many different versions often exist for any one culture. Among early literate societies in the Middle East, creation myths appear early in ancient texts. The Sumerian myth focuses looks at how the gods An (sky), Enlil (supreme god), Enki (water) and Ninhursanga (mother goddess) gods created the world. Humans were created from clay but were almost destroyed by a great flood after the gods complained of their noise, where the hero Atrahasis survived along with his family and creatures of the Earth. One of the best known is <i>Enûma Eliš</i>, which is a myth that describes humans as made to serve the gods as gods wanted to be relieved from their work. The creation story does not put humans at the center but rather the main story is the triumph of the god Marduk is his struggle with Tiamat. After this struggle, the world order fell in place, with Marduk as supreme god and the hierarchy of power in the cosmos was established, with Marduk as head. This myth is similar to others that also tell of the cosmos as being born our of chaos. Conflict was a common theme in creation myths in the Near East. In Zoroastrian traditions, Gayomard was a mythical being that was killed by Jeh, a devil-like being, but from the killing of Gayomard all living life was able to spring forth, including a tree which enabled life to emerge. In ancient Chinese cultures, Pangu was seen as a creation being that created the world out of a chaotic form (Figure 2). Initially, everything was in an egg-shaped universe that became separated by Pangu and he created the earth, separating the balance of the cosmos and life, Ying and Yang. Creation from chaos is perhaps the most common form of creation. Another example is from Siberia, where Buga set fire to an ocean that created land and see and he also create light and darkness by separating the two. The god fought Buninka, an evil god, to create mankind. Similar to other traditions, man was made from earth, while other elements, such as fire, iron, and water made up the rest of the world. In ancient Greek mythology, the universe was chaotic and Gaia, representing the Earth, emerges out of this. Uranus is born from Gaia, who then impregnates her and she gives birth to the Titans. Prometheus, one of the Titans, creates humans, and similar to other Mediterranean-based mythologies, uses dirt or clay to make humans. In Central Africa, Mbombo, a god, existed in a universe of nothing but primordial ocean. Eventually, he vomits out the cosmos and the Earth emerges from the primordial sea. Mbombo also vomited to create nine animals that would then bring the other animals of the Earth.<ref>For more on a summary of key or major creation myths, see: North, C., Robinson, A., 2009. <i>In the beginning: creation myths from around the world </i>, Artwork by Adrienne Robinson. ed. ICRL Press, Princeton, New Jersey.</ref>
[[File:Pangu.jpg|thumb|Figure 1. Pangu was seen as creating the world out of an egg-shaped universe in which he was trapped in for 18,000 years. ]]