89. THE TALE OF THE MASSACRE OF MAMAEV September 8, 1380, when Rus' had been under control for more than a hundred years Tatar-Mongol yoke, Russian troops led by the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich defeated the hordes of the Tatar-Mongol Khan in the Battle of Kulikovo Field

Chapter 3 LEGENDS ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE FIRST PEOPLE, INVENTIONS AND DIFFERENT PEOPLES. NOTES ABOUT MYTHICAL TRIBES AND PEOPLES Legends about the creation of the first people. - The first man is Adam. - The creation of woman. - Legends about the origin of homes, outbuildings, tools

Legends about the creation of the first people The legends about the creation of the first people that existed among the Eastern Slavs are of late origin and, for the most part, are adaptations of apocryphal book legends. They, however, preserved archaic mythological

Chapter 1 SCANDINAVIAN COSMOGONY: about the creation and arrangement of the world Chaos and space. - The world abyss Ginungagap. - Ymir and his death. - Sacrifice of the primal being in the Indo-European tradition. - World creation. - Horizontal and vertical projections

The Legend of Siavush From the poetic epic “Shahnameh” (1st ed. - 994, 2nd ed. - 1010) They say that one morning the valiant Tus and Giv, famous in battles, accompanied by hundreds of warriors with greyhounds and falcons, galloped to the plain Come and amuse yourself with hunting. Having shot

The Legend of Sohrab From the poetic epic “Shahnameh” (1st ed. - 944, 2nd ed. - 1010) One day Rostem, waking up at dawn, filled his quiver with arrows, saddled his mighty horse Rekhsh and rushed to Turan. On the way, he smashed an onager with his mace and roasted him on a spit from the trunk

THE STORY ABOUT THE SUPREME GOD OF THE SLAVS SVAROG-DYE AND ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE WORLD “Truly, you need to have several gods, worship others, believe others, and fear others. For how can I believe in God if I am not afraid of him.” “By nature, man is an idolater, a fetishist. Why would people think

The creation of everything that exists in this world always occurs thanks to the Feminine Principle. I was once again convinced of this by accidentally stumbling upon Smith Ramsay’s book “Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines.” Or rather, the bookstore seller offered it to me, assuring me that it was a really interesting thing and worth at least getting acquainted with.

Being remote from the coastal zone and located in places difficult to reach for colonialists, some of the indigenous people of Australia preserved ancient legends about the creation of the world and dedicated their pure hearts to them, good man, which will help us look from the other side, the South, at the creation of the world:

HISTORY OF THE CREATION OF THE WORLD

This creation story was told by a Carraru woman from the west coast of South Australia. She is 65 years old and speaks her language fluently. Her name is quite euphonious: Cardinnilla, which means a cheerful stream, briskly running towards the mighty and huge ocean to merge with it.

Initially, the entire Universe was plunged into darkness. This darkness was silent and motionless, and the Earth inside it remained cold and lifeless. Mountains with pointed peaks rose on the surface of the Earth. The land was also covered with hills, valleys and plains, deep caves and karst voids. Life forms were found in these caves, but not intelligent ones. There was no wind on Earth, not even a small breath of it.

For a long, long, eerie time, a deadly calm reigned over it all. And in this darkness and tranquility the beautiful young goddess slept (In accordance with this story, the sun is feminine and is called by the following names: Sun Goddess, Young Goddess, Mother, Mother Goddess, Mother Sun, Mother Sun Goddess and Goddess of Light and Life. The Moon, here also feminine, is considered the ruler of the night. The moon and the morning star, masculine, gave rise to the human race. When people die, they become stars in the sky). One day, the Great Spirit Father quietly whispered to her: “You have been sleeping for a long time, and now wake up, go give life to the Universe and everything that is in it. Do as I tell you. First wake up the grass, then the plants, and then the trees. When the face of the Earth was covered with grass, plants and trees, they were populated with insects, fish, lizards, snakes, birds and animals. Then rest until all these creatures you have created have developed enough to fulfill the task for which they came to Earth. There is no place on Earth for anything that does not benefit other parts of this creation.”

The young goddess took a deep breath, shaking up the hitherto calm atmosphere, and told the Great Spirit Father that she was ready to fulfill his order. She opened her eyes, and her whole being was filled with bright light. The darkness in front of her dissipated. She looked around the Earth and saw how empty it was. Then, faster than a meteor, it covered the vast distance to Earth. She made her home on the Nullarbor Plain, treating everything around her with care and love.

Leaving her home on the plain, she headed west and, having walked around the Earth, returned to her starting point. Where her feet stepped, grass, bushes and trees appeared. Then she turned north and walked in that direction until she passed the south and returned to the starting point of her journey. So she continued to walk around the Earth until it was all covered with vegetation. After this, while taking a break from her labors, the Sun Goddess suddenly heard a voice that told her to go further into the caverns of the Earth to bring life there. She did just that and brought with her warmth and light to these dark and cold parts of the world. From under the Earth came the cries of the spirits: “Oh Mother, why did you disturb us? We have ruled these parts of the Earth for many millions of years." Mother Goddess Sun spent the whole day underground, exploring all the nooks and crannies of the dungeons and illuminating everything around with her light. Then hordes of beautiful insects of various colors, sizes and shapes appeared from the Earth. They began to fly from bush to bush, mixing all the colors around, making the Earth become more and more beautiful. Then Mother Sun lay down to rest.

She rested for some time to allow the insects to adapt to their new living conditions. Then, on a chariot of light, she visited the peaks of the mountains, rising majestically on the face of the Earth. After that, she soared on a powerful wind, which took her to the most remote corners of the Earth in the blink of an eye. On the same wind she returned home to the Nullarbor Plain. Then she rested for a period equal to two sunrises, and at this stage of creation the sun did not set. It shone continuously, and there was no darkness anywhere on Earth, with the exception of its belly. After resting, the Sun Goddess visited another cave, or abyss. She looked into its depths, and her face, shining with love, dispelled the darkness. When she stepped onto the dark, cold and lifeless bottom of the cave, her presence melted the solid ice. Then she went upstairs and went home to the Nullarbor Plain. From this abyss appeared snakes and lizards without legs, which slid on their bellies along the surface of the Earth. A river also began to flow out of this cavern, winding through the valley, and fish of all kinds, large and small, began to be found in its waters.

Then Mother Sun looked at her work and said that it was good. She commanded that the new life she created be harmonious everywhere. Mother Sun again visited the tops of the mountains and saw there trees, bushes, grass, butterflies, beetles, snakes and lizards, land and water and was pleased with her work. The wind picked her up again and carried her through all the nooks and crannies of the Earth, and then brought her back home to the Nullarbor Plain. There she rested for a while before resuming her work of creating the world.

When the Mother Goddess reappeared, she was accompanied by insects, snakes and lizards who worshiped her and wanted to see her create life in the next cavern. And again, when she descended to the bottom of the cavern, the darkness dissipated. Spiritual forms of birds and animals could be seen on all the ledges and at the bottom of the cave. When the Mother Goddess rose from this abyss, a mighty wind picked her up again and, as if on a chariot, carried her home to the Nullarbor Plain. A few days after her visit to the cavern, many birds of various colors appeared from there, and then many animals of all shapes, sizes and colors. They all went straight to the Mother Goddess to admire her greatness. They left there satisfied and happy with life. The Sun Goddess rested a little, making sure that the Father of All Spirits was pleased with what she had created.

After this, Mother Sun commanded that there should be short periods of seasonal changes on Earth. The hot period would come first for a certain period of time, followed by the cold period, but they should not bring with them extreme heat or cold that could harm the creatures or vegetation existing on Earth. Mother Sun commanded that such heat and cold remain only in the most remote corners of the Earth. Light and darkness must also replace each other.

At the beginning of spring, Mother Sun called insects, reptiles, birds and animals to gather together, and a huge number of them came from the north, where the north wind is born and lives. Another set of them came from the south, from the habitats of the southern wind, as well as from the west, where he lived West wind. But the greatest number of them came from the east, the royal palace and cradle of sunlight and sunbeams. When they all gathered together, Mother Sun spoke to the animals, birds, reptiles and insects in a gentle and calm voice.

She said: “Listen, O my children, I am your nursing mother. The Great Spirit Father gave me the strength to create you from the Earth. My work on Earth is finished, and now I am heading to the higher realms where I will be your light and life. When I leave, I will leave another being in my place to rule over you. You will be its servants, and it will be your god and master. You will all undergo certain changes. In time, your bodies will return back to the Earth, and the life that I caused and the Great Spirit Father gave to you will cease to exist in this form on Earth. She will be transported to those places near my abode, from where she will shine and guide those who come after you. Your refuge will be the Land of Spirits. But this will only happen after you have lived your life, fulfilled the desires of your hearts and reached a state in which you are ready to meet this change. And now I’m leaving you.”

And then Mother Sun soared above the Earth and began to rise higher and higher to immense heights. All animals, birds, reptiles and lizards watched with fear in their eyes the departure of the Goddess of Light and Life. So they stood, watching as the face of the Earth was enveloped in darkness. This strange phenomenon filled them with fear and sadness, and when the darkness deepened, they fell silent. It seemed to them that Mother Sun had abandoned them. They stood like that until they saw the east lit up with sunrise. They watched in confusion as the light gradually appeared. Everyone began to discuss what was happening: “We all saw how Mother Sun moved to the west, so what is now coming to us from the east?” They stood there, watching Mother Sun rise in the eastern sky and smile at them. Everyone stood rooted to the spot, watching their beloved Goddess.

She, without stopping, continued her journey to the west. And then those gathered realized that the radiant smile of the Mother of the Sun would always be replaced by a period of darkness, which means that the dark period is intended for rest. And then everyone fled in different directions, seeking shelter in dense forests, burrowing into the Earth or resting on the branches of trees. The flowers that had opened in the light now closed and went to sleep, but the acacia remained awake all night. She wanted to maintain her shape and color both in the dark and in the light. The spirit of the water of the small stream loved the sunlight so much that it began to rise higher and higher until it disappeared from sight. He cried and sobbed so sadly in his attempts to reach the light that he exhausted himself with grief, returned back to Earth and remained lying on the trees, bushes and grass in the form of beautiful and sparkling drops of dew.

When dawn broke again in the eastern sky, the birds were the first to notice this herald of the arrival of the Mother of the Sun. They rejoiced so much that some began to tweet and chirp, others began to laugh incessantly, and others began to sing beautiful songs of praise. When Mother Sun looked at them from the eastern sky, drops of dew rushed to the sky, wanting to meet and accompany their Mother Sun, and this marked the beginning of morning and evening. And then all living creatures understood the plans of the Great Mother of the Sun.

After many years, these living creatures began to show dissatisfaction with their existence. Some cried because they could not fly, others languished because they had to spend too much time in the water. Some grumbled, others slept constantly, refusing to eat and enjoy life.

Then Mother Sun returned to Earth again, gathered everyone and said: “O children of the Earth, didn’t I bring you into the world from the womb of the Earth? Didn't I breathe life into you? O dissatisfied creatures, I gave you life and the right to decide for yourself. Do as you see fit, but you will regret your choice.”

And then the animals, birds, reptiles and insects did as they wished. And in which ones only strange creatures as a result did not turn into: a kangaroo, a frilled lizard, various forms of bats, pelicans with huge beaks, a platypus, a flying fox, a stupid looking old wombat, a frog that reaches maturity in such a strange way! At first it appeared in the form of a tadpole with only a body and a tail, then in the place where the body turns into the tail, legs appeared. After some time, the tail falls off, and the body develops further with four legs.

The mice that wanted to turn into birds now became bats, but their bodies were not covered with feathers. The seal, who was tired of wandering through the forests and hills, wished to live as he does today. The owl wept bitterly, wishing to have huge clear eyes that could see at night. Her wish was fulfilled, but now she cannot see during the day, and therefore during the day she is forced to hide in a cave or in a hollow tree, since she can no longer tolerate bright light and cannot look into the face of Mother Sun. The koala was ashamed of his beautiful tail, which all animals admired, and wanted to get rid of it. As a result, his tail died, and now the poor koala is embarrassed to appear in the company of a dingo, who is proud of his tail and happily wags it when he meets other animals. See how some insects made their wishes come true. Some now resemble pieces of tree bark, others - sticks or dry twigs.

Such diverse creatures clearly demonstrate what discontent and foolish desires can lead to. When Mother Sun realized that these strange creatures could provoke unrest on Earth, she said: “I will send down a piece of myself to you, O children of the Earth. The desire of my heart will come to you even before I appear tomorrow.” So the next morning, when the animals, birds, reptiles and insects awoke from their sleep, they saw the morning star shining in the eastern sky over the Nullarbor Plain. Everyone gathered in front of the star, but it did not speak to them, but remained sitting, turning its gaze to the east. When Mother Sun rose, she said: “I will give you a son of the World of Spirits, and he will be one of you.” Then she said to the shining morning star: “O my son, rule here and I will send you a friend. When I disappear behind the western sky and darkness covers the entire Earth, you will see a bright form that will appear in the western sky. This is the ruler of the night who will support your radiance and share with you the joys of light."

That's how it all happened. When the Goddess of Light, Mother Sun, rode her chariot of light across the heavens and disappeared in the west, and darkness covered the entire sky with its blanket, the promised helper appeared and flooded the entire Earth with his light. Thus, at the request of the Sun Goddess, the Moon was born. The moon descended to Earth, became the wife of the morning star, and they had four children. These children grew and multiplied in the form of the human race, and when they died, they took their place in the heavens in the form of stars.

The natives say that the stars are the children of the daughters and sons of the morning star and the beautiful Moon, created by Mother Sun. Bazjara and Arna, the prophets of the World of Spirits, say: “ You, children of the Earth, must remember to whom you owe your birth, and should not strive to change your position, like animals, birds, reptiles, insects and fish. Remember also your superiority over these creatures and that you, your children and your children's children will eventually return to the Great Father of All, the Eternal Spirit».

Prepared by: Max Vorontsov

Any mythology is based on myths about the creation of the world and people. It is difficult to identify any specific trend in all this. The creators of the world are sometimes gods, sometimes animals, and even plants. How a primordial creature arose from primeval Chaos and how it created the world - every myth has its own story about this. This article presents several myths about the creation of the world of the Slavs, Greeks, Sumerians, Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, Scandinavians, Zoroastrians, Arikara, Huron, Mayan Indians.

Slavs.

The Slavs had several legends about where the world and its inhabitants came from. Many peoples (ancient Greeks, Iranians, Chinese) had myths that the world arose from an egg. Similar legends and tales can be found among the Slavs. In the Tale of the Three Kingdoms, the hero goes in search of three princesses in the underworld. First he finds himself in the copper kingdom, then in the silver and gold. Each princess gives the hero an egg, which he, in turn, rolls into and encloses each kingdom. Having emerged into the white light, he throws the eggs onto the ground and unfolds all three kingdoms.

One of the ancient legends says: “In the beginning, when there was nothing in the world but the boundless sea, a duck, flying over it, dropped an egg into the watery abyss. The egg split, and from its lower part the mother earth came out, and from the upper part arose the high vault of heaven.”

Another legend connects the appearance of the world with the hero’s duel with the serpent who guarded the golden egg. The hero killed the serpent, split the egg - three kingdoms emerged from it: heavenly, earthly and underground.

And here is how the Carpathian Slavs talked about the birth of the world:
When was the beginning of the world,
Then there was neither sky nor earth, only the blue sea,
And in the middle of the sea there is a tall oak tree,
Two marvelous doves sat down on an oak tree,
Have you started thinking about how to establish a light?
We will go down to the bottom of the sea,
Let's take out the fine sand,
Fine sand, golden stone.
We will sow fine sand,
We will blow the golden stone.
From the fine sand - black earth,
The water is cold, the grass is green.
From the golden stone - blue sky, blue sky, bright sun,
The month and all the stars are clear.

Here's another myth. At the beginning of time the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, which contained the Rod - the Parent of all things.
The clan gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its prison, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.
The sun then came out from His face.
The bright moon is from His chest.
The frequent stars are from His eyes.
The clear dawns are from His eyebrows.
Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.
Violent winds - from the breath)..
"Book of Kolyada", 1 a
So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that comes with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The genus separated the visible, revealed world, that is, Reality, from the invisible, spiritual world - from Novi. Rod separated Truth from Falsehood.
In the chariot of fire, Rod affirmed thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the person of the Family, was established in a golden boat, and the Month - in a silver one. Rod released from his lips the Spirit of God - the bird Mother Sva. Spirit God's Family gave birth to Svarog - Heavenly Father.
Svarog finished making peace. He became the master of the earthly World, the ruler God's Kingdom. Svarog established twelve pillars supporting the firmament.
From the Word of the Most High, Rod created the god Barma, who began to mutter prayers, glorifications, and recite the Vedas. He also gave birth to the Spirit of Barma, his wife Tarusa.
The clan became the Heavenly Spring and gave birth to the waters of the Great Ocean. From the foam of the Ocean waters the World Duck appeared, giving birth to many gods - Yasuns and Dasun demons. The clan gave birth to the Cow Zemun and the Goat Sedun, milk spilled from their breasts and became the Milky Way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. From the butter obtained after churning, Mother Earth of Cheese was created.

Sumerians.

The Sumerians explained the origin of the universe as follows.
In Sumerian mythology, heaven and earth were originally thought of as a mountain, the base of which was the earth, personified in the goddess Ki, and the top was the sky, the god An. From their union, the god of air and wind Enlil was born, who himself was called the “Great Mountain”, and his temple in the city of Nippur was called the “house of the Mountain”: he separated the sky from the earth and organized the cosmos - the Universe. Thanks to Enlil, the luminaries also appear. Enlil falls in love with the goddess Ninlil and takes possession of her by force as she sails down the river in her barge. For this, the elder gods banish him to the underworld, but Ninlil, who has already conceived a son, the moon god Nanna, follows him, and Nanna is born in the underworld. In the underworld, Enlil takes the form of guards three times the afterlife, gives birth to three underground gods from Ninlil. They return to the heavenly world. From now on, Nanna travels in a barge, accompanied by stars and planets, across the sky at night, and through the underworld during the day. He gives birth to a son, the solar god Utu, who wanders through the sky during the day, and at night he travels through the underworld, bringing light, drink and food to the dead. Then Enlil develops the earth: he raised “the seed of the fields” from the earth, brought into being “everything useful,” and invented the hoe.
There is another version of the creation myth.
The beginning of this story is quite beautiful. A long time ago, when there was neither heaven nor earth, there lived Tiamat, the goddess of sweet waters, Apsu, the god of salty waters, and their son, the fog rising above the water.
Then Tiamat and Apsu gave birth to two pairs of twins: Lahma and Lahama (demons), and then Anshar and Kishar, who were smarter and stronger than the elders. Anshar and Kishar had a child named Annu. Annu became the god of the sky. Ea was born to Annu. This is the god of underground waters and magic.
The younger gods - Lahma, Lahama, Anshar, Kishar, Annu and Ea - gathered every evening for a noisy feast. They prevented Apsu and Tiamat from getting enough sleep. Only Mummu, the eldest son of Apsu and Tiamat, did not take part in these amusements. Apsu and Mummu appealed to the younger gods with a request to stop the celebrations, but they were not listened to. The elders decided to kill everyone who interfered with sleep.
Ea decided to kill Apsu, who had started a conspiracy against the younger ones.
Tiamat decided to take revenge for the death of her husband. Her new husband, the god Kingu, strongly supported this idea.
So Tiamat and Kingu hatched a plan for revenge. Having learned about Tiamat's plan, Ea turned to his grandfather Anshar for advice. Anshar suggested striking Tiamat with magic, since her husband was dealt with in this way. But Ea's magical powers do not affect Tiamat.
Anu, Ea's father, tried to reason with the angry goddess, but nothing worked. Since magic and negotiations came to nothing, all that remained was to turn to physical force.
Who should we send to battle? Everyone decided that only Marduk could do this. Anshar, Anu and Ea initiated the secrets of divine magic into young Marduk. Marduk is ready to fight Tiamat, demanding the undivided power of the supreme god as a reward for victory.
Young Marduk gathered all the Anunnaki (as the gods called themselves) so that they would approve the war with the supreme goddess and recognize him as their king. Anshar sent his secretary Kaku to call Lakhma, Lahama, Kishara and Damkina. Having learned about the impending war, the gods were horrified, but a good dinner with plenty of wine calmed them down.
In addition, Marduk demonstrated his magical power, and the gods recognized him as king.
The merciless battle lasted for a long time. Tiamat fought desperately. But Marduk defeated the goddess.
Marduk took the “tables of destinies” from Kingu (they determined the movement of the world and the course of all events) and put them around his neck. He cut the body of the slain Tiamat into two parts: from one he made the sky, from the other - the earth. People were created from the blood of the murdered Kingu.

Egyptians.

In the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, “the pride of the Sun,” as the Greeks called it, Atum was considered the creator and primal being. He arose from Nun, the primary ocean, which Atum called his father, when there was nothing yet - neither sky, nor earth, nor soil.
Atum rose like a hill among the waters of the world's oceans.
The prototypes of such hills were real hills that stood out on the water surface of the flooded Nile. Suitably fortified, they became a platform for the first temples, the construction of which seemed to perpetuate the act of creating the world. The shape of the pyramid is apparently associated with the idea of ​​a primary hill.
- I exist! I will create the world! I have no father and no mother; I am the first god in the Universe, and I will create other gods! With incredible effort, Atum broke away from the water, soared over the abyss and, raising his hands, cast a magic spell. At the same moment, a deafening roar was heard, and Ben-Ben Hill rose from the abyss amid the foamy spray. Atum sank down onto the hill and began to ponder what he should do next.
But the lonely creator had nothing to create from, and he copulated with his own hand and absorbed his own seed, and then spewed out of the mouth of the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut, the first divine couple. Ocean Nun blessed the creation, commanding it to grow. As soon as they were born, the children disappeared somewhere. Atum could not find them and sent his daughter, the Divine Eye of Atum, to search. The goddess returned the fugitives, and the overjoyed father shed tears. His tears turned into the first people.
From the first couple born of Atum came the god Geb and Nut, the goddess and embodiment of Heaven. The air god Shu and his wife separated the earth and the sky: Nut rose in the form of a firmament above Geb, leaning on it with her hands and feet, Shu began to support the firmament in this position with his own hands.
It was necessary to separate heaven and earth, because as long as they remain united, in embrace, there is no place on earth for other creatures.
But Geb and Nut managed to give birth to twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris was destined to be the first to be killed and resurrected to an eternal afterlife.
The earth and sky are surrounded on all sides by waters. Every night Nut swallows the sun, and in the morning again
gives birth to him.

Memphis had its own version of the creation myth. The creator god Ptah creates all things with the power of thought and word: “Ptah pacified himself, creating all things and divine words. He gave birth to the gods, created cities, placed the gods in their sanctuaries. All kinds of works, arts, movements of arms and legs arose, according to the order, conceived by the heart and expressed by the tongue, which created the essence of all things."
The main gods of ancient Egypt, created by Ptah, were his own incarnations. IN Egyptian mythology There is another version of the creation of the world, which arose in the city of Shmunu - the “City of Eight”. According to her, the progenitors of all things were eight gods and goddesses - Nun and Nuanet, Huh and Huakhet, Kuk and Kuaket, Amon and Amaunet. Male deities had the heads of frogs, female deities - snakes. They lived in the waters of primeval chaos and created the primordial egg there. From this egg came the solar deity in the form of a bird, and the world was filled with light. "I am a soul emerging from chaos, my nest is invisible, my egg is not broken."
During the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC), the city of Thebes became the political capital of Egypt. The main Theban deity is the sun god Amon. The Great Hymn to Amun says:
Father of fathers and all gods,
Who raised the sky and established the earth,
People came from his eyes, gods became from his mouth
The king, long live he, long live,
May he be prosperous, the head of all gods
The myth of Amun combined previously existing versions of the creation myth. It tells that in the beginning the god Amon existed in the form of a serpent. He created eight great gods, who gave birth to Ra and Atum in Iunu, and Ptah in Memphis. They then returned to Thebes and died there.
There is almost no mention of the creation of man by the gods in Egyptian mythology. According to one version, people arose from the tears of the god Ra (this is explained by the similar sound of the Egyptian words “tears” and “people”); according to another, people were molded from clay by the god Khnum.
However, the Egyptians believed that people were “the flock of God” and that God created the world for people. "He created for them the sky and the earth. He destroyed the pitchless darkness of water and created air so that they could breathe. He created for them plants, livestock, birds and fish in order to nourish them." It should be noted that in almost all traditions, legends and myths this is common...

Chinese.

Scandinavians.

According to the Scandinavians, in the beginning there was emptiness Ginungagap. To the north of it was the frozen world of darkness Niflheim, and to the south lay the fiery hot country of Muspellheim. From such proximity, the world emptiness of Ginungagap was gradually filled with poisonous frost, which began to melt and turned into the evil frost giant Ymir. Ymir was the ancestor of all frost giants.
Then Ymir fell asleep. While he slept, the sweat dripping from his armpits became a man and a woman, and the sweat dripping from his feet became another man. When a lot of ice melted, the cow Audumla emerged from the resulting water. Ymir began to drink her milk, and she liked to lick the salty ice. Having licked the ice, she found a man under it, his name was Buri.
Buri had a son Boryo Bor married the frost giantess Bestla and they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. The sons of the Storm hated Ymir and killed him. So much blood flowed from the body of the murdered Ymir that it drowned all the giants except Bergelmir, the grandson of Ymir, and his wife. They managed to escape the flood in a boat made from a tree trunk.
Odin and his brothers brought Ymir's body to the center of Ginungagapa and created a world from it. From Ymir's flesh they made the earth, from his blood - the ocean. From the skull they made the sky. And the brain was scattered into the sky, resulting in clouds.
The gods ignored only the part where the giants lived. It was called Etunheim. They fenced off the best part of this world with Ymir's eyelashes and settled people there, calling it Midgard.
Finally, the gods created people. From two tree knots a man and a woman, Ask and Emblya, emerged. All other people descended from them.
The last to be built was the impregnable fortress of Asgard, which rose high above Midgard. These two parts were connected by the rainbow bridge Bifrost. Among the gods, patrons of people, there were 12 gods and 14 goddesses (they were called Ases), as well as a whole company of other smaller deities (Vanir). This entire host of gods crossed the rainbow bridge and settled in Asgard.
The ash tree Yggdrasil grew above this multi-layered world. Its roots sprouted into Asgard, Jotunheim and Niflheim. An eagle and a hawk sat on the branches of Yggdrasil, a squirrel rushed up and down the trunk, deer lived at the roots, and below all sat the snake Nidhogg, who wanted to eat everything. Yggdrasil is what has always been, is and will be.

Greeks.

At the beginning of everything there was formless, dimensionless Chaos, then Gaia (Earth) appeared with Tartarus (the abyss) lying deep in its depths and the eternal force of attraction that existed long before them - Eros. The Greeks called the god of love, who accompanied the goddess of love Aphrodite, by the same name, but Eros, who stood at the beginning of the universe, excludes any feeling. Eros can be compared to the force of universal gravity - it is like a law. This force set Chaos and the Earth in motion. Chaos produces the feminine principle - Night and the masculine principle - Erebus (Darkness). Night gave birth to Thanat (Death), Sleep (Hypnos), great amount dreams, goddesses of fate - Moira, the goddess of retribution Nemesis, Deception, Old Age. The creation of the Night was also Eris, who embodied rivalry and strife, from which came Exhausting work, Hunger, Sorrows, Battles, Murders, Lying words, Litigation and Lawlessness, but also the inflexibly fair Orc, punishing anyone who takes a false oath. And from the connection of Night with Erebus, transparent Ether and shining Day were born - Light from Darkness!
According to the myth about the origin of the world, after this Gaia awakened: first Uranus (Sky) was born from her, then Mountains rose from her depths, their wooded slopes were filled with the nymphs she gave birth to, and Pontus (Sea) spilled over the plains. The covering of the Earth by Heaven led to the appearance of the first generation of gods - there were twelve of them: six brothers and six sisters, powerful and beautiful. They were not the only children from the union of Gaia and Uranus. Gaia also gave birth to three huge, ugly Cyclops with a large round eye in the middle of the forehead, and after them three more arrogant Hundred-Handed Giants. The Titans, having taken their sisters as wives, filled the expanses of Mother Earth and Father Sky with their offspring: they gave rise to a tribe of gods of the most ancient generation. The eldest of them, Oceanus, had three thousand daughters, beautiful-haired oceanids, and the same number of river streams that covered the entire land. Another pair of Titans produced Helios (Sun) Selene (Moon), Eos (Dawn) and numerous Stars. The third pair gave rise to the winds Boreas, Not and Zephyr. The Titan Iapetus could not boast of as abundant offspring as his older brothers, but he became famous for his few, but great sons: Atlas, who took on his shoulders the heavy burden of the firmament, and Prometheus, the noblest of the Titans.
The youngest son of Gaia and Uranus was Cronus, impudent and impatient. He did not want to endure either the arrogant patronage of his older brothers or the power of his own father. Perhaps he would not have dared to raise his hand against him, encroaching on the supreme power, if not for Gay’s mother. She shared with her matured son her long-standing resentment against her husband: he hated Uranus for the ugliness of his sons - the Hundred-Handed Giants - and imprisoned them in her dark depths. Cronus, under the protection of Nikta and with the help of his mother Gaia, seized his father's power. Taking his sister Rhea as his wife, Cron laid the foundation for a new tribe, to which people gave the name of the gods. However, the insidious Kron was afraid of his offspring, because he himself raised his hand against his father, and, so that no one would deprive him of power, he began to swallow his own children immediately after their birth. Rhea complained bitterly about her sad fate to Gaia and received advice from her on how to save another baby. When the child was born, Gaia herself hid him in one of the inaccessible caves, and Rhea gave the swaddled stone to her husband.
Meanwhile, Zeus (as the mother named the rescued baby) grew up in a hidden cave on the slopes of wooded Ida, the highest mountain on the island of Crete. He was guarded there by the young men of the Curetes and Corybantes, drowning out the children's cries with the blows of copper shields and the rattling of weapons, and Amalthea, the noblest of goats, fed him with her milk. In gratitude for this, Zeus, who subsequently took a place on Olympus, constantly took care of her, and after death he ascended her to heaven so that she would forever shine in the constellation Auriga. It is interesting that Zeus kept the skin of his nurse for himself, making a shield from it - a sign of supreme power. This shield was called “aegis”, which in Greek meant “goat”. According to him, Zeus received one of his most common epithets - aegis-sovereign. The horn, which Amalthea accidentally broke during her earthly life, was turned into a cornucopia by the ruler of the gods and given to his daughter Eirene, the patroness of the world.
Having matured, Zeus became stronger than father and not by cunning, like Cronus, but in a fair duel, he overcame him and forced him to vomit his swallowed brothers and sisters from the womb: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Thus, according to the myth about the origin of the world, the end of the era of the Titans came, who by this time filled the heavenly and earthly spaces with several of their generations - the era of the gods of Olympus began.

Zoroastrians.

In the distant past, before the creation of the world, there was nothing: no heat, no light, no living creatures on earth or in heaven. In the vast space there was only one Zervan - endless eternity. It was empty and lonely, and then He had a plan to create the world. He wanted a son to be born to him. The desire was extremely great that Zervan began to perform sacrifices for a thousand years. And two sons were born in his womb - Ormuzd and Ahriman. Zervan decided that He would give his firstborn son Ormuzd power over the whole world. Ormuzd read the Father's thoughts and told Ahriman about them. However, evil was already the essence of Ahriman, and he, in order to be born first, hastily tore apart the shell of his Father and came into the world. The evil Ahriman declared to his father: “I am your son, Ormuzd.” Zervan looked at the ugly Ahriman filled with Darkness and began to sob: this was not what He was waiting for. Immediately behind Ahriman, Ormuzd appeared from the womb, emitting Light. Ahriman, thirsting for power over the world, was the younger brother, but by cunning he was the first to be born. Therefore, he boldly reminded Zervan that it was he who should rule the world, as promised. Zervan answered Ahriman: “Get lost, Evil One! I will make you king, but only for nine thousand years, but Ormuzd will have power over you, and after the end of the allotted time, the kingdom will be given to Ormuzd and He will correct everything according to His will.”
So, after the creation of the world, it was divided into two parts. The place of residence of Ormuzd, constant and limitless in time, full of omniscience and virtues, is pierced by endless light. The area subject to Ahriman, who is in darkness, ignorance and the passion of destruction, who was, is, but will not always exist, is called the Abyss. Between the Light and the Dark Abyss there was a void in which endless light and endless darkness were mixed. Ormuzd began the creation of a perfect world, shedding a particle of his pure light into the abyss that separated him from Ahriman. But Ahriman rose from the Darkness, as predicted. Insidious younger brother, not possessing omniscience, did not know about the existence of Ormuzd, and was so enraged by what he saw of the creation of the world that he declared war on the entire Creation. Ormuzd tried to convince Ahriman that there was no benefit from such a war, and He did not hold any grudge against his brother. However, Ahriman did not listen, because he decided: “If the Omniscient Ormuzd is trying to resolve the matter peacefully, then He is powerless.” Ahriman did not know that he was not able to harm his brother, but could only harm existence - only the Omniscient Ormuzd knew about this.
The brothers are allotted nine thousand years from the beginning of the creation of the world: the first three thousand years events will take place according to the will of Ormuzd, the next three thousand years - the wills of Ormuzd and Ahriman will mix, and in the last three thousand years the evil Ahriman will be weakened and their confrontation over Creation will cease . Ormuzd showed Ahriman his victory at the end of history: the powerlessness of the Evil spirit and the destruction of the divas, the resurrection of the dead, the final incarnation and the future tranquility of creation forever. And Ahriman fled in fear back into the Darkness. And although he fled, he continued the mad struggle against Creation - he created divas and demons who rose to intimidate. The first thing Ahriman created was a lie that undermines the world. Ormuzd created for himself eternal immortal companions: Good Thought, Truth, Obedience, Devotion, Integrity and Immortality. Then He created beautiful angels who became messengers of Ormuzd and protectors of good. Ormuzd continued the creation of the world: He created Heaven and Earth, and between them he created light, stars, the moon and the sun. The Omniscient determined places for everyone so that they would always be ready to fight evil and be saved.

Arikara Indians.

The Great Heavenly Spirit, Nesaru, sometimes called the Great Mystery, was the ruler of all creation. Under the sky stretched a boundless sea, on which two ducks always swam. Nesaru created two brothers, the Wolf Man and the Happy Man, who commanded the ducks to dive to the bottom of the great sea and bring back some earth. From this land the Wolf Man created the Great Plains, and Happy man- hills and mountains.
Two brothers went underground and found two spiders. They explained to spiders how to reproduce. The two spiders gave birth to many species of animals and plants, as well as humans. They also gave birth to a race of evil giants.
These giants were so evil that Nesar was eventually forced to destroy them by sending a great flood. Nesaru loved people and saved them from death.

Huron Indians.

At first there was nothing but water. Just a wide, wide sea. Its only inhabitants were animals. They lived on the water, under the water, or flew through the air.
Then a woman fell from the sky.
Two Arctic loons flew past and managed to catch her on their wings. However, the burden was too heavy. The loons were afraid that they would drop the woman and she would drown. They called out loudly for help. All the creatures flew and swam to their call.
The Great Sea Turtle said:
- Put the celestial woman on my back. It won't get anywhere off my wide back.
The loons did just that.
Then the council of animals began to think about what to do next. The wise Sea Turtle said that a woman needs land to live.
All the animals took turns diving to the bottom of the sea, but no one ever reached the bottom. Finally, the Toad dived. It took a long time before she appeared again and brought a handful of earth. She gave this land to the woman. The woman smoothed it out on the Turtle's back. This is how land came into being.
Over time, trees grew on it and rivers flowed.
The children of the very first woman began to live.
To this day, the earth rests on the back of the Great Sea Turtle.

Mayan Indians.

A long time ago there were no people, no animals, no stones, no trees on earth. There was nothing. It was an endless and sad plain covered with waters. The deities Tepev, Kukumats and Huracan lived in the twilight silence. They got to talking and came to an agreement about what needed to be done.
They kindled a light that illuminated the earth for the first time. The sea receded, revealing land that could be farmed and on which flowers and trees bloomed. A wonderful fragrance rose to the sky from the newly created forests.
The gods rejoiced at their creations. However, they thought that the trees should not be left without servants and guardians. Then they placed animals of all kinds on the branches and near the trunks. The animals remained motionless until the gods ordered each of them: - You will go drink water from the rivers. You will go to sleep in a cave. You will walk on four legs, and one day your back will experience the weight of the loads you carry. And you, bird, will live in the branches and fly through the air, without fear of falling.
The animals obeyed orders. The gods thought that all living beings should be placed in their natural environment, but should not live in silence, since silence is synonymous with devastation and death. Then they gave them votes. But the animals could only scream, unable to say a single sensible word.
The distressed gods consulted and turned to the animals: - Since you failed to understand who we are, you will forever live in fear of others. Some of you will devour others without any disgust.
Hearing these words, the animals tried to speak. However, only screams came out of their throats and mouths. The animals submitted and accepted the sentence: soon they began to be persecuted and sacrificed, their meat was boiled and they were eaten by much more intelligent creatures that were to be born.

source vision7.ru

The debate between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continues to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more). In this article we will talk about ten of the most unusual myths of antiquity.

10. The myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth is the myth of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.

According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, swinging a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts subsequently became Heaven and Earth. He was of unimaginable height - about fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.

Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it - Pan-gu decomposed in a really cool way: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the firmament of the earth, and his head became the Cosmos. Thus, his death gave life to our world.

9. Chernobog and Belobog

This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. It tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one continuous sea around, Belobog decided to create dry land, sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.

Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, one small problem arose: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.

Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth with the goal of finding out from Chernobog how to stop this matter. Well, Chernobog sat on a goat and went to negotiate. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comedy of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand the humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.

Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to spy on Chernobog, making a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which was as follows: in order to stop the growth of land, you need to draw a cross on it and say the cherished word - “enough.” Which is what Belobog did.

To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting revenge, he cursed Belobog, and he cursed him in a very original way - for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces for the rest of his life. However, Belobog was not at a loss, and made bee excrement as sweet as sugar - this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared... The main thing is that there is honey.

8. Armenian duality

Armenian myths resemble Slavic ones, and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created; it only explains how everything around us works. But that doesn't make it any less interesting.

So here you go short summary: Heaven and Earth are a husband and wife separated by an ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when it shakes its horns, the earth bursts at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.

There is an alternative myth where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan floats around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its flopping. When Leviathan finally bites its tail, life on Earth will cease and the apocalypse will begin. Have a nice day.

7. The Scandinavian myth of the ice giant

It would seem that there is nothing in common between the Chinese and the Scandinavians - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the origin of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was icy and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim - the kingdoms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there, from the fusion of two opposing elements, Ymir was born.

And now closer to us, to the people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman emerged from his right armpit along with the sweat. It’s strange, yes, we understand this - well, that’s how they are, harsh Vikings, nothing can be done. But let's get back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son Ber, and Ber had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. Three brothers were gods and ruled Asgard. This seemed to them not enough, and they decided to kill Ymir’s great-grandfather, making a world out of him.

Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans; From the skull of the unfortunate man, the brothers created the vault of heaven, broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and made clouds from the torn brains of poor Ymir.

This new world Odin and the company immediately decided to settle: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - ash and alder, making a man from the ash, and a woman from the alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.

6. Greek myth about marbles

Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only complete Chaos around. There was neither the sun nor the moon - everything was dumped into one big pile, where things were inseparable from each other.

But then a certain god came, looked at the chaos reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and got down to business: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from a clear day, and everything like that.

Then he set to work on the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: at the equator it was very hot, at the poles it was extremely cold, but between the poles and the equator it was just right, you couldn’t imagine anything more comfortable. Further, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.

And then they tore him in two, making him a man and a woman - the future of you and me.

5. Egyptian god who loved his shadow very much

In the beginning there was a great ocean, whose name was “Nu,” and this ocean was Chaos, and besides it there was nothing. It was not until Atum, by an effort of will and thought, created himself out of this Chaos. Yes, the man had balls. But further - more and more interesting. So, he created himself, now he had to create land in the ocean. Which is what he did. After wandering around the earth and realizing his total loneliness, Atum became unbearably bored, and he decided to plan on more gods. How? And just like that, with an ardent, passionate feeling for your own shadow.

Thus fertilized, Atum gave birth to Shu and Tefnut, spitting them out of his mouth. But, apparently, he overdid it, and the newborn gods were lost in the ocean of Chaos. Atum grieved, but soon, to his relief, he found and rediscovered his children. He was so glad to be reunited that he cried for a long, long time, and his tears, touching the earth, fertilized it - and people grew out of the earth, many people! Then, while people impregnated each other, Shu and Tefnut also had coitus, and they gave birth to other gods - more gods to the god of gods! - Gebu and Nutu, who became the personification of the Earth and the sky.

There is another myth in which Atum is replaced by Ra, but this does not change the main essence - there, too, everyone fertilizes each other en masse.

4. The myth of the Yoruba people - about the Sands of Life and the chicken

There is one African people- Yoruba. So, they also have their own myth about the origin of all things.

In general, it was like this: there was one God, his name was Olorun, and one fine day the idea came to his mind that the Earth needed to be equipped somehow (at that time the Earth was one continuous wasteland).

Olorun didn’t really want to do this himself, so he sent his son, Obotala, to Earth. However, at that moment, Obotala had more important things to do (in fact, there was a gorgeous party planned in heaven, and Obotala simply could not miss it).

While Obotala was having fun, all the responsibility fell on Odudawa. Having nothing at hand except chicken and sand, Odudawa nevertheless set to work. His principle was the following: he took sand from a cup, poured it onto the Earth, and then let the chicken run around in the sand and trample it thoroughly.

After carrying out several such simple manipulations, Odudawa created the land of Lfe or Lle-lfe. This is where Odudawa's story ends, and Obotala appears on the stage again, this time completely drunk - the party was a great success.

And so, being in a state of divine alcoholic intoxication, the son of Olorun set about creating us humans. It turned out very badly for him, and he created disabled people, dwarfs and freaks. Having sobered up, Obotala was horrified and quickly corrected everything by creating normal people.

According to another version, Obotala never recovered, and Odudawa also made people, simply lowering us from the sky and at the same time assigning himself the status of ruler of humanity.

3. Aztec "War of the Gods"

According to Aztec myth, there was no primordial Chaos. But there was a primary order - an absolute vacuum, impenetrably black and endless, in which in some strange way the Supreme God - Ometeotl - lived. He had a dual nature, possessing both feminine and masculine principles, was good and at the same time evil, was both warm and cold, truth and lies, white and black.

He gave birth to the remaining gods: Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe Totec, who, in turn, created giants, water, fish and other gods.

Tezcatlipoca ascended to the heavens, sacrificing himself and becoming the Sun. However, there he encountered Quetzalcoatl, entered into battle with him and lost to him. Quetzalcoatl threw Tezcatlipoca from the sky and became the Sun himself. Then, Quetzalcoatl gave birth to people and gave them nuts to eat.

Tezcatlipoca, still harboring a grudge against Quetzalcoatl, decided to take revenge on his creations by turning people into monkeys. Seeing what had become of his first people, Quetzalcoatl flew into a rage and called the most powerful force a hurricane that scattered vile monkeys all over the world.

While Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc were at war with each other, Tialoc and Chalchiuhtlicue also turned into suns in order to continue the cycle of day and night. However, the fierce battle between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca affected them too - then they too were thrown from heaven.

In the end, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc stopped their feud, forgetting past grievances and creating new people - the Aztecs - from the dead bones and blood of Quetzalcoatl.

2. Japanese “World Cauldron”

Japan. Again Chaos, again in the form of an ocean, this time as dirty as a swamp. In this ocean-swamp, magical reeds (or reeds) grew, and from this reeds (or reeds), like our children from cabbage, gods were born, a great many of them. All of them together were called Kotoamatsukami - and that’s all that is known about them, for as soon as they were born, they immediately hastened to hide in the reeds. Or in the reeds.

While they were hiding, new gods appeared, including Ijinami and Ijinagi. They began to stir the ocean until it thickened, and from it the land was formed - Japan. Ijinami and Ijinagi had a son, Ebisu, who became the god of all fishermen, a daughter, Amaterasu, who became the Sun, and another daughter, Tsukiyomi, who became the Moon. They also had one more son, the last - Susanoo, who, for his violent temper, received the status of the god of wind and storms.

1. Lotus flower and “Om-m”

Like many other religions, Hinduism also features the concept of the world emerging from the void. Well, as if out of nowhere, there was an endless ocean in which a giant cobra swam, and there was Vishnu, who slept on the cobra’s tail. And nothing more.

Time passed, days followed each other one after another, and it seemed that it would always be like this. But one day, everything around was filled with a sound that had never been heard before - the sound of “Om-m”, and the previously empty world was overwhelmed with energy. Vishnu awoke from sleep, and Brahma appeared from the lotus flower at his navel. Vishnu ordered Brahma to create the world, and in the meantime he disappeared, taking with him a snake.

Brahma, sitting in the lotus position on a lotus flower, set to work: he divided the flower into three parts, using one to create Heaven and Hell, another to create Earth, and the third to create heaven. Brahma then created animals, birds, people and trees, thus creating all living things.