In religio-mythology, creation myth refers to mythology that explains the origin of things via gods and supernatural processes, admixtured with certain physical regularities, e.g. the perceptual increase and decrease in the strength of the sun, annual Nile River flood, the helical rising of Sirius, the movements of the constellations, e.g. Orion, etc.
Nile River | Creation myths
In c.4000BC, Egypt, centered around the Nile River, and its annual 150-day flood, at the end of which initiated their crop season (see: Khoiak festival), as religio-political power shifted, the Egyptian creation myths, as dominate state religions, changed as follows:
0. Pre-Dynastic creation myth | 3500BC | Supreme god: Horus
1. Heliopolis creation myth | 3100BC | Supreme god:
→ Atum or Atum-Khepri (Pyramid Texts, 2500BC)
→ Atum-Ra (Coffin Texts, 2100BC) / Ennead
2. Memphis creation myth | 2800BC | Supreme god: Ptah
3. Hermopolis creation myth | 2400 BC | Supreme god: Ogdoad
4. Thebian creation myth | 2050 BC | Supreme god: Amen
5. Amarnan creation myth | 1300BC | Supreme god: Aten
6. Saite recension | 670BC | Book of Dead (canonized)
7. Biblical creation myth | 500BC | Supreme god: El-Yahweh-Amen
8. Muslim creation myth | 700AD | Supreme god: Allah
In 100AD, El-Yahweh-Amen, rescripted the father of Jesus [Osiris-Horus], became rendered, via Hebrew to Greek to Latin transliteration effects, as "god" or more generally as "Lord [Yahweh] god [Elohim] Almighty [El] Amen [Amen]".
Tigris-Euphrates River | Creation myths
In c.3500BC, there is some evidence, not full agreed upon, which points to the possibility that Sumerian pictograph developed in the culture of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, before that of the Nile River culture; such as shown below:
There is, e.g. some overlap with Egyptian mythology, e.g. the Egyptian water god is called Nu, the Sumerian sky water god is called Anu. The extant Sumerian pictography, however, is so scant, that a picture of known mythology for each tends to date as follows
● Egyptian (3100-2400BC) | Egyptian mythology
● Sumerian (2100-1600BC) | Sumerian mythology / Mesopotamian mythology
Little of this mythology is currently practiced in the modern world, aside from some aspects of Zoroastrianism follows in Iran.
Yellow River | Creation myths
In c.1800BC, around the Yellow River, Chinese pictograph began to appear, as shown below after which a yin-yang religion began to flourish:
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See also
● Clay creation myth
● Creation by breath
● Memphis creation myth
● Genesis
● Heliopolis creation myth
● Hermopolis creation myth
● Thebian creation myth
References
1. Haywood, John. (1997). Atlas of the World (§1.7). Barnes and Noble, 2001.
External links
● Creation myth – Wikipedia.
