The sessions covered:
Hindu Creation Myths-
According to Hindu mythology (in the Rig Vega) Varuna, the sky god and the god of water, willed the universe into being. He set out the three worlds- the heavens, the Earth and the air in between the two, and “fixed the waters above the heavens”. Varuna held the heavens above the earth and lets the waters through, little by little, to fall on the earth as rain. Varuna was also responsible for maintaining the “good order” of the universe- he had a continuing responsibility for the universe that he created. In later myths (in the Upanishads) Vishnu replaced Varuna as the creator god.
Greek Creation Myths-
In early Greek myths (Pelasgian myths) the goddess Eurynome was the first entity to emerge from the original Chaos. She created the serpent Ophion, mated with him, then took the form of a dove and laid the Universal Egg. All the elements of the universe hatched out of the egg. Eurynome also gave birth to the gods and goddesses known as the Titans, who were responsible for maintaining order in the new universe and for keeping it safe.
In later Mycenaean myths, the goddess Night was courted by the Wind and she laid “a silver egg in the womb of darkness”. The egg hatched and out stepped the deity Eros (not the same character as the later god of love). Eros created the sky, sun, moon and Earth, but it was the goddess who ruled the universe.
Other Mycenaean myths, five beings emerged from the original Chaos these were Gaia (Earth), Erebus (Darkness) Nyx (Night), Tartarus (the Abyss) and Eros. These beings created the various elements of the universe. Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the sky god) and then Gaia and Uranus produced the Titans who were to rule the universe and to make sure that good order prevailed.
Cronos, the youngest of the Titans, killed his father Uranus and took over as sky god and supreme ruler of the heavens and the earth. Cronos and his sister/wife Rhea then produced the next generation of gods, the Olympian gods- Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. Zeus killed his father Cronos and took over from him as the sky god, ruler of the gods, and supreme ruler of the universe.
Some Greek myths say that the first humans emerged spontaneously from the earth. According to other myths, the first men were created by the Titan Prometheus from clay and water. The goddess Athene (Zeus’ daughter) breathed life into the figures. The first woman (Pandora) was created by Zeus (or on Zeus’ orders) to cause trouble for Prometheus, with whom Zeus had a running feud.
Last Updated on October 24, 2016