Introduction
There are many themes discussed in Ancient Greek and other myths – love, hatred, true wisdom, loyalty, and the creation of the world. One of the most critical topics in most of the stories about deities is depicting a family conflict that may arise from jealousy, betrayal, competition for power, and love. Since gods typically have human emotions and traits of character, they may react to various situations in a rather unreasonable way. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast two myths that depict a conflict between a family of gods.
Violence between son and father is at the Greek cosmological myth’s heart. It is hard to disagree that one of the most remarkable myths about gods-siblings fighting with each other is the story about Zeus and his father, Cronus. Cronus, the youngest among the Titans, was a rather cruel father who decided to swallow his own children to maintain his power and strength (Thury & Devinney, 2017). Finally, Zeus became the one to overthrow his own tyrannical father and lock him in Tartarus away from his children and other gods.
Another myth portraying a conflict within a family of gods is not related to the father and son issues. Instead, it proves that gods are also capable of true love and, unfortunately, betraying and cheating (Thury & Devinney, 2017). Hephaestus, the god of metalworking and fire, was the husband of Aphrodite, the goddess of pleasure, beauty, and love. He was dedicated to her and eternally loved her, but this did not stop the goddess from making Ares her lover. Once upon a time, Hephaestus found out about his beloved wife cheating on him, caught the lovers, and demanded that Zeus return his wedding gifts. The king of the gods refused to do this; Hephaestus loved Aphrodite so much that he decided to forget about this conflict.
To draw a conclusion, one may say that these two myths are not the only ones depicting a family conflict among gods. The purpose of including them into stories about deities is probably to demonstrate that there are no perfect creatures in this world. Even gods are not without flaws; they can cheat, fight, and betray. However, the most crucial part is that they are also capable of forgiveness and choosing love and peace over revenge. As for the first myth’s lesson, it proves that parents are not always right, and there are situations when they have to be prevented from further actions.
Myths Explaining the Creation of the World
One of the questions that typically bother the minds of almost all people is the secret of the world’s creation. Etiology is the study of the reasons, origins, and causes behind the way the things that are common to people function. It is the study of giving special reasons for those phenomena and secrets of nature and philosophy that surround humans every day. The world’s creation is described in various cultures and religions, and all these stories have specific differences and similarities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the creation myths and compare their events, concepts, and etiological explanations.
Greek Creation Myth
Ancient Greek mythology indicates that only empty darkness and a bird with black wings, Nyx, were in the beginning. Then, Nyx laid a golden egg, and Eros, the god of love, rose out of it (Thury & Devinney, 2017). The egg’s halves became the sky and the Earth, fell in love, and had children and grandchildren – the Titans and gods (Thury & Devinney, 2017). After locking Cronus in Tartarus, Zeus and other gods started furnishing the sky with stars and the Earth with life, and the sons of Zeus created humans and animals. Therefore, in the beginning, there was no god but only darkness, wind, and the bird.
Christian Creation Myth
In this culture’s myth, God was the one who created the Earth, the heavens, the sky, and the waters. He was in the beginning, and precisely he was the reason for the appearance of the darkness and the light, which the God called ‘the day’ and ‘the night.’ Then, he began to furnish the sky with stars and birds, the Earth with flowers and trees, and the waters with various creatures (Thury & Devinney, 2017). Finally, he created a male and a female in his own image and likeness, and it took him six days to make this all, while in the Greek myth, even the bird was sitting upon the egg for ages. This myth provides people with the idea that someone like hem was the first creature who initiated the appearance of everything that surrounds humans. Even darkness and emptiness were created by God (Thury & Devinney, 2017). Hence, there is nothing and no one more powerful than him.
African Bushmen Creation Myth
The African mythology suggests that thousands of years ago, animals and people used to live underneath the Earth with the Great Master and Lord of All Life – Kaang. There were eternal peace and understanding between humans and animals. Once, Kaang went to the earth above, created a massive tree, and helped all creatures leave the world beneath. He ordered all of them to live in peace and never build any fires (Thury & Devinney, 2017). When the night came, people became frightened and decided to lighten the world with fire. It scared animals, and since then, there was no understanding between them and humans, and the friendship held between the two groups was replaced with fear. This creation myth explains only the appearance of the above world but leaves the question of how people and animals were made unanswered. The idea of this myth is that disobedience may lead to severe consequences and destroy trust, peace, and friendship.
Reference
Thury, E. M., Devinney, M. K. (2017). Introduction to mythology: Contemporary approaches to classical and world myths. Oxford University Press.