Order vs. Chaos in World Creation Stories

The common themes of order versus chaos are addressed in the stories. The differences demonstrated in stories are various Gods and ways of creating the world. For instance, the myth of Enuma Elish describes how the mighty God, Marduk created order at the beginning of the universe by defeating the forces of chaos. Thus, elevating Marduk as the ruling divinity and proving that he is the most powerful God in the Babylonian pantheon is the central purpose of the Enuma Elish as a whole. Baal, the deity of life and fertility, and Mot, the God of death and sterility, fought each other in Canaanite mythology. If Baal won, a cycle of seven years of fertility would follow; if Mot defeated him, a cycle of seven years of famine and drought would be introduced. Commencing with God’s creation of the universe and humans, the Old Testament recounts the events of people’s history in Israel over nearly a thousand years. For instance, order and peace prevailed over chaos when God was involved. The Hermopolitan perspective depicted creation as a pile of earth erupted from the primordial waters of chaos, considering the Egyptian creation stories. The role of violence or combat is crucial in the creation stories.