Myths of Destruction and
(Re)Creation
Cosmic Cycle
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Creation and Recreation
Not Armaggedon (the end of the world)
But a refinement of creation
Ages of Humankind
Themes
• Destruction by Flood
– Bible
– Ovid’s Metamorphoses
– Gilgamesh
• Destruction by Fire
– Prose Edda
• Rebirth
Ea/Enki
in Epic of
Gilgamesh
Clylinder seal impression showing the Mesopotamian "god of Wisdom," called
Ea (Aya, Ayya or Enki) with two streams of water pouring forth from his
shoulders. Ea warned the Mesopotamian Noah, Utnapishtim of Shuruppak of
the coming Flood advising him to build himself an ark for his family and
animals. On the 7th day of the Flood, the SEBITTU DAY, Ea rested with ALL the
other gods, the Flood having destroyed mankind whose noise and clamor had
earlier prevented the gods from resting by day or sleeping by night.
Ages of Man
• Hesiod. Works and Days (lines 156-201)
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Gold
Silver
Bronze
Heroic
Iron
Age of Cronus
Age of Zeus
• Ovid, Metamorphoses Book I
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Gold
Silver
Bronze
Iron
Lucas Cranach. Golden Age. 1530
Lucas Cranach. Silver Age. 1530
Iron Age. Engraving by Virgil Solis for
Ovid's Metamorphoses Book I, 141-150.
Fol. 3v, image 5.
Mesoamerican
The Aztec tradition of Five
Suns also involves four
previous ages.
Present world preceded by
other cycles of creation and
destruction.
Mesoamerican
Jaguar Sun (Nahui Ocelotl)
Wind Sun (Nahui Ehecatl)
Rain Sun (Nahui Quiahuitl)
Water Sun (Nahui Atl)
Earthquake Sun
Hindu-Vedic Yuga
The Hindu and Vedic writings
(Manusmṛti or Manusmriti ) make
reference to four age or Yuga:
Satya (Golden)
Treta (Silver)
Dwapara (Bronze)
and Kali (Iron)
1,728,000 years
1,296,000 years
864,000 years
432,000 years
Maha Yuga
4,032,000 years
1000 Maha Yugas = one day of Braham
or 4.32 billion years.
Greco-Roman Flood
No Flood in Hesiod
Only in Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Key Elements
Human Sin/Offence Against the Gods
Divine Anger/Retribution
Ark
“Adam and Eve” (Deucalion and Pyrrha)
Oracles
Metamorphoses
Human Offences in Ovid: Lycaeon
Lycaon
Lycaeon tries to trick Juppiter into eating human flesh)
Compare TANTALUS!
Juppiter destroys Lycaeon’s Palace
Lycaeon’s Punishment:
Lycanthropy
Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1617)
Divine Assembly
Johann Wilhelm Baur, Edition 1703) Ovid, Met. I, 167
Political Dimensions
Compare the Assembly of the Gods to
the Roman Senate
The Greek Flood:
Deucalion, and Pyrrha
Pyrrha and Deucalion, painted basin,
Oraza Fontana or his workshop, 1565-71
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum.
Nicola Giolfino (Italian, 1476–1555)
The Myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha, ca. 1550
Tempera on panel
40 ½ x 57 ¾ in. (102.9 x 146.7 cm); frame: 50 ½ x 67 ¼ in. (128.3 x
170.8 cm)
Samuel H. Kress Study Collection, 62.159
Religious Dimensions: Piety
Deucalion and Pyrrha ask Themis for help.
(Johann Postumus, 1542) Ovid, Met. I, 375-380
Human Implications?
Tower of Babel
Pieter
Bruegel:
The Tower of
Babel 1563
Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9)
Futile Human Attempt to become gods
hybris
cp. Tantalus
Aetiology of LANGUAGE
Biblical Flood
Key terms:
aetiological function of myth
covenant
Elohist writer
Genesis
immanent god
Israelites
Leviathan
Mesopotamia
Nephilim
Noah
Priestly writer
rainbow
Tiamat
transcendent god
Yahwist or Jehovist writer
Biblical Flood
• Key Elements
– Human Sin/Offence Against the Gods
– Divine Anger/Retribution
– Ark
– Covenant (rainbow)
– Dietary Restrictions (eating meat)
Noah and the Flood
COVENANT
Influence of
Babylonian Flood Story
Recreation
From the Nuremburg Chronicle at Beloit College,
by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514),
Two by Two
NOAH'S ARK
by Edward Hicks (1780-1849 )
The Dove and the Rainbow
COVENANT
Noah in the Koran
‫ نوح‬Nūḥ (the Arabic form of Noah) is a prophet in the Qur'an.
Because the Qur'an is more poem than prose, references to Noah are
scattered throughout the Qur'an, but no historical account of the entire
Deluge is given. Generally speaking, the references in the Qur'an are
consistent with Genesis and Islamic tradition generally accepts the
Genesis account as historical. However, the degree of detail varies
between the two accounts.
Generally, the Qur'anic account emphasizes Noah's preaching of the
monotheism of God, and the ridicule heaped on him by idolators.
The Koran (Surah Hud: 37) (Surat
al-Mumenoon: 23-26)
We sent Nuh to his people: He said, “O my people! worship Allah!
Ye have no other god but Him. Will ye not fear (Him)?”
The chiefs of the Unbelievers among his people said: “He is no
more than a man like yourselves: his wish is to assert his
superiority over you: if Allah had wished (to send messengers),
He could have sent down angels; never did we hear such a thing
(as he says), among our ancestors of old.”
(And some said): “He is only a man possessed: wait (and have
patience) with him for a time.”
(Nuh) said: “O my Lord! help me: for that they accuse me of
falsehood!”
God later instructed Nuh to build the ark:
But construct an Ark under Our eyes and Our inspiration, and
address Me no (further) on behalf of those who are in sin: for they
are about to be overwhelmed (in the Flood).
Noah’s Other Son
The Qur'anic account contains a detail not included in the Biblical
account: a reference to another son who chose not to enter the ark:
So the Ark floated with them on the waves (towering) like
mountains, and Nuh called out to his son, who had separated
himself (from the rest): “O my son! embark with us, and be not with
the unbelievers!” The son replied: “I will betake myself to some
mountain: it will save me from the water.” Nuh said: “This day
nothing can save, from the command of Allah, any but those on
whom He hath mercy!” And the waves came between them, and the
son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood. (Surah Hud: 42-43)
More on the Islamic Noah
Also, the Qur'anic account lacks several details of the Genesis account,
including the crime of disrespect by Noah's son Ham in mocking, rather
than covering his father's nakedness (Genesis 9:22), and the resultant
cursing of his grandson Canaan.
Some Muslims assert that the flood during Noah's time was a local event,
in contrast to the Biblical account which asserts that it was global. They
infer this from several Qur'anic verses. Other Muslims, however, hold that
the flood was indeed global. The Qur'an is not explicit on the point,
allowing for some variety of interpretation.
Ragnarok
Key terms:
Aesir
Asgard
Baldr
Bifrost
Einherjar
epithet
Ganglieri
Garm
Gylfi
Fenrir
Frigg
Heimdall
Hel
High One
Hoddmimir's Wood
Hyrm
Lif and Lifthrasir
Loki
Midgard Serpent
Mimir's Spring
Mjollnir
Naglfar
Odin
Surt
Thor
Tyr
Ragnarok
Vigrid
Yggdrasil
Add: Muspell
Odin Fighting the Wolf Fenrir
Ragnorok
“Doom of the Gods”
Signs and Portents
Assembly of the Enemies of the Good
The Gods Prepare
The Battle between Good and Evil
After the Battle—A Different Life
The Survivors
The New World and a New Order
Sons of Muspell
Odin and Fenrir
Comparative Mythology
Compare Germanic Biblical, Greco-Roman, and Babylonian Destruction Myths
Cause
Taking Action
Exceptions
Warning
Survivors
Provisions
The Disaster (Flood/Fire)
Gods’ Fear of Total Destruction
Gods’ Regret
Safety
Thanksgiving
Rewards