Narrating the Beginnings

The present book is a compilation of studies on narratives of mythical origins in different cultures written by outstanding specialists. It aims to provide a broad view on creation-myths from different times and areas of the world with a particular focus on how these texts contributed to the conception of the past as “universal history”, as a common origin of mankind or as the great opening, the theatrum mundi. On the other hand, the purpose of this book is to study the phenomenon from a typological point of view, analyzing the specific characteristics of this particular type of texts, rather than finding influences between the different cultures in the genesis of these narratives.

Introductory Remarks.- Cosmogony in Progress. The Creation Myths from Rgvedic to Brahmanic Texts.- Explaining the Emergence of Social Institutions in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerian Myth Enki and the World Order.- The Facets of the Diamond. Notes on Ancient Egyptian Cosmogonies.- Of Gods and Men: Bridging the Gap between Cosmogony and the Heroic Age in Early Greek Legendary History.- Evil in Genesis and Other Ancient Near Eastern Creation Stories.- The Emergence of the World in Early Greek Theogonies from Hesiod to Acusilaus.- The Myth of the Supreme Creator in Arabian Lands.- Völuspá, the Uncertainty of Norse Creation Myths and some Babylonian Parallels.- The Creation of the World according to Lakota Sioux Belief, Friedrich Pöhl.- Concluding Remarks.