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. The Editors Prof. Dr. Alberto Bernabé Pajares is Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid. Dr. Raquel Martín Hernández is Lecturer at the Faculty of Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid. Contents Contributors Introductory Remarks Cosmogony in Progress. The Creation Myths from Rgvedic to Brāhmanic Texts 1 Introduction 2 Cosmogony in the RV: the books of the families 2.1 The Cosmogonic Act 2.2 The Generation of the Cosmos 3 The Speculative Cosmogony of Book 10 Bibliography Explaining the Emergence of Social Institutions in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerian Myth Enki and the World Order 1 Introduction 2 The Text’s Composition and Structure 2.1 Praise of Enki 2.2 Enki’s “organization” of the Sumerian world 2.3 Inanna’s protest against Enki’s “organization” 3 In Lieu of a Conclusion: Enki and the World Order as Literary Concern About Sustainability or as Dream of a Utopian State Bibliography The Facets of the Diamond. Notes on Ancient Egyptian Cosmogonies Bibliography Of Gods and Men: Bridging the Gap between Cosmogony and the Heroic Age in Early Greek Legendary History Bibliography Evil in Genesis and Other Ancient Near Eastern Creation Stories 1 Introduction to the Question 2 Evil in Ugaritic and Mesopotamian Texts 3 Evil in the Garden (Genesis 2-3) 4 The Fallout in Genesis in Comparison with Atrahasis 5 After Genesis: Evil of the Creator and the Cosmic Enemies Bibliography The Emergence of the World in Early Greek Theogonies from Hesiod to Acusilaus* 1 Introduction 2 Oceanus and Tethys in the Iliad 3 Hesiod’s Theogony 4 Later theogonies: Alcman, the Titanomachy and the Theogonies of Epimenides and Musaeus 5 Two prose cosmogonies: Pherecydes of Syros and Acusilaus of Argos 6 Conclusion Bibliography The Myth of the Supreme Creator in Arabian Lands* 1 In the beginning 2 Creation or Creator ? 3 In search of the supreme creator Bibliography Völuspá, the Uncertainty of Norse Creation Myths and some Babylonian Parallels 1 Introduction 2 Ár var alda þar er Ymir byggði 3 Of dwarves and men 4 Of men and trees Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources The Creation of the World According to Lakota Sioux Belief 1 Oral tradition and basic religious beliefs 2 The Creation of the Universe as handed down by J. R. Walker 3 The concept of a continuous process of creation 4 Final remarks Bibliography Concluding Remarks: The Sun Was a Green Egg Bibliography 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. The Editors Prof. Dr. Alberto Bernabé Pajares is Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid. Dr. Raquel Martín Hernández is Lecturer at the Faculty of Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid.