New moon, the first lunar phase, is when the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye. It is this dark moon phase, I think, could relate to the mythology of “Creation from Chaos” (creation ex materia or ex nihilo), “dark nothingness: a formless, shapeless expanse; a primordial void or abyss, from which the created universe will be made. Which may be described as having the consistency of vapor or water, primordial waters filling the entire universe, a cosmic sea/ocean, or primordial swamp, and sometimes even muddy.
“Day talk centered on practicalities and sanctioning gossip; night firelit activities centered on conversations that evoked the imagination. Night activities steer away from tensions of the day to singing, dancing, religious ceremonies, and enthralling stories. For 60 hunter-gatherer societies, there was mention of ceremonies held by firelight involving song and dance for celebration, healing, initiation, mourning, fertility, and other purposes. Song and dance bonds groups through rhythm, coaction, and in many cases, altered states of consciousness. Night was prime time for entrance into the imaginary worlds of the supernatural. In night gatherings by the fireside, where darkness has fallen, the moon and starlit skies awaken the imagination of the supernatural, as well as a sense of vulnerability to malevolent spirits, predators, and antagonists countered by security in numbers. Body language is dimmed by firelight, and awareness of self and others is reduced. Facial expressions—flickering with the flames—are either softened, or in the case of fear or anguish, accentuated. Indigenous Tlingit elders of the Pacific Northwest Coast used to recount stories that extended over 4 days with the fire blazing up to 6–7 feet high. Narratives told by firelight at night include a gradient from tales of known people and events to legends based on past known events, to folklore about humans and animals, to myths that address origins and order. In most hunter-gatherer societies, firelit hours drew aggregations of individuals who were out foraging by day and provided time for ventures into such virtual communities, whether human or supernatural, via stories and ritual. Stories conveyed unifying cosmologies and charters for rules and rites governing behavior.” ref
In mythology, darkness represents more than the mere absence of light by symbolizing the primeval void, before the creation of the cosmos, and the origins of the cosmos. Ancient cultures viewed darkness as a sacred, creative, and destructive force, often personified as primordial phenomenon or being(s) who existed long before the first light.
“In Greek mythology, Chaos refers to the primordial void that existed before the creation of the cosmos. The term, derived from the Greek word meaning abyss or gap, signifies a formless state characterized by emptiness and darkness. The concept of Chaos symbolizes not just the absence of order but the potential for creation, with Eros often recognized as the force that brings divine order from the void. Chaos is explored as both a physical space and a metaphorical state of disorder preceding the emergence of the structured universe.” ref
“Also, in ancient Greek mythology, KHAOS (Chaos) was the first of the primordial gods (protogenoi) to emerge at the dawn of creation. KHAOS (Chaos) was the first of the primordial gods (protogenoi) to emerge at the dawn of creation. She was followed in quick succession by Gaia (Gaea, Earth), Tartaros (the Pit Below) and Eros (Procreation). As the goddess of the air (sky) Khaos was also the mother of birds, just as Gaia (the Earth) was the mother of land animals, and Thalassa (the Sea) was the mother of fish. Khaos was the lower atmosphere which surrounds the earth–both the invisible air and the gloom of fog and mist. The word khaos means “gap” or “chasm” being the space between heaven and earth. Khaos was the mother and grandmother of the other misty essences–Erebos (the mists of netherworld darkness), Aither (the ethereal mists of heaven), Nyx (the night) and Hemera (the day), as well as the numerous emotion-driving Daimones (Spirits) which haunted it.” ref
“Moreover, in ancient Greek mythology, Erebus was a primordial deity representing the personification of darkness, particularly associated with the shadowy realm of death and the underworld. In Greek cosmology, darkness was often linked to the afterlife, where souls journeyed into the depths of the underworld, a place of shadow and obscurity. Darkness in Greek cosmology was not merely an absence of light but a distinct and active force. The underworld, ruled by Hades, was a place of obscurity and shadow, reflecting the ambiguous fate of the human soul after death. In this tradition, darkness often signified the unknown and the eternal, as well as the boundaries between life and the afterlife.” ref
“The concept of light and darkness holds profound symbolic and theological significance across various religious traditions, serving as metaphors for creation, morality, and the nature of existence. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the first creation narrative begins with a void, described as “formless and empty,” over which “darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). Into this void, God introduces light, declaring, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and separates this light from the darkness. This initial act of creation is distinct from the later creation of celestial bodies—the sun and moon—on the fourth day.” ref
“In Sumerian cosmology, the primeval void and origin of all existence was Nammu (Primordial Sea and “Mother of Everything”)/Tiamat (Primordial Sea) and Abzu (existing within, alongside, and created out of Nammu’s cosmic ocean), Nammu is a significant figure in Sumerian mythology, often referred to as the “Mother of Everything” and known as the goddess of the Primeval Sea. She embodies the riverbeds and fertile marshlands of ancient Mesopotamia, where she is considered the primordial creator, giving birth to both heaven (An) and earth (Ki), as well as humankind. Nammu’s role extends to being the mother of several key deities, including Enki, who is associated with water and creation. Her spontaneous creation is celebrated in hymns that highlight her importance in Sumerian cosmogony.” ref
“A single explanatory text equates Nammu with Apsu. Nammu could be referred to as the creator of engur, a synonym of apsu, but when used in this context, it was not identical with the name of the goddess, which confirms she and the mythical apsu (ab = ‘water’ + zû = ‘deep’ – fresh water from the underground) body of water were not identical. Nammu could be referred to with epithets such as “lady who is great and high in the sea,” “mother who gave birth to heaven and earth,” or “first mother who gave birth to all gods.” While presumed theogony focused on Nammu as the closest possible parallel to Tiamat‘s role in the Babylonian creation myth recorded in the Enūma Eliš, the two were not always so closely connected, such as how there is no evidence Nammu was ever regarded as an antagonistic figure as seen with Babylonian Tiamat (the cosmic ocean, that mates with Abzû, the groundwater, Tiamat and Abzu filled the cosmic abyss with the primeval waters; Tiamat was also seen as a mother to all the gods and a mother of monsters).” ref, ref
“It was believed that all lakes, springs, rivers, fountains, rain, and even the Flood, as described in Atrahasis, originated from the Abzû. In Mesopotamian cosmogony, it is referred to as the freshwater primordial ocean below and above the earth; indeed the Earth itself was regarded as a goddess Ninhursag that was conceived from the mating of male Abzu with female saltwater stream Tiamat.” ref
“The ancient Egyptians perceived the primeval void as a dark, chaotic, and endless watery abyss (primordial waters) known as Nun. Nu (Nun) was the personification of the dark watery abyss that existed at the beginning of time, which contained the potential for all life. Nun (“The Inert One”) or Nu (“Watery One”) in ancient Egyptian religion, is the personification of the primordial watery abyss which existed at the time of creation and from which the creator sun god Ra arose. Nun/Nu was shown usually as male but also had aspects that could be represented as female or male, which the name Nu with a female gender ending and Nun, is written with a male gender ending. Nun is one of the eight deities of the Ogdoad representing ancient Egyptian primordial Chaos from which the primordial mound arose. Nun can be seen as the first of all the gods and the creator of reality and personification of the cosmos. Nun is also considered the god that will destroy existence and return everything to the Nun whence it came. No cult was addressed to Nun.” ref, ref
“The ancient Egyptians envisaged the oceanic abyss of the Nun as surrounding a bubble in which the sphere of life is encapsulated, representing the deepest mystery of their cosmogony. In ancient Egyptian creation accounts, the original mound of land comes forth from the waters of the Nun. The Nun is the source of all that appears in a differentiated world, from which emerge all aspects of divine and earthly existence. In the Ennead cosmogony, Nun is perceived as transcendent at the point of creation alongside Atum the creator god.” ref
“In the beginning, the universe only consisted of a great chaotic cosmic ocean, and the ocean itself was referred to as Nun. In some versions of this myth, at the beginning of time Mehet-Weret (“Great Flood” and “Celestial Cow” or “Cow Goddess” associated with the goddesses Neith, Bat/Hathor, and Isis, all of whom have similar characteristics, and like them she could be called the “Eye of Ra“), portrayed as a cow with a sun disk between her horns, gives birth to the sun, said to have risen from the waters of creation and to have given birth to the sun god Ra in some myths. The universe was enrapt by a vast mass of primordial waters, and the Benben, a pyramid mound, emerged amid this primal chaos. There was a lotus flower with Benben, and from this, when it blossomed, emerged Ra. There were many versions of the sun’s emergence, and it was said to have emerged directly from the mound or from a lotus flower that grew from the mound, in the form of a heron, falcon, scarab beetle, or human child. In Heliopolis, the creation was attributed to Atum, a deity closely associated with Ra, who was said to have existed in the waters of Nun as an inert potential being.” ref, ref
“The different ancient Egyptian myths from the major cities of Egypt: Hermopolis, Heliopolis, Memphis, and Thebes have some elements in common. They all held that the world had arisen out of the lifeless waters of chaos, called Nu. They also included a pyramid-shaped mound, called the benben (primeval mound/mound of creation “location on which the first rays of the sun fell,” probably the model for pyramids, also associated with the top stone of a pyramid, and related to the obelisk), which was the first thing to emerge from the waters. The creation myth promulgated in the city of Hermopolis focused on the nature of the universe before the creation of the world. The inherent qualities of the primeval waters were represented by a set of eight gods, called the Ogdoad. The goddess Naunet and her male counterpart Nu represented the stagnant primeval water itself; Huh and his counterpart Hauhet represented the water’s infinite extent; Kek and Kauket personified the darkness present within it; and Amun and Amaunet represented its hidden and unknowable nature, in contrast to the tangible world of the living. The primeval waters were themselves part of the creation process, therefore, the deities representing them could be seen as creator gods. According to the myth, the eight gods were originally divided into male and female groups. They were symbolically depicted as aquatic creatures because they dwelt within the water: the males were represented as frogs, and the females were represented as snakes. These two groups eventually converged, resulting in a great upheaval, which produced the pyramidal mound. From it emerged the sun, which rose into the sky to light the world.” ref, ref
“Before the ancient Egyptians built pyramids to house their god-kings for eternity, they built less enduring and less aesthetically pleasing tomb structures known as mastabas. The mastaba (precursor to the pyramids starting in the Predynastic era before 3100 BCE and continuing into later dynasties,) functioned as a physical recreation of the mound of creation (the Benben), which was believed to have risen from the primeval waters to begin the world. Mastabas would become the literal and figurative building blocks for pyramids, giving Egyptian engineers inspiration for their later, more imposing structures. Mastabas would also influence Egyptian religion. While mastabas were precursors to the pyramids, precursors to mastaba construction began in one of ancient Egypt’s first cities, Nekhen, more commonly known by its Greek name, Hierakonpolis which was an important city in the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods, from around Predynastic (c. 3200–3100 BCE) and Early Dynastic (c. 3100–2686 BCE) serving as a political and religious center.” ref, ref
“The earliest monumental mastaba, the oldest known in Egypt (ca. 3300 BCE or around 5,300 years ago), signaling elite status and wealth. Surrounding it, 53 graves with 58 individuals formed a Pre-dynastic/Proto-dynastic cemetery only a little younger, dated to ca. 3200-3000 BCE. The origins of Egyptian mastabas through new architectural and funerary discoveries at Tell el‑Farkha (occupied from about 3700 BCE (part of Naqada cultures “4000–3000 BCE,” three periods of Naqada I, Naqada II, and Naqada III); until about “2600 BCE,” Protodynastic/Early Dynastic Period). Excavations revealed a monumental Naqada IIIA2/B1 mud‑brick structure featuring sloping façades, niches, massive walls, and deliberately filled internal chambers—characteristics closely aligned with early mastaba architecture. Although its function cannot be determined with absolute certainty, the structure’s scale, layout, and construction methods strongly suggest a sepulchral purpose rather than domestic or administrative use. Additional Protodynastic graves from the site, including mastaba‑type tombs Nos. 100, 63, and 55, provide further evidence through their superstructures, subsidiary child burials, and rich assemblages of pottery, stone vessels, and copper tools. Together, these finds indicate that mastaba architecture may have emerged in the Eastern Delta at the onset of the Naqada III period before spreading across Lower Egypt. The Tell el‑Farkha material significantly enriches current debates on the development, symbolism, and regional origins of early Egyptian funerary architecture.” ref, ref, ref
“In ancient Egyptian cosmology, the Benben was the primeval mound that emerged from the chaotic, watery abyss of Nun at the dawn of creation (zep tepi, or “the First Time”). The Benben was the very first piece of stable, solid land/or fixed reality—the ultimate point of reference for the universe. In this way it could be seen as acting like a axis mundi, it was the absolute cosmic center where the creator god Atum landed to bring light, order, and life to the universe. In comparative mythology, the term axis mundi – also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, cosmic mountain, or world tree. Axis mundi closely relates to the mythological concept of the omphalos (navel) of the world or cosmos. Items presented as examples of the axis mundi by comparative mythologists include plants (notably a tree but also other types of plants such as a vine or stalk), a mountain/mound/hill, a column of smoke or fire, or a product of human manufacture (such as a staff, a tower, a ladder, a staircase, a maypole, a cross, a steeple, a rope, a totem pole, a pillar, a spire).” ref, ref
“The idea of a center to the cosmos played a role in elevating the status of whichever place was chosen as the cosmic center and in reflecting beliefs of the finite and closed nature of the cosmos. Babylon was described as the center of the Babylonian cosmos. In parallel, Jerusalem became “the navel of the earth” (Ezekiel 38:12). The finite nature of the cosmos was also suggested to the ancients by the periodic and regular movements of the heavenly bodies in the visible vicinity of the Earth. Specific examples of cosmic mountains or centers include one from Egyptian texts described as providing support for the sky, Mount Mashu from the Epic of Gilgamesh, Adam’s Peak, which is a sacred mountain in Sri Lanka associated with Adam or Buddha in Islamic and Buddhist traditions respectively, Mount Qaf in other Islamic and Arabic cosmologies, the mountain Harā Bərəz in Zoroastrian cosmology, Mount Meru in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmologies, Mecca as a cosmic center in Sufi cosmology (with minority traditions placing it as Medina or Jerusalem), and, in Tenrikyo, the Jiba at the Tenrikyo Church Headquarters in Tenri, Nara, Japan. In pre-Islamic Arabia, some central temples, including the Temple of Awwam, were cosmic centers.” ref, ref
“According to iconographic and literary evidence, the cosmic mountain, known as Mashu in the Epic of Gilgamesh, was thought to be located at or extend to both the westernmost and easternmost points of the earth, where the sun could rise and set respectively. As such, the model may be called a bi-polar model of diurnal solar movement. The gates for the rising and setting of the sun were also located at Mashu. Some accounts have Mashu as a tree growing at the center of the earth with roots descending into the underworld and a peak reaching to heaven. The cosmic mountain is also found in Egyptian cosmology, as Pyramid Text 1040c says that the mountain ranges on the eastern and western sides of the Nile act as the “two supports of the sky.” In the Baal Cycle, two cosmic mountains exist at the horizon acting as the point through which the sun rises from and sets into the underworld (Mot). The tradition of the twin cosmic mountains may also lie behind Zechariah 6:1.” ref
“The cosmic mountain is an important metaphor in the Old Testament. People in the ancient Near East thought of mountains as the home of the gods and the place from which the gods issued decrees. The biblical writers shared this worldview. Across the ancient world, priests and poets tell of a cosmic mountain—the place from which creation is born and where humans encounter the gods. In the Bible, Mount Zion is the abode of the god of Israel. But this mount also sits at the center of modern-day Jerusalem. People live and work across Mount Zion. You can pick up a nice scarf or some great falafel there. Such is the paradox of the cosmic mountain: it is at once sacred and mundane, terrestrial and divine. The cosmic mountain is the place where the heavens and earth overlap. The narrative journey of the Bible is blazed with cosmic mountains. From Mount Moriah to Mount Sinai, Mount Tabor to Mount Olivet, sacred mountains structure the biblical story.” ref, ref
“The ancient Near Eastern earth was a “Flat Earth” or single-continent disk resting on a body of water sometimes compared to a raft. An aerial view of the cosmography of the earth is pictorially elucidated by the Babylonian Map of the World. Here, the city Babylon is near the Earth’s center, and it is on the Euphrates river. Other kingdoms and cities surround it. The north is covered by an enormous mountain range, akin to a wall. This mountain range was traversed in some hero myths, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh where Gilgamesh travels past it to an area only accessible by gods and other great heroes. The furthest and most remote parts of the earth were believed to be inhabited by fantastic creatures. In the Babylonian Map, the world continent is surrounded by a bitter salt-water Ocean (called marratu, or “salt-sea”) akin to Oceanus described by the poetry of Homer and Hesiod in early Greek cosmology, as well as the statement in the Bilingual Creation of the World by Marduk that Marduk created the first dry land surrounded by a cosmic sea. Egyptian cosmology appears to have also shared this view, as one of the words used for sea, shen-wer, means “great encircler”. World-encircling oceans are also found in the Fara tablet VAT 12772 from the 3rd millennium BCE and the Myth of Etana. Etana was the thirteenth king of the first dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian King List.” ref, ref
“Four different Egyptian models of the firmament and/or the heavenly realm are known. One model was a flat Earth (or slightly convex) celestial plane, which, depending on the text, was thought to be supported in various ways: by pillars, staves, scepters, or mountains at the extreme ends of the Earth. The four supports give rise to the motif of the “four corners of the world“. Texts mention the four corners of the world, referring to the extremities of the world. A common title among powerful kings who ascribed to themselves that they ruled over this area was King of the Four Corners. For example, Hammurabi (ca. 1810–1750 BCE) received the title of “King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the Four Quarters of the World”. Monarchs of the Assyrian empire, like Ashurbanipal, also took on this title. (Although the title implies a square or rectangular shape, in this case it is taken to refer to the four quadrants of a circle, which is joined at the world’s center.) Likewise, the “four corners” motif would also appear in some biblical texts, such as Isaiah 11:12. In Greco-Roman and Jewish literature, the phrase “ends of the earth” referred to the outermost points of the earth that terminated at Oceanus, the outer ocean circling around the earth disc.” ref
“A cosmic ocean, cosmic sea, primordial waters, or celestial river is a mythological motif that represents the world or cosmos enveloped by a vast primordial ocean. Found in many cultures and civilizations, the cosmic ocean exists before the creation of the Earth. The cosmic ocean can also represent or embody the chaos that some myths perceive as predetermined. The primacy of the water in some creation myths corresponds to the cosmological model of land surrounded by the world ocean. The sky is often thought of as something like the upper sea. The emergence of our Earth with its air and visible eruptions of fire from a pre-existing chaos or even freshwater ocean like the Mesopotamien Abzu is usually presented as an elementary factor of a first cosmic order, followed by the narrative of a flood catastrophe. The cosmic ocean takes form in the mythology of Yazidism, Ahl-e Haqq, Alevism, Ancient Egyptian mythology, Ancient Greek mythology, Canaanite mythology, Ancient Hindu mythology, Ancient Iranian, Sumerian, Zoroastrianism, Ancient Roman mythology and many other world mythologies.” ref
“In ancient creation texts, the primordial waters are often represented as having filled the entire universe and are the first source of the gods. The act of creation is the establishment of an inhabitable space separate from the enveloping waters. The cosmic ocean is the shape of the universe before creation. The ocean is boundless, unordered, unorganized, amorphous, formless, dangerous, terrible. In some myths, its cacophony is noted, opposed to the ordered rhythm of the sea. Chaos can be personified as water or by the unorganized interaction of water and fire, The transformation of chaos into order is also the transition from water to land. In many ancient cosmogonic myths, the ocean and chaos are equivalent and inseparable from each other. The ocean remains outside space even after the emergence of the land. At the same time, the ability of the ocean to generate is realized in the appearance of the Earth from it and in the presence of a mythological creature in the ocean that promotes generation or, on the contrary, zealously defends the “old order” and prevents the beginning of the chain of births from the ocean.” ref
“The idea of the primacy of the ocean as an element, from the bowels of which the Earth arises or is created, is universally prevalent. This representation is present in many mythologies of the world. In Asia and North America, the Earth-diver myth is found. In this myth a creator god dives into the cosmic ocean to bring up and form the Earth. A diving bird, catching a lump of earth from the primordial ocean, often appears in the mythologies of the Native Americans and Siberian peoples. In Polynesian mythology, Maui fishes islands. In Scandinavian mythology, the gods raise the Earth, and Thor catches Jörmungandr from the bottom of the ocean. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the Earth itself comes to the surface in the form of a mound. In Hindu Puranas, when Hiranyaksha hid the Earth in the cosmic ocean, Lord Vishnu took the Varaha (boar) avatar to save it. Earth and sky are almost universally represented as feminine and masculine, a married couple standing at the beginning of a theogonic or theocosmogonic process. At the same time, the feminine and masculine principles are associated with the element of water and with chaos; usually they are conceived on the side of “nature” rather than “culture.” In ancient Egyptian mythology, the Earth itself comes to the surface in the form of a mound.” ref
“The cosmology of the ancient Near East (cross-cultural group of cosmologies or a “cradle cosmology”) refers to beliefs about where the universe came from, how it developed, and its physical layout, in the ancient Near East, an area that corresponds with the Middle East today (including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, the Levant, Anatolia, and the Arabian Peninsula). The basic understanding of the world in this region from premodern times included a flat earth, a solid layer or barrier above the sky (the firmament), a cosmic ocean located above the firmament, a region above the cosmic ocean where the gods lived, and a netherworld located at the furthest region in the direction down. Creation myths explained where the universe came from, including which gods created it (and how), as well as how humanity was created. These beliefs are attested as early as the fourth millennium BCE or around 6,000 years ago and dominated until the modern era, with the only major competing system being the Hellenistic cosmology that developed in Ancient Greece in the mid-1st millennium BCE or around 2,500 years ago. Geographically, these views are known from the Mesopotamian cosmologies from Babylonia, Sumer, and Akkad; the Levantine or West Semitic cosmologies from Ugarit and ancient Israel and Judah (the biblical cosmology); the Egyptian cosmology from Ancient Egypt; and the Anatolian cosmologies from the Hittites. This system of cosmology went on to have a profound influence on views in early Greek cosmology, later Jewish cosmology, patristic cosmology, and Islamic cosmology (including Quranic cosmology). The cosmology of the ancient Near East can be divided into cosmography, the understanding of the physical structure and features of the cosmos, and cosmogony, the creation myths describing the origins of the cosmos.” ref
“A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. Creation myths often share several features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions. Creation myths develop in oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions; found throughout human culture, they are the most common form of myth. Mythologists have applied various schemes to classify creation myths found throughout human cultures. Some common motifs reappear in stories the world over.” ref
“The classification identifies five basic types:
- Creation ex nihilo “from nothing” in which the creation is through the thought, word, dream, or bodily secretions of a divine being (central today to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). But also is found in creation stories from ancient Egypt, the Rig Veda, and many animistic cultures in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and North America.
- Creation from chaos (a form of creation ex nihilo) “nothing initially but a formless, shapeless expanse,” which is also sometimes called a void or an abyss, contains the material with which the created world will be made. Chaos may be described as having the consistency of vapor or water, dimensionless, and sometimes salty or muddy. These myths associate chaos with evil and oblivion, in contrast to “order” (cosmos), which is the good.” ref
- Creatio ex materia “from something” eternal formless matter, namely the dark and still primordial ocean of chaos. Creation ex nihilo is somewhat similar to and/or in contrast to creatio ex materia. Creatio ex materia refers to the idea that matter has always existed and that the modern cosmos is a reformation of pre-existing, primordial matter; it is sometimes articulated by the philosophical dictum that nothing can come from nothing. In ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the universe is formed ex materia from eternal formless matter, namely the dark and still primordial ocean of chaos. African traditional religions tend to favor creatio ex materia over creatio ex nihilo. In Sumerian myth, this cosmic ocean is personified as the goddess Nammu “who gave birth to heaven and earth” and had existed forever; in the Babylonian creation epic Enūma Eliš, pre-existent chaos is made up of freshwater Apsu and saltwater Tiamat, and from Tiamat, the god Marduk created Heaven and Earth; in Egyptian creation myths, a pre-existent watery chaos personified as the god Nun, and associated with darkness, gave birth to the primeval hill (or in some versions, a primeval lotus flower, or in others, a celestial cow); and in Greek traditions, the ultimate origin of the universe, depending on the source, is sometimes Oceanus (a river that circles the Earth), Night, or water. The idea of creatio ex materia is found in ancient near eastern cosmology, early Greek cosmology and across the board in ancient Greek philosophy. It was also held by a few early Christians, although creatio ex nihilo was the dominant concept among such writers. Although ancient Near Eastern cosmology is read as invoking a process of creatio ex materia, occasional suggestions have been made that creatio ex nihilo can be found at least in some texts, including the Egyptian Memphite theology and the Hebrew Biblical Genesis creation narrative. Hilber rejected these interpretations, viewing both as consistent with creatio ex materia and instead suggesting that some passages in the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Proverbs, and the Psalms indicate a form of creatio ex nihilo. The cosmogonical doxologies of the Book of Amos also present a view of creation ex nihilo.” ref, ref
- Earth-diver creation in which a diver, usually a bird or amphibian sent by a creator, plunges to the seabed through a primordial ocean to bring up sand or mud which develops into a terrestrial world. “The earth-diver is a common character in various traditional creation myths. In these stories, a supreme being usually sends an animal (most often a type of bird, but also crustaceans, insects, and fish in some narratives) into the primal waters to find bits of sand or mud with which to build habitable land. Sometimes these myths are interpreted psychologically or cosmogonically. In both cases, emphasis is placed on beginnings emanating from the depths. The Earth-diver is one of humanity’s oldest creation motifs, and spans thousands of years and is found in cultures globally, though it is most prominent in Indigenous North America, Siberia, as well as diffused throughout practically all of Eurasia and is found in ancient India as well.” ref, ref, ref
- Emergence myths in which progenitors pass through a series of worlds and metamorphoses until reaching the present world. “In emergence myths, humanity emerges from another world into the one they currently inhabit. The previous world is often considered the womb of the earth mother, and the process of emergence is likened to the act of giving birth. The role of midwife is usually played by a female deity, like the spider woman of several mythologies of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Male characters rarely figure into these stories, and scholars often consider them in counterpoint to male-oriented creation myths, like those of the ex nihilo variety. Emergence myths can describe the creation of people and/or supernatural beings as a staged ascent or metamorphosis from nascent forms through a series of subterranean worlds to arrive at their current place and form.” ref
- (World parent dual being Sky (usually male) and Earth (usually female), who were so tightly bound to each other in the primeval state; later involving a Separation of heaven and earth) “There are two types of world parent myths, both describing a separation or splitting of a primeval entity, the world parent or parents. One form describes the primeval state as an eternal union of two parents, and the creation takes place when the two are pulled apart. These myths often depict creation as the result of a sexual union and serve as genealogical record of the deities born from it. In the second form of world parent myths, creation itself springs from dismembered parts of the body of the primeval being. Often, in these stories, the limbs, hair, blood, bones, or organs of the primeval being are somehow severed or sacrificed to transform into sky, earth, animal or plant life, and other worldly features. These myths tend to emphasize creative forces as animistic in nature rather than sexual, and depict the sacred as the elemental and integral component of the natural world.” ref “The separation of heaven and earth is a cross-cultural creation myth event. The separation serves the role of differentiating the chaotic, undifferentiated cosmos (sometimes interpreted as a universal cosmic ocean) into coherent and organized parts. The mechanics and cause differ from one story to another, but is usually either a spontaneous process, or a result of the agency of a deity. In ancient Near Eastern texts, the original mass that is separated is a solid in older Sumerian literature, but becomes a water in younger Akkadian literature (such as the Enuma Elish). Sumerian literature mentions the separation event most frequently than any other. Heaven and earth are described as being in a cosmic and physical, symbolized as a marriage, in the earliest literature from the ancient Near East (like the Sumerian Song of the hoe), and as a common and recurring mythological motif later (like in the Danaids of Aeschylus). In the 2nd millennium BC, some texts shift emphasis from the union, to the separation, between heaven and earth, an idea that begins to be seen not only in Sumerian but also in Akkadian, Phoenician, Egyptian, and Greek mythologies.” ref Creation by the dismemberment of a primordial being.
- Creation by the splitting or ordering of a primordial unity such as the cracking of a cosmic egg or a bringing order from chaos. “The cosmic egg, world egg, or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in the cosmogonies of many cultures and civilizations, including in Proto-Indo-European mythology, and West African Dogon mythology, as well as in the mythology of China, India, Japan, Finland, Iran, Greece, and Italy. Typically, there is an egg which, upon “hatching”, either gives rise to the universe itself or gives rise to a primordial being who, in turn, creates the universe. The egg is sometimes lain on the primordial waters of the Earth. Typically, the upper half of the egg, or its outer shell, becomes the heaven (firmament) and the lower half, or the inner yolk, becomes the Earth.” ref, ref
An alternative system based on six recurring narrative themes was designed:
- Primeval abyss, an infinite expanse of waters or space
- Originator deity which is awakened or an eternal entity within the abyss
- Originator deity poised above the abyss
- Cosmic egg or embryo
- Originator deity creating life through sound or word
- Life generating from the corpse or dismembered parts of an originator deity.” ref
“Religious or mythological cosmology is a body of beliefs based on mythological, religious, and esoteric literature and traditions of creation myths and eschatology. Historically, religious cosmology and myths have intertwined with scientific and philosophical understandings, but recent scientific cosmology has challenged many aspects of religious cosmology. Generally, scientific cosmology is grounded in empirical evidence and observations, while religious and mythological cosmology relies on the persuasive arguments by prophets, philosophers, or non-scientific propositions. Cosmology deals with the world as the totality of space, time, and all phenomena. Historically, it has had quite a broad scope, and in many cases was found in religion.” ref
“An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place after the initial origin. These stories aim to explain the origins of natural phenomena or human institutions within an already existing world. Within academic circles, the term myth is often used specifically to refer to origin and (creation myth) cosmogonic myths. A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it.” ref, ref
This myth understanding is all part of “Comparative mythology studies where myths from multiple cultures are used to identify recurring structures, symbols, and functions. Scholars use cross-cultural parallels to trace the development of religions and societies, to reconstruct ancestral narratives, and to evaluate psychological interpretations of myth. Comparative catalogs map recurring motifs such as primordial waters, world-egg cosmogonies, flood cataclysms, dying-and-reborn deities, and creative sacrifice narratives across disparate regional traditions. Comparative mythologists come from various fields, including folklore, literature, history, linguistics, and religious studies, and they have used a variety of methods to compare myths. Some scholars look for underlying structures shared by different myths.” ref
“Mythology usually refers to the collection of myths of a group of people. The main characters in myths are usually non-humans, such as gods, demigods, and other supernatural figures. Others include humans, animals, or combinations in their classification of myth. Stories of everyday humans, although often of leaders of some type, are usually contained in legends, as opposed to myths. Though myth and other folklore genres may overlap, myth is often thought to differ from genres such as legend and folktale in that neither are considered to be sacred narratives. Myths are sometimes distinguished from legends in that myths deal with gods, usually have no historical basis, and are set in a world of the remote past, very different from that of the present. Comparative mythology is a systematic comparison of myths from different cultures. It seeks to discover underlying themes that are common to the myths of multiple cultures. In some cases, comparative mythologists use the similarities between separate mythologies to argue that those mythologies have a common source. This source may inspire myths or provide a common “protomythology” that diverged into the mythologies of each culture.” ref
“The structuralist theory of mythology is a method of analyzing mythology, in which the mythology is treated as if it follows the same structure and rules as language. It is said that myth, like language, can be broken down into constituents (which he called “mythemes” in the case of mythology). Each constituent could then be addressed separately but, at the same time, compared and contrasted with the other constituents. The structuralist method differs from the symbolist method, which instead seeks meaning solely within the constituents and not between them. Unlike the constituents of language, the constituents of a myth, which he labels “mythemes”, function as “bundles of relations”. A myth is categorized sequentially and by similarities. Through analyzing the commonalities between the “mythemes” of a story, understanding can be wrought from its categories. Thus, a structural approach towards myths is to address all of these constituents. Furthermore, a structural approach should account for all versions of a myth, as all versions are relevant to the function of the myth as a whole.” ref
“In structuralism-influenced studies of mythology, a mytheme is a fundamental generic unit of narrative structure (typically involving a relationship between a character, an event, and a theme) from which myths are thought to be constructed—a minimal unit that is always found shared with other, related mythemes and reassembled in various ways (“bundled”) or linked in more complicated relationships. For example, the myths of a cosmic ocean (or primordial waters) being one of humanity’s oldest and most widespread mythological motifs, representing a vast, formless abyss existed before the creation of the world, seen across many cultures and civilizations myths, and sharing several elements; leading many scholars to conclude that they likely share a source, i.e. passed down in cultures or from one to another.” ref, ref
“The creation myth of Judaism and Christianity is found in chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Genesis. While both faith traditions have historically understood the account as a single unified story, modern scholars of biblical criticism have identified it as being a composite of two stories drawn from different sources expressing distinct views about the nature of God and creation. According to the documentary hypothesis, the first account – which begins with Genesis 1:1 and ends with the first sentence of Genesis 2:4 – is from the later Priestly source (P), possibly composed during the 6th century BCE. In this story, God (referred to with the title Elohim, a term related to the generic Hebrew word for ‘god‘) creates the heavens and the Earth in six days, solely by issuing commands for it to be so – and then rests on, blesses, and sanctifies the seventh day (i.e., the Biblical Sabbath).” ref
“The second account, which consists of the remainder of Genesis 2, is from an earlier non-Priestly source, traditionally the Jahwist source (J) dated to the 10th or 9th century BCE. In this story, God (referred to by the personal name Yahweh) creates Adam, the first man, by “forming” him from dust – and places him in the Garden of Eden where he is given dominion over the animals. The first woman, “built” from a rib taken from Adam’s side, is created to be his matching companion; after the couple are expelled from the Garden in Genesis 3 for disobeying God, Adam names the woman Eve. The first major comprehensive draft of the Torah – the series of five books which begins with Genesis and ends with Deuteronomy – theorized as being the J source, is thought to have been composed in either the late 7th or the 6th century BCE, and was later expanded by other authors (the P source) into a work appreciably resembling the received text of Genesis.” ref
“The authors of the text were influenced by Mesopotamian mythology and ancient Near Eastern cosmology, and borrowed several themes from them, adapting and integrating them with their unique belief in one God. The combined narrative is a critique of the Mesopotamian theology of creation: Genesis affirms monotheism and denies polytheism. Although Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Christians attribute the authorship of the Book of Genesis to Moses “as a matter of faith”, the hypothesis of Mosaic authorship has been questioned since the 11th century and rejected in scholarship since the 17th century. Scholars of Biblical criticism conclude that it, together with the following four books (making up what Jews call the Torah and biblical scholars call the Pentateuch), is “a composite work, the product of many hands and periods.” ref
“The creation narrative consists of two separate accounts drawn from different sources. The first account, which spans from Genesis 1:1 to the first sentence of Genesis 2:4, is from what scholars call the Priestly source (P), largely dated to the 6th century BCE. The second account, which comprises the remainder of Genesis 2, is from an older non-Priestly source – traditionally the Jahwist source (J) dated to the 10th or 9th century BCE according to the documentary hypothesis. The two stories were combined, but there is currently no scholarly consensus on when the narrative reached its final form. A common hypothesis among biblical scholars today is that the first major comprehensive narrative of the Pentateuch was composed in the 7th or 6th century BCE. A sizeable minority of scholars believe that the first eleven chapters of Genesis, also known as the primeval history, can be dated to the 3rd century BCE based on discontinuities between the contents of the work and other parts of the Hebrew Bible.” ref
Genesis creation narrative and Genesis creation narrative
“Comparative mythology provides historical and cross-cultural perspectives for Jewish mythology. Both sources behind the Genesis creation narrative were influenced by Mesopotamian mythology, borrowing several themes from them but adapting them to Israelite religion and establishing a monotheistic creation in opposition to the polytheistic creation myth of ancient Israel’s neighbors. Genesis 1 bears striking similarities and differences with Enuma Elish, a Babylonian creation myth. The myth begins with two primeval entities: Apsu, the male freshwater deity, and Tiamat, the female saltwater deity. The first gods were born from their sexual union.” ref
“The younger gods killed both Apsu and Tiamat. Marduk, the leader of the gods, builds the world with Tiamat’s body, which he splits in two. With one half, he creates a dome-shaped firmament in the sky to hold back Tiamat’s upper waters. With the other half, Marduk forms dry land to hold back her lower waters. Marduk then organizes the heavenly bodies and assigns tasks to the gods in maintaining the cosmos. When the gods complain about their work, Marduk creates humans out of the blood of the god Kingu. The grateful gods build a temple for Marduk in Babylon. This is similar to the Baal Cycle, in which the Canaanite god Baal builds himself a cosmic temple over seven days.” ref
“In both Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish, creation consists of bringing order out of chaos. Before creation, there was nothing but a cosmic ocean. During creation, a dome-shaped firmament is put in place to hold back the water and make Earth habitable. Both conclude with the creation of a human called “man” and the building of a temple for the god (in Genesis 1, this temple is the entire cosmos). In contrast to Enuma Elish, Genesis 1 is monotheistic. There is no theogony (account of God’s origins), and there is no trace of the resistance to the reduction of chaos to order (Greek: theomachy, lit. “God-fighting”), all of which mark the Mesopotamian creation accounts.” ref
“The gods in Enuma Elish are amoral, they have limited powers, and they create humans to be their slaves. In Genesis 1, however, God is all-powerful. He creates humans in the divine image and cares for their wellbeing, and gives them dominion over every living thing. Enuma Elish has also left traces on Genesis 2. Both begin with a series of statements of what did not exist at the moment when creation began; Enuma Elish has a spring (in the sea) as the point where creation begins, paralleling the spring (on the land; Genesis 2 is notable for being a “dry” creation story) in Genesis 2:6 that “watered the whole face of the ground”; in both myths, the respective deities first create a man to serve them, then animals and vegetation.” ref
“At the same time, and as with Genesis 1, the Jewish version has drastically changed its Babylonian model: Eve, for example, seems to fill the role of a mother goddess when, in Genesis 4:1, she says that she has “created a man with Yahweh”, but she is not a divine being like her Babylonian counterpart. Genesis 2 has close parallels with a second Mesopotamian myth, the Atra-Hasis epic – parallels that, in fact, extend throughout Genesis 2–11, from the Creation to the Flood and its aftermath. The two share numerous plot details (e.g., the divine garden and the role of the first man in the garden, the creation of the man from a mixture of earth and divine substance, the chance of immortality), and have a similar overall theme: the gradual clarification of man’s relationship with God(s) and animals.” ref
First day (1:3–5)
“Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. — Genesis 1:3–5 (NRSVue) The process of creation illustrates God’s sovereignty and omnipotence. God creates by fiat; things come into existence by divine decree. Like a king, God has merely to speak for things to happen. On the first day, God creates light, separates the light from the darkness, and names both concepts. God therefore creates time.” ref
“Creation by speech is not found in Mesopotamian mythology, but it is present in some ancient Egyptian creation myths. While some Egyptian accounts have a god creating the world by sneezing or masturbating, the Memphite Theology has Ptah create by speech. In Genesis, creative acts begin with speech and are finalized with naming. This has parallels in other ancient Near Eastern cultures. In the Memphite Theology, the creator god names everything. Similarly, Enuma Elish begins when heaven, earth, and the gods were unnamed. Walton writes, “In this way of thinking, things did not exist unless they were named.” ref
“According to biblical scholar Nahum Sarna, this similarity is “wholly superficial” because in other ancient narratives creation by speech involves magic: The pronouncement of the right word, like the performance of the right magical actions, is able to, or rather, inevitably must, actualize the potentialities which are inherent in the inert matter. In other words, it implies a mystic bond uniting matter to its manipulator … Worlds apart is the Genesis concept of creation by divine fiat. Notice how the Bible passes over in absolute silence the nature of the matter—if any—upon which the divine word acted creatively. Its presence or absence is of no importance, for there is no tie between it and God. “Let there be!” or, as the Psalmist echoed it, “He spoke and it was so”, [Psalm 33:9] refers not to the utterance of the magic word, but to the expression of the omnipotent, sovereign, unchallengeable will of the absolute, transcendent God to whom all nature is completely subservient.” ref
Second day (1:6–8)
“And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. — Genesis 1:6–8 (NRSVue) On the second day, God creates the firmament (rāqîa), which is named šamayim (‘sky’ or ‘heaven’), to divide the waters. Water was a “primal generative force” in pagan mythologies. In Genesis, however, the primeval ocean possesses no powers and is completely at God’s command. Rāqîa is derived from rāqa’, the verb used for the act of beating metal into thin plates.” ref
“Ancient people throughout the world believed the sky was solid, and the firmament in Genesis 1 was understood to be a solid dome. In ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the earth is a flat disc surrounded by the waters above and the waters below. The firmament is a solid dome that rests on mountains at the edges of the earth. It is transparent, allowing men to see the blue of the waters above with “windows” to allow rain to fall. The sun, moon and stars are underneath the firmament. Deep within the earth is the underworld or Sheol. The earth is supported by pillars sunk into the waters below. The waters above are the source of precipitation, so the function of the rāqîa was to control or regulate the weather. In the Genesis flood narrative, “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth” from the waters beneath the earth and from the “windows” of the sky.” ref
Third day (1:9–13)
“And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. — Genesis 1:9–13 (NRSVue)” ref
“By the end of the third day God has created a foundational environment of light, heavens, seas and earth. God does not create or make trees and plants, but instead commands the earth to produce them. The underlying theological meaning seems to be that God has given the previously barren earth the ability to produce vegetation, and it now does so at his command. “According to (one’s) kind” appears to look forward to the laws found later in the Pentateuch, which lay great stress on holiness through separation.” ref
“In the first three days, God set up time, climate, and vegetation, all necessary for the proper functioning of the cosmos. For ancient peoples living in an agrarian society, climatic or agricultural disasters could cause widespread suffering through famine. Nevertheless, Genesis 1 describes God’s original creation as “good” – the natural world was not originally a threat to human survival. The three levels of the cosmos are next populated in the same order in which they were created – heavens, sea, earth.” ref
Genesis’ “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” Is quite similar to Egyptian mythology stories of their Mound of Creation.
AI Overview: You are spot on. Both accounts share a core motif known as cosmogony: the transition from a state of formless chaos and water into an ordered, habitable world.
The connections between the two creation traditions include:
- The Primeval Sea: In Genesis, the earth begins as a “formless void” covered by deep, chaotic waters. Similarly, in Egyptian mythology, the universe before creation is an infinite, dark, and chaotic ocean called Nun.
- The Emerging Land: In Genesis 1:9, God commands the waters to gather so that “dry land appear[s]”. In the Egyptian myth of Heliopolis, the creator sun god (Atum or Ra) rises out of the primeval waters of Nun and spits or creates the first piece of dry land, known as the benben (the primeval mound).
- Separation of Elements: Both stories emphasize bringing order out of chaos. Genesis separates the waters above from the waters below and dry land, while the Egyptian creation process separates the earth (Geb) from the sky (Nut).
- While the Egyptian account leads to a polytheistic worldview focused on the sun god and the Nile’s cyclical rebirth, both narratives use the foundational imagery of land emerging from a watery abyss to symbolize the establishment of life and stability.
Moreover, to me, the Mesopotamian Enlil, God of air, wind, and earth separating Sky and Earth, sounds similar to Genesis 1:2 Bible story about the spirit of the Lord flying over the water of the deep separating Sky and Earth and creating the first dry land.
Genesis 1:2-13 “1 In the beginning, when God created the universe 2 the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water. 3 Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared. 4 God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, 5 and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the first day. 6-7 Then God commanded, “Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places”—and it was done. So, God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it. 8 He named the dome “Sky.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the second day. 9 Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear”—and it was done. 10 He named the land “Earth,” and the water which had come together he named “Sea.” And God was pleased with what he saw. 11 Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit”—and it was done. 12 So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw. 13 Evening passed and morning came—that was the third day.”-ref
AI Overview: That is a keen observation. The striking similarities between the Mesopotamian god Enlil and the creation accounts in Genesis exist because the stories share the same ancient Near Eastern cultural and literary roots. The shared themes reflect how later biblical writers utilized the familiar mythological vocabulary and cultural context of the ancient Near East to articulate their own theological worldviews.
The parallels between these traditions highlight several shared motifs:
- Separating Sky and Earth: In Sumerian myths like The Song of the Hoe, Enlil famously separated the sky god An from the earth goddess Ki to create space for humanity and agriculture to thrive. This mirrors the Genesis account of God separating the waters above from the waters below to create a habitable sky and dry land.
- The Breath/Spirit of God: The Hebrew word for spirit or wind in Genesis is ruach (רוּחַ), which translates literally to “breath” or “wind.” Similarly, the Sumerian name Enlil translates directly to “Lord Wind”. Both portray the divine presence as a powerful, animating force of wind moving over the waters.
- Creating Dry Land: The motif of a supreme deity dividing the cosmos and bringing order out of chaotic, primordial waters to establish dry land is a foundational concept across Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Hebrew cosmologies.
“The Sumerian Genesis describes the Abzu as a cosmic freshwater ocean that surrounds our mother Earth (created in its midst) above and below, so the sketch shows the same as Babylon’s map, now in side view. A bubble of breathable air clings to earth, with the Abzu’s boundary layer as a roof like on Athrahasis-Noah’s lifeboat. Further details, such as Noah’s island Dilmun and the tunnel (through it, the sun god Shamash traveled dry-footed from west to east during the night), are taken from the Epic of Gilgamesh. An important technical detail are also the sluices built into sky. Through them, the gods, well skilled in the construction of irrigation systems, supplied their Garden of Eden with rain, but also unleashed the Flood.” ref
“The Babylonian Map of the World (also Imago Mundi or Mappa mundi) is a Babylonian clay tablet with a schematic world map and two inscriptions written in the Akkadian language. Dated to no earlier than the 9th century BCE or 2,900 years ago (with a late 8th or 7th century BCE date being more likely), it includes a brief and partially lost textual description. The tablet describes the oldest known depiction of the then known world. 14 – 17. Ocean (salt water, Akkadian: idmar-ra-tum). The text above the map (11 lines) seems to describe part of the creation of the world by Marduk, the patron god of Babylon, who parted the primeval salt Ocean (the goddess Tiamat) and thus created Land and Sea. Of the Sea it says: the ruine[d] gods which he (Marduk) set[tled] inside the Sea […] are present; the viper, the great sea-serpent inside. Next, on Land, a series of two mythical creatures (“the Anzu-bird, and scorpi[on-man]“) and at least fifteen land animals are mentioned, “beasts which Marduk created on top of the res[tl]ess Sea” (i.e. on the land, visualized as a kind of giant raft floating in the Sea), among them mountain goat, gazelle, lion, wolf, monkey and female-monkey, ostrich, cat, and chameleon. With the exception of the cat, all these animals were typical of faraway lands. The last two lines of the text refer to three legendary heroes: [U]tnapištim (the hero of the Flood as described in Gilgamesh’s epic), Sargon (ruler of Akkad), and Nur-[D]agan the King of Buršaḫa[nda] (opponent of Sargon).” ref
“In the creation myth of the Heliopolitan form of ancient Egyptian religion, Benben was the mound that arose from the primordial waters Nu upon which the creator deity Atum settled. The Benben stone (pyramidion) is the top stone of the pyramid.” ref
Mound of Creation
“Ancient Egyptian temples were not just homes for the gods, they were also replicas of the universe at the moment of creation.” ref
A Model of the Universe
“Ancient Egyptian temples were not just homes for the gods, they were also replicas of the universe at the moment of creation. In Egyptian mythology, the universe emerged from a vast cosmic ocean of nothingness. For countless eons, the creator-sun god Atum had drifted asleep in this primordial sea which the Egyptians called Nun. Eventually, the creator god awoke and willed a small island to emerge from out of the cosmic sea. From atop this hill, which the Egyptians called the mound of the “First Event,” Atum proceeded to call all things into existence starting with the male god Shu (the air) and the goddess Tefnut (moisture). Next came a third generation of deities in the form of the male earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. After further generations, every feature of nature was born, each with a god or goddess to govern it.” ref
“Egyptian temples were replicas of this early universe with inner sanctuaries representing the primeval hill. As visitors moved from the outer courts, through the hypostyle hall and into the holy of holies, the floor level gradually rose while the ceilings became lower. It also became darker as the open roofed courts and the hypostyle halls with their clerestory windows gave way to dark inner chambers with just one small light shaft in the inner chapel to illuminate the god’s cult statue. This confined and shadowy atmosphere transported the visitors privileged enough to see the god in his home back to the very beginning of time—but just a few priests and Pharaoh himself could enter this holy of holies. Within this sacred model of space and time, a hypostyle hall mimicked a thicket of papyrus reeds that grew in the swampy edges of the primeval mound.” ref
“Ancient Egypt’s still-buried ‘Mound of Creation’ an extremely well-preserved tomb at Saqqara near Cairo. It belonged to a high priest called Wahtye, and is more than 4,000 years old.” ref
“Although the djew hieroglyph did portray the mountain ranges the Egyptians also saw it symbolically, two peaks imagined to hold up the sky, or a circular mound of creation.” ref, ref
Mountain (djew)
“Appearance: The hieroglyphic sign for “mountain” depicted to peaks with a valley running between them. This image approximated the hills that rose up on either side of the Nile valley. Meaning: Although the djew hieroglyph did portray the mountain ranges the Egyptians saw in their everyday lives, it also was a visualization of their cosmic beliefs. Symbolically, the “mountain” was an image of the universal mountain whose two peaks were imagined to hold up the sky. The eastern peak was called Bakhu, to the west was Manu. The ends of this great mountain were guarded by two lions who were called Aker. Aker was a protector of the the sun as it rose and set each day.” ref
“The Egyptian necropolis was typically located in the mountainous desert and so the djew was also closely associated with the concepts of the tomb and of the afterlife. The god of mummification, Anubis bore the epithet, “He who is upon his mountain.” Hathor, the “Mistress of the Necropolis”, while in the form of a cow, was often shown emerging from the side of the western mountain. In painted scenes, the concept of a “hill” or “heap” of such things as grain are often expressed representationally with the djew sign. The use of the hieroglyphic shape is an effective tool to convey not only the shape but the of such large heaps of grain. A variation of the hieroglyph showing a range of three peaks was used to portray the concept of “foreign land.” ref
AI Overview: Ancient and traditional Indian cultures, including Dravidian folk traditions, have long revered termite mounds. These mounds were associated with the earth, fertility, water sources, and were a part of ancient rituals and folk religion. In some cosmogonies, the sacred anthill is seen as a representation of a “primordial mound” that was “founded upon the waters,” linking terrestrial features to cosmic ideas of origin.
My art on top relates to The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic from ancient Mesopotamia: “At the very end of the story, the characters spend their evenings in a boat on the river. In this cylinder seal impression of a boat, with an animal’s head is the stern.” ref
“The Gilgamesh flood myth is a partial narrative of the Gilgamesh Epic. It is one of three Mesopotamian flood myths alongside the one included in the Eridu Genesis, and an episode from the Atra-Hasis Epic. Many scholars believe that the Gilgamesh flood myth was added to Tablet XI in the “standard version” of the Gilgamesh Epic by an editor who used the flood story, which is described in the Epic of Atra-Hasis. A short reference to the flood myth is also present in the much older Sumerian Gilgamesh poems, from which the later Babylonian versions drew much of their inspiration and subject matter. Gilgamesh‘s supposed historical reign is believed to have been approximately 2700 BCE, shortly before the earliest known written stories. The discovery of artifacts associated with Aga and Enmebaragesi of Kish, two other kings named in the stories, has lent credibility to the historical existence of Gilgamesh.” ref
“Eridu Genesis, also called the Sumerian Creation Myth or Sumerian Flood Myth, is a work of Sumerian religion offering a description of the story surrounding how humanity was created by the gods, the circumstances leading to the origins of the first cities in Mesopotamia, how the office of kingship appeared, and the global flood myth. The story is known from three fragments representing different versions of the narrative. One is a tablet excavated from the ancient Sumerian city known as Nippur is written in the Sumerian language and is dated to around 1600 BCE or 3,600 years ago. Some modern scholars, including Kim San-hae, believe the Sumerian deluge story corresponds to localized river flooding at Shuruppak (now Tell Fara, Iraq) and various other cities as far north as Kish, as revealed by a layer of riverine sediments, radiocarbon-dated to c. 2900 BCE, which interrupts the continuity of settlement. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period (c. 3000–2900 BCE) was discovered immediately below this Shuruppak flood stratum. None of the antediluvian rulers have been verified as historical by archaeological excavations and inscriptions, but the Sumerians purported them to have lived in the mythical era before the great deluge.” ref
“Atra-Hasis is an 18th-century BCE or 3,800 years ago Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis (‘exceedingly wise’). The narrative has four focal points, one of which is a great deluge linked to the upper gods’ intention to destroy their imperfect artificial creatures, as handed down in a remarkably similar manner in various other flood myths of mankind. The name “Atra-Hasis” first appears on the Sumerian King List as a ruler of Shuruppak in the times before that flood. The oldest known copy of the epic tradition concerning Atrahasis can be dated by colophon to the reign of Hammurabi’s great-grandson, Ammi-Saduqa (1646–1626 BCE or 3,646 to 3,626 years ago). In the main, the Atra-Hasis epic reports that a conflict between some of the first Sumerian gods occurs and draws on the earlier myth of the separation of air and earth (‘above’ and ‘below’) in the midst of the cosmic freshwater primordial ocean to clarify their hierarchical relationship. Enlil – “Lord Wind” – represents the leading party in the council of gods; the party of Anunnaki around Anu belongs more to the upper heaven, and that of Igigi around Enki more to that below the earth sphere.” ref
“The earliest Sumerian Gilgamesh poems date from as early as the Third dynasty of Ur (2100–2000 BCE or 4,100 to 4,000 years ago). One of these poems mentions Gilgamesh’s journey to meet the flood hero, as well as a short version of the flood story. The earliest Akkadian versions of the unified epic are dated to ca. 2000–1500 BCE or 4,000 to 3,500 years ago. Due to the fragmentary nature of these Old Babylonian versions, it is unclear whether they included an expanded account of the flood myth; however, one fragment definitely includes the story of Gilgamesh’s journey to meet Utnapishtim. The “standard” Akkadian version included a long version of the story and was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni, who lived sometime between 1300-1000 BCE or 3,300 to 3,000 years ago.” ref
Addressing thinking on Flood Myths and Earth Diver Motifs, Ages of mythology, Myth Migrations, ETC
Shades of the Rainbow Serpent? A KhoeSan Animal between Myth and Landscape in Southern Africa—Ethnographic Contextualizations of Rock Art Representations
“The snake is a potent entity in many cultures across the world, and is a noticeable global theme in rock art and inscribed landscapes. We mobilize our long-term ethnographic research with southern African KhoeSan peoples to situate and interpret the presence of snake motifs in the region’s rock art. We contextualize the snake as a transformative ontological mediator between everyday and “entranced” KhoeSan worlds (those associated with “altered states of consciousness”), to weave together both mythological and shamanistic interpretations of southern African rock art. Ethnographic explorations of experiences of snakes as both an aspect of natural history and the physical environment, and as embodiments of multiplicitous and mythical meaning by which to live and understand life, shed light on the presence of snakes and associated snake-themes in southern African rock art. By drawing on ethnographic material and in conjunction with a review of the literature, we highlight a dynamic assemblage of extant associations between snakes, rain, water, fertility, blood, fat, transformation, dance, and healing. We suggest that these extant associations have explanatory potential for understanding the meaning of these themes in the rock art created by the ancestors of contemporary KhoeSan peoples. Our paper contributes to a live debate regarding the interpretive relevance of ethnography for understanding rock art representations from the past.” ref
“Australian aboriginal mythology is replete with references to snakes, including the “huge hideous snake, called Jeedara, or Ganba” who Mirning aboriginals believed “lived in the caves and blowholes of on the Nullarbor Plain”—the “hissing noises from the blowholes … the sound of the monstrous snake’s breathing”—and who “ate anyone who came into his territory”, and in the ancestral Dreamtime was able to push up “the steep sea-cliffs so as to swim along beneath them”. Ramona and Desmond Morris write further that “by far the most spectacular snakes in Australian aboriginal art are the mythical rainbow serpents. These usually live in waterholes during the dry season, but take to the thunder clouds when the rains come, sometimes appearing in the sky of rainbows.” In southern Africa, Brian Morris identifies a role of the python amongst Malawian Chewa that has striking resemblance to the python amongst KhoeSan and indeed the anaconda in South American contexts, both constrictor snakes of enormous potential size—linked mythologically and empirically to waters, rivers, deep pools, and rainfall and accordingly a “key symbolic mediation between the supreme beings and humans”. And at “Python Rock” at Tsodilo Hills in Botswana, a site known for its concentration of rock art, a naturally occurring rock-form has been worked over millennia to enhance its snake-like appearance, through the addition of several hundred human-made indentations (cupules) into the rock surface whose dappled effects in sunlight are suggestive of snake-scales and movement.” ref
“The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator god, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion of many Aboriginal Australian peoples. Much like the archetypal mother goddess, the Rainbow Serpent creates land and diversity for the Aboriginal people, but when disturbed can bring great chaos. Though the concept of the Rainbow Serpent has existed for a very long time in Aboriginal Australian cultures. It has also been suggested that the Serpent’s position as the most prominent creator God in the Australian tradition has largely been the creation of non-Aboriginal anthropologists. In addition to stories about the Rainbow Serpent being passed down from generation to generation, the Rainbow Serpent has been worshipped through rituals and has also inspired cultural artifacts such as artwork and songs, a tradition that continues today. Many Aboriginal Australian artists continue to be inspired by the Rainbow Serpent and use it as a subject in their art.” ref
“Dreamtime (or The Dreaming or Tjukurrpa or Jukurrpa) stories tell of the great spirits and totems during creation, in animal and human form, that molded the barren and featureless earth. The Rainbow Serpent came from beneath the ground and created huge ridges, mountains, and gorges as it pushed upward. The most common motif in Rainbow Serpent stories is the Serpent as creator, with the Serpent often bringing life to an empty space. The Rainbow Serpent is understood to be of immense proportions and inhabits deep permanent waterholes and is in control of life’s most precious resource, water. In some cultures, the Rainbow Serpent is considered to be the ultimate creator of everything in the universe. In some cultures, the Rainbow Serpent is male; in others, female; in yet others, the gender is ambiguous, or the Rainbow Serpent is hermaphroditic or bisexual, thus an androgynous entity. Some commentators have suggested that the Rainbow Serpent is a phallic symbol, which fits its connection with fertility myths and rituals. When the Serpent is characterized as female or bisexual, it is sometimes depicted with breasts. Other times, the Serpent has no particular gender. The Serpent has also been known to appear as a scorpion or another animal or creature. In some stories, the Serpent is associated with a bat, sometimes called a “flying fox” in Australian English, engaged in a rivalry over a woman. Some scholars have identified other creatures, such as a bird, crocodile, dingo, or lizard, as taking the role of the Serpent in stories. In all cases, these animals are also associated with water. The Rainbow Serpent has also been identified with the bunyip, a fearful, water-hole-dwelling creature in Australian mythology.” ref
Dr Pete Kuzma: “In spite of there being 500 or so nations, there are similar beliefs across them. Some in different parts of Australia will be significantly different, but in most, they follow the same interpretation of the world, one of the creator spirits, the rainbow spirit, and particularly in the northern parts of Australia, this is the one that brought life to the land from the sky. A common belief in the Dreaming stories is that the Earth is a reflection of the sky. The sky is land as well. One thinking holds that the frequent return of Halley’s comment may have led to/related to the origins of the Rainbow Serpent.” – Indigenous Australian Astronomy (Astronomical Society of Edinburgh)
“The Rainbow Serpent is known by different names by the many different Aboriginal cultures. Yurlunggur is the name of the “rainbow serpent” according to the Murngin (a Yolngu group) in north-eastern Arnhem Land, The Yurlunggur was considered “the great father”. The serpent is called Witij/Wititj by the Galpu clan of the Dhangu people, of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, one of Yolngu peoples. Kunmanggur by the Murinbata people and Numereji by the Kakadu (Gaagudju), both in the Northern Territory. Bolung in the Northern Territory, by the Dangbon/Dalabon/Buan and Rembarrnga. muitj (var. Moitt, Muit ) in Central Arnhemland by the Rembarrnga, etc. Wollunqua by the Warumungu people of the Northern Territory. Kanmare is the name of the great water serpent in Queensland among the Pitapita people of the Boulia District; it is apparently a giant carpet snake, and recorded under the name Cunmurra further south. The same snake is called Tulloun among the Mitakoodi (Maithakari). Two mythical Kooremah of the Mycoolon (Maikulan) tribe of Queensland, are cosmic carpet snakes 40 miles long, residing in watery realm of the dead, or on the pathway leading to it; this is probably equivalent to the rainbow snake also. Andrénjinyi by the natives of Pennefather River, North Queensland. Dhakkan (or Takkan) by the Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi), a people native to South Eastern Queensland. Goorialla by the Lardil people of Mornington Island in the Wellesley Islands chain in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. Taipan by the Wikmunkan peoples, who traditionally ranged over an extensive area of the western Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland. Kajura by the Ingarda people of the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. Wagyl by the Noongar people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia. Wanamangura by the Thalanyji (Talainji) people in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Wanampi by the Aṉangu people from an area equivalent to the Western Desert cultural bloc, in central Australia.” ref
“And the Rainbow Serpent is known by Myndie (Melbourne, Victoria), Bunyip (Western Victoria), as well as Arkaroo (Flinders Ranges, South Australia).” ref
“This ‘Rainbow Serpent’ is generally and variously identified by those who tell ‘Rainbow Serpent’ myths, as a snake of some enormous size often living within the deepest waterholes of many of Australia’s waterways; descended from that larger being visible as a dark streak in the Milky Way, it reveals itself to people in this world as a rainbow as it moves through water and rain, shaping landscapes, naming and singing of places, swallowing and sometimes drowning people; strengthening the knowledgeable with rainmaking and healing powers; blighting others with sores, weakness, illness, and death.” ref
“Unambal Aborigine Tribe of North West Australia: The Indigenous Australian People see the Earth as the great serpent Ungut. The Milky Way is seen as another serpent called Wallanganda. Between them, these two Serpents gave birth to ‘Creation’ by dreaming all the creatures that live on the Earth, including the spirit ancestors of the Aboriginal people, and also the Wandjina who bring both rain and fertility. The Australian Aboriginal Peoples lived in two times only: the primeval times, in which all life came into being, and the present. There is no future. Their language has numerals for ‘one’, ‘two’, and ‘three’, but the word for ‘four’ is the same as ‘very many’. The Wandjina are divided into two groups; the originators of all human customs and the inventors of all implements. The Wandjina can change from one form to another at will; from a Wandjina, to a w a human, to an animal. The Wandjina live today at the bottom of the ‘watering place’ associated with each particular painting. According to the Aboriginal People, when the Wandjina lay down, they entered the earth, leaving their imprints on the stone, so they were believed to be the originators of the rock paintings.” ref
Aboriginal Cosmology
“Despite my cautionary notes about different cosmologies, it is occasionally possible to identify universal themes. Most Australian Aboriginal people held a common view of the earth as a flat disc surrounded by the boundless waters of an ocean (Similar to Sumerian mythology, like cosmic primordial waters that preexisted before creation, like other World myths, even though Australia is not shown in the map as listed in the waters before creation myths on Mythology and Folklore Database, but one entry for B3A Primary waters under, Yirkalla: At first there was water everywhere, the waves knocked down islands of foam; two sisters came in a boat, called the foam land, it became dry land; with their digging tools they dug wells, from which all the animals and birds came out; the sisters gave them names and showed them where to live; people appeared from somewhere; while the women were sleeping). Above this earth-disc was a solid vault or canopy. Beyond this vault was the sky-world, a vast, plentiful, and beautiful place. ‘The sky was a canopy covering all and coming down beyond the horizon to meet and enclose the flat surface on which men and women followed the fixed pattern of their lives’. The sky dome or canopy was usually supported by props of one sort or another. Views about what constituted the props differed across the country. In the Australian Alps, for example, the vault was held up by trees, but on the New South Wales coast, the props appear also to have been solid wooden pillars watched over and guarded by an old man. Myths told to Daisy Bates by people from the Great Australian Bight indicate that the sky-dome was held up by a great tree, known as Warda, which had to be protected at all times, an idea similarly held by groups in the east. The sky-world beyond the dome was envisaged as containing a hole, a window, or a fissure, through which the traditional healers could gain entry. They usually gained access by climbing or pulling themselves up a connecting cord. The cord was seen variously as being hair, a string, a rainbow, lightning, a spear, a grass rope, a tree, flames, a totem board, and a turtle. Among some Victorian groups, there was a view that people used to be able to climb up an immense pine tree (probably Callitris sp.), up through its branches to the topmost ones, which reached the sky. They could walk about, indeed live on the starry vault. Those people who belonged to the sky could descend to the earth and likewise visit friends before returning. Visits were made for purposes of barter between hunting grounds. The tree was viewed as ‘a regular highway between earth and the upper regions’. Around the Roper River area, amongst the Alawa people in the Northern Territory, the link was also a tree, but more specifically, a large stringy-bark. In an account of the Booandik people of South Australia, the healer (pangal) climbed to the sky-world quite regularly to visit and have social discourse with the sky people. It was also possible in some areas to gain access to the skyworld by tunneling through the earth to the other side of the sea. In other places, as well as in the Great Australian Bight, there was a notion of an underworld that could be accessed by digging through the limited thickness of the earth. The Sun Woman at night, and Moon Man by day, also traveled along in the underworld valley.” ref
“Beyond the sky-dome or canopy is the sky-world. It is a dynamic and lively place, if somewhat mysterious. The sky-world of the Yarralin people of the Northern Territory, for example, is conceived as being above the stars but below the sun and the moon. It is the home of the Lightning People. When lightning is seen in the sky, it is known that the Lightning People are active, probably fighting. This sky-world is also the world of the dead, but after some time, the spirit of a deceased person merges to become part of the collective Lightning People. The Tiwi of Melville and Bathurst Islands divided their universe into four levels, the underworld, the earth on which they live, the upper world, and beyond that, the sky-world. The upper world had two seasons annually, a wet and a dry. In the dry season, the upper world was the home for the man of thunderstorms, the woman of the monsoonal rains, and the woman of lightning. At the end of the dry season, these three moved to the sky-world and, in doing so, shed rain on the dry earth. While this was happening, the trees and plants of the upper world used the raindrops to send their spirits to the ground, where they grew into plants. Hence, all vegetation on the islands emanated from spirits dropped from the upper world. The sky-world was the place of the stars, the moon, and the sun. The sky-world was frequently envisaged as containing much quartz crystal and fresh water, both being highly valued resources. There is also an intriguing suggestion that it was represented among New South Wales groups by the Bora Ring of secret initiation grounds. The Dieri of Lake Eyre also described their sky-country as being a beautiful and abundant place, full of trees and birds. It has also been described by some as a ‘land of exquisite beauty with flowers blooming everywhere, massed together in brilliant colors like hundreds of rainbows laid out on the grass’. The flowers neither faded nor died. The perception of the sky-world, as an eternal place or space of plenty, beauty, and peacefulness, was not uncommon.” ref
“Over much of Australia and in particular, parts of the west and northwest, the spirits of the dead went to and resided in the sky-world with the ancestral heroes, but as frequently, there was a specially designated earthly place of sojourn for the dead, always located well away from that of the living. Sometimes, it was located at the eastern or western edge of the sky, or on faraway islands. In central and northeast Arnhem Land, mortuary or morning star ceremonies (known as ‘sorry business’) are performed to ensure the safe passage and transition of the deceased souls to the Land of the Dead. As to the nature of stars themselves, opinions differed. Some Aboriginal groups envisaged them as the tracks, campfires, or representations of the sky people. Others saw them as spirits of the dead, and yet others, the Karadjeri36 for example, thought that, as well as being representations of the spirits of dead men and women, they were globules of light – individual nautilus shells with fish still alive inside them. Ancestral creative spirits having a bird form, which have subsequently become stars, is not an uncommon notion. The landscape for Aboriginal people was seen as having been created by ancestral spirits and, in many cases, it is still imbued with their presence. Most of the myths that involve the stars have their dramatic starting points or episodes on the earth, so that all over the continent, the terrestrial environment is intrinsically linked with the celestial environment. Many sky-based ancestral heroes and heroines are also associated with particular places on earth. So, for example, a painted door in the primary school at Yuendumu in Central Australia documents the notion that sacred places on earth fell out of the Milky Way as shooting stars.” ref
“The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from the Wanjina Wunggurr cultural bloc of Aboriginal Australians, depicted prominently in rock art in northwestern Australia. Some of the artwork in the Kimberley region of Western Australia dates back to approximately 4,000 years ago. Another closely related spirit entity is the creator being Wunngurr, a being analogous to the Rainbow Serpent in other Aboriginal peoples’ belief systems, but with a different interpretation.” ref
“One story tells of Wandjina, a group of rain and cloud spirits who transported the Ancestors from within the Earth, bringing them through the seas and over the land where life first began. One story tells of the Rainbow Serpent, which is said to have come to Earth from the sky and created water and all life associated with water.” ref
(So, the Rainbow Serpent, a “primordial-waters being,” who preexisted before creation, like other World myths.)
“The Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia called the (center and other sectors of) the Milky Way wodliparri in the Kaurna language, meaning “house river”. They believed that Karrawirra Parri (the River Torrens) was a reflection of wodliparri. The Yolŋu people believe that when they die, they are taken by a mystical canoe, Larrpan, to the spirit-island Baralku in the sky, where their camp-fires can be seen burning along the edge of the great river of the Milky Way. The canoe is sent back to Earth as a shooting star, letting their family on Earth know that they have arrived safely in the spirit-land. Aboriginals also thought that god was the canoe. The Yolŋu people of northern Australia say that the constellation of Orion, which they call Julpan (or Djulpan), is a canoe. They tell the story of three brothers who went fishing, and one of them ate a sawfish that was forbidden under their law. Seeing this, the Sun-woman, Walu, made a waterspout that carried him and his two brothers and their canoe up into the sky. The three stars that line in the constellation’s center, which form Orion’s Belt in Western mythology, are the three brothers; the Orion Nebula above them is the forbidden fish; and the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel are the bow and stern of the canoe. This is an example of astronomical legends underpinning the ethical and social codes that people use on Earth.” ref
B3a Primary waters, A810: Water is the original element, the dry earth appears later
Location / Tradition: Tübatulabal, Karachays/Balkar, Hidatsa, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Gros Ventre, Kaska, Hurons
Book XII The Odyssey: Greece
From John’s Mythology Database
“B3, B3a, B3b, B3c, B3d, B3e” Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This motif has been recorded in 398 traditions: Ancient Egypt, Egyptian, Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia, Old and New Testament, Aramaic (Syrians), Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Egypt, Berbers of Morocco and adjacent parts of Algeria, Malagasy, Ngbakka, Mbum (incl Mbai), Mundang, Fali, Tupuri, Maya (=Bali), Nyong, Tonga, Songe (Kisonge), Bena-Matembo, Soko, Bushoong: (Ba)kuba, Dengese, Ngongo; Yansi, Maka (Makaa), Baya, Kaka, Fang (Pangwe), Eton, Bafia, Batanga, Benga, Bube (Bubi), Buheba, Yaunde (Ewondo), Yebekolo, Koko, Bulu, Beti (Beti-Bulu), Sekiani, Eghap, Aka, Baka (Badjue) and other Western (Bantu speaking) Pygmies, Igbo (Ibo); Isoko, Urhobo, Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Bozo, Sorko, Dan (=Gio), Guro (=Kweni, incl Gagu, Neio), Toura, Mano, Ngere, Beng, Guro , Kposso, “Togo-Restvölker” (Adele, Akebu, Akposso, Bowiri/Bowili, Santrokofi, Lelemi, Borada Akrade, Teteman, Baakwa, Bowiri), Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Akan, Ashanti, Akwapim; Ga (Accra), Kra, Twi (Chwi, Chi), Bia: Anyi, Agni, Baule, Nsema, Arnhem Land: Enindhilyagwa (Groote Eilandt), KuTiwi, Yulengor, Mara, Oenpelli, Murngin, Roper River, Maung, Murinbata, Murngin (Duwal), Millingimbi, Goulburn Island, Ngulugwongga, Yirrkalla, Voctoria River Downs, Alawa, Anu, Kunwinjku, Trans-New Guinea and unclassified Papuan groups of Irian Jaya: Mejprat, Arandai-Bintuni, Inanwatan-Berau, Papua of Gelvink (Cenderawasih) Bay, Kamoró, Marind Anim, Sawi, Mafore; Korowai; Kwerba; Momina, Eipo, Yale, Awyu, Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Melanesians and Papuans of Bismark Archipelago: New Britain (Paparatava, Lakalai, Kuni, Sulka, Gazelle peninsula), New Ireland, St Matthias Group, Mioko (Melanesians between New Britain and New Ireland), Melanesians and Papuans of Central Solomons: Vella la Vella (Bilua language), Shortland islands (Mono language), San Cristobal, Saint Georgia, Eddystone, Vangunu, Southern Solomons: southern part of Santa Ysabel (Bughotu), Guadalcanal, San Cristobal, Malaita, Ulawa, Melanesians of Admiralty Islands (incl Manus); Seimat (Western Islands), Santa Cruz Islands (incl Nguna, Reef Islands), Central Vanuatu: Espiritu Santo, Araki, Aore, Maewo, Malekula, Vao, Efate (Vate), Nguna, Mae, Ambrim, Pentecost, Oba (=Aoba, East Ambae, Lepers’), Omba, Southern Vanuatu: Tanna, Aneiteum (Polynesian component not included), Eromanga, Kanaka (New Caledonia), Loyalty Islands (Uvea, Lifu, Mare), Fiji, Samoa, Rotuma, Niue, Wallis (=Uvea, different from Melanesian Uvea), Futuna, Tikopia, Bellona, Rennell, partly Aneytium, Futuna (=Erronan, not to be mixed with Futuna in Western Polynesia), Vaeaka-Taumato, incl Matema, Nifeloli, Nukapu, Nupani, Pileni, Maori, Moriori (Chatam Islands), Tuamotu, incl Pukapuka (different from Pukapuka in Cook Islands), Vahitahi, Anaa, Hao, Fangatau, Marquesas, Hawaii, Gilbert Islands, Nauru, Banaba (Ocean island), Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, Ontong Java, Nukumanu, Takuu, Nukuria, Tuvalu (Ellice), Palau (Western Carolines), Yap, Ulithi, Ngulu, Ifaluk, Woleai, Lamutrek, Faraulip Satawal, Elato, Western Fayu, Truk, Eastern Fayu, Losap, Pulap, Puluwat, Mortlock (incl. Satawan), Ponape, Ngaik, Mwoakil (Mokil), Kusaie (Kosrae), Marshall Islands, incl Ailinglapalap, Arno, Jaluit, Kili, Lae, Maloelap, Majuro, Ratak, Wotho, Ujae, Jaluit (=Jalooj), Namdrik, Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Alor, Solor, Wetar, Atauru, Fataluku, Flores, incl Mangarai (Western Flores), Nage, Keo, Riung, Ngada or Nad’a (Central Flores), Sika (Eastern Flores), Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, Bugi, Macassar, Batak (Toba, Dairi), Malay; Temuan (incl Mantra or Mentra), Jakun (Moken), Simeulue, Nias, Kayan, Bahau, Kenja, Aoheng, Punan (Bukat, Basap, Oloh Ot, etc); “Klemantan”, Dusun, Murut, Kelabit, Tombonuwo, Bajau, Tidong, Bidayuh (incl. Maloh), Iban (Sea Dayak), Sakarram; Brunei, Negrito (incl. Mamanwa), Central islands and Bikol: Vizaya, Mansaká, Bikol, Mangyan, Panayan, Sulod, Cebuano (Cebu), Capiz, Romblomanon, Manuyu, Mindanao and Sulu: Blaan (Bilaan), Bagobo, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Hiligáynon, Binukid, Magindaan (=Magindanao: main Muslim population), Mandaya, Mansaka, Manobo (Agusan, Ata, Dibabawon, Sarangani, Ilianen), Maranao, Samal, Subanon (=Subanun), Subanen, Tboli, Southern Taiwan: Rukai, Paiwan, Puyuma, Saaroa, Ketangalan, Karen, Pa-O, Padaung, Kayah, Thai of Vietnam, Tai Lue, Khao (Kho, Tai Don, White Tai), Tai Dam (Black Tai), Nung; Zhuang, Buyi; Shui, Shan, Ahom, Khampti, Katu (Ködu); Bru (incl. Van Kieu, Khua), Khmer, Viet, Muong, Semang, Senoi, Santali, Turi, Mahli, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Juang, Bondo, Didayi (Gata’), Gutob (=Gadaba; cf Dravidian-speaking Gadaba), Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Chin-Naga: Ao, Mao, Sema, Zeme, Kolren, Kom, Lhota, Rengma, Angami, Kabui, Tangkhul, Koirenf, Northern Naga: Konyak, Lungshang, Wancho, Nokte, Moclum, Lunshan, Chang, Maring, Naga of Myanmar, Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Kuki, Chiru, Falam (Hallam), Chin (Meitei =Manipuri, Khami, =Kumi), Lakher, Mizo (Lushei), Anal, Pawi (Lai), Purum, Koireng, Milhiem, Kolhen, Mru, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Mikir (Karbi), Konds (Khonds; language is Kui, incl Kuttia, Konda-Dora), Koya; Pengo, Gondi (mostly Northern Gondi), Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Telugu (incl. Yanadi, Chenchu), Hindi-speaking peoples and casts (incl. Teli, Parahiya; incl. Chhattisgarhi) of Northern and West-Central India, Chero, Balahi; Lambadi (Banjaaa), Bhils (incl Barela-Bhilala), Warli, Sinhalese; Vedda, Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), Burusho (Hunza), Early Chinese written sources, Lepcha, Kirati (Kiranti): Rai (incl Thulung), Limbu, Newar, Koreans, Poles, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Latvians, Livonians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Karelians, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Rushani, Shughni, Khufi, Bartangi, Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Karachays, Balkar, Ingush, Lezgians, Archin, Kürin; Khinalug, Kumyk, Terekemen, Nogai, Svans, Georgians, Kalmyk, Gagauz, Kara Kalpak, Yugur (Sarïg Yogïr, Yellow Uyghur), Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Mansi, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Forest Nenets, Tundra Nenets, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Mongols (Khalkha), Monguor (Tu), Shirongol, Khakas, Shor, Siberian Tatars, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Enets, Nganasans, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Kets, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Evens (Lamuts), Ainu, Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa, Udeghe, Oroch, Nanai, Olcha (Ulch), Negidal, Nivkh, Manchu, Kamchadal, Reindeer Koryak, Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Creols of Russkoye Ustye, Chuvans, Russian-speaking Creols of Markovo, Chukchi, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Central Yupik, Nunivak Island, Chipewyan, Dogrib, Slavey, Hare (incl. Sahtu, or North Slavey), Upper Tanana (Nebesna), Tanacross, Han, Tutchone, Tagish, Inland Tlingit, Kaska, Denaina, Upper Kuskokwim (Kolchan), Koyukon, Gwich’in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Beaver, North Alaskan Inupiat, Mackenzie Delta, Copper, Polar Inuit, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw), Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Lenape (Delaware), Northern Saulteaux, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Ottawa, Algonquin, unspecified Algonkians of the Midwest (probably Old Algonquin), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Western Swampy Cree (incl. Rock Cree), Eastern Swamy Cree, Eastern Cree, Naskapi, Montagnais, Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Huron (incl Wyandot), Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Tuscarora, Winnebago, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T’ina), Shawnee, Yuchi, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Teton (incl Oglala), Santee, Mandan, Osage, Quapaw, Omaha, Ponca, Oto, Iowa, Arikara, Pawnee, Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Comanche, Gros Ventre, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Crow, Hidatsa, Carrier, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka’pamux), Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Oregon Athabaskans: Lower Umpqua, Tututni (incl Joshua), Upper Coquille, Galice, Tolowa, Coos, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Klamath, Modoc, Yurok, Wiyot, Chitimacha, Alabama, Koasati, Creek, Seminole; Tuskegee; iconography of Kentucky Hopewell, Choctaw, Chicasaw, Cherokee, Yuki (Yuki proper, Coastal Yuki, Huchnob), Pomo, Wintu, Patwin, Nomlaki, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Sierra Miwok, Coastal Miwok, Atsugewi, Achomavi, Yokuts, Northern Foothills Yokuts (Chukchansi, Dumna, Kechayi), Salinan, Kawaiisu, Mono (Monache), Tubatulabal, Owens Valley Paiute, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Bannock, Eastern Shoshone, Upland Yuma: Walapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, Ute, Southern Paiute, Chemehuevi, Cahuilla, Cupeño, Navajo, Jicarilla, Western Apache (White Mountain, San Carlos), Hopi, Zuni, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Tewa (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe; Hano), Tiwa (Taos, Picuris; Sandia, Isleta), Towa (Jemez), Lipan, Cocopa, Yuma proper (Quechan), Mohave, Maricopa, Seri, Pima, Papago, Warihio (Guarijío), Tarahumara, Huichol, Cora, Quiche, Achí, Cakchiquel, Pocomchi, Pocomam, Chinantec, Mazatec, Mixtec, Trique, Cuicatec; Amuzgo, Oaxaca Mixe, Chol; pre-Columbian Mayan iconography outside of Yucatan, Chorti, Lacandon, Bribri, Cabecar, Terraba; Chiriqui (AD 800-1500) iconography, Guaymi, Bocota, Dorasque; XVI century data on Western Panama, Cuna; XVI century data on Eastern Panama, Kogi (Cagaba), Sanha, Creols of Aritama Valley, Tunebo, Muisca, Muzo, Yupa (Yukpa), Sicuani, Guayabero, Piaroa, Macuxi, Wayana, Aparai, Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Kofan, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Desana, Siriano; Tatuyo, Bara, Tuyuca, Letuama, Tanimuca, Ufaina, Yahuna, Baniwa (incl. Wakuenai), Bare, Piapoco, Curripaco, Siusi, Guarikena , Tariana, Witoto, Ocaina, Bora, Northern Peru: Sierra (Kechua-speaking communities, Cajamarca, Ancash, Huanuco and San Martin departments; Chavin pre-Columbian iconography; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries), Pasco, Junin, Huancavelica departments: Central Peru, Sierra (Kechua-speaking communities in Spanish sources XVI-XVII centuries), Amuesha, Ashaninca (Campa), Machiguenga, Cashibo, Tacana, Moseten, Chimane, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Kamayura, Paresi, Kaingang, Xokleng, Sheta, Chamacoco (Ishir), Mataco, Nivakle (=Chulupi, Ashluslay, Ajlujlay), Chorote, Toba (incl Pilaga), Terena (Tereno) , Guarani of Paraguay and Brazil: Caygua, Mbia, Apapocuva, Nyandewa, Chiripa, Northern and Southern Tehuelche, Kpelle (incl Kono), Mende, Loma, Gbunde (Gbandi, Bandi), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Kodiak, Tokelau, Evens (Lamuts) of Kamchatka, Sulu, Pamun, Samal, Taosug, Chulym Turks, Yellowknife, Mongols of Inner Mongolia, Japan AD 700-1700, Xinka, Papua-New Guinea Northern Lowland Papuan groups (Trans New Guinea and unclassified): Komba, Gimi, Susure, Orokaiva, Bogadjim, Ngain, Sentani, Bargam, Imonda, Nankina, Yupta Valley, Urawa Valley, Warupu (Barupu), Pondoma (Anam), Western Yakuts (Sakha): Olekma and Vilyuy Basins, Northwestern Yakuts (Sakha): Yessey, Anabar, Olenyok and Lower Lena Basins, Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins, Southern Altai: Teleut, Russian Pomors (“seasiders): Arkhangelsk province without its southern part (Shengur district and Konosha dstrict), Karelia White Sea coast, Russians: Vologda province (incl. Belozersk, Kirillov and Cherepovets districts of form. Novgorod Province), Russians: Novgorod and Pskov provinces, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Early Russian written sources, Russians: Southern part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Belgorod, Voronezh, Tambov, Penza, Lipetsk, Orel, Kursk, Bryansk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Samara, Simbirsk and Saratov provinces), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Terek Cossacks, Laurentian Iroquois, Rusyns, Hutsuls, Russians: Olonets province/SE Karelia, Shengur district of Arkhangelsk province, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha – Chita area
I think the Mythology Database is a good tool, but it does have errors, like how the error I got with clicking on B1e: Extracting land from the ocean floor or from the lower world, creating a person from some material, and an antagonist’s attempt to destroy human figures – successive episodes are a single narrative. However, when doing a Narrative Search: Extracting land from the ocean floor, you get 0.
Also listed in relation to B3 motif are:
From John’s Mythology Database
Clicking on C6: C6, C6a, C6b, C6c, C6c1, C6d, C6e, C6f, C6g, C6h, C6i, C6j Characters dive to the bottom to get an item.
The motifs are:
C6. Diver
C6A. The diver is a turtle/frog
C6B. A diver is a muskrat, nutria, a beaver
C6c1. Birds: Successful and Unsuccessful Divers
C6C. A diver is a bird
C6D. Getting land, A811 (Includes Earth Diver)
C6E. Diver — crayfish, shrimp
C6F. Get a drowned person
C6G. The diver is a boar
C6H. The insect is extracting land
C6i. The adhering dirt turns into the ground
This motif has been recorded in 195 traditions: Bushmen (all groups), Southeast Australia: Kamilaroi, Yualarai (Ualarai, Euahlayi), Milpulo (Mailpurgu), Wuradjeri (Wiradjurim, Wiradjeri, Wurundjeri, Yarra, Yarra Yarra), Wongaibon (Wonghibon), Noongahburrah (Narran, Narran River), Kurnai, and many others (see file 0.doc), Southern Solomons: southern part of Santa Ysabel (Bughotu), Guadalcanal, San Cristobal, Malaita, Ulawa, Shan, Ahom, Khampti, Semang, Senoi, Santali, Turi, Mahli, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Bondo, Didayi (Gata’), Gutob (=Gadaba; cf Dravidian-speaking Gadaba), Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Chin-Naga: Ao, Mao, Sema, Zeme, Kolren, Kom, Lhota, Rengma, Angami, Kabui, Tangkhul, Koirenf, Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Mikir (Karbi), Oraon (Kurukh), Konds (Khonds; language is Kui, incl Kuttia, Konda-Dora), Koya; Pengo, Gondi (mostly Northern Gondi), Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Hindi-speaking peoples and casts (incl. Teli, Parahiya; incl. Chhattisgarhi) of Northern and West-Central India, Chero, Bhils (incl Barela-Bhilala), Sinhalese; Vedda, Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), Burusho (Hunza), Kirati (Kiranti): Rai (incl Thulung), Limbu, Newar, Poles, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Finns, Karelians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Karachays, Balkar, Nogai, Gagauz, Kara Kalpak, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Mansi, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Forest Nenets, Tundra Nenets, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Mongols (Khalkha), Khakas, Shor, Siberian Tatars, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Enets, Nganasans, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Kets, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Evens (Lamuts), Nanai, Olcha (Ulch), Negidal, Reindeer Koryak, Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Creols of Russkoye Ustye, Chuvans, Russian-speaking Creols of Markovo, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Chipewyan, Dogrib, Slavey, Hare (incl. Sahtu, or North Slavey), Upper Tanana (Nebesna), Tanacross, Han, Tutchone, Tagish, Inland Tlingit, Kaska, Upper Kuskokwim (Kolchan), Koyukon, Gwich’in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Beaver, Tlingit, Haida, Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw), Nootka (Nu-chah-nulth), Makah, Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Lenape (Delaware), Malecite, Passamaquoddy, Northern Saulteaux, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Ottawa, Algonquin, unspecified Algonkians of the Midwest (probably Old Algonquin), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Western Swampy Cree (incl. Rock Cree), Eastern Swamy Cree, Eastern Cree, Naskapi, Montagnais, Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Huron (incl Wyandot), Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Tuscarora, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T’ina), Shawnee, Yuchi, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Teton (incl Oglala), Santee, Mandan, Quapaw, Iowa, Arikara, Gros Ventre, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Crow, Hidatsa, Carrier, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka’pamux), Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Nez Perce, Tillamook, Takelma, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Lower Chinook (Chinook proper), Klamath, Modoc, Chitimacha, Alabama, Koasati, Creek, Seminole; Tuskegee; iconography of Kentucky Hopewell, Cherokee, Yuki (Yuki proper, Coastal Yuki, Huchnob), Pomo, Wintu, Patwin, Nomlaki, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Sierra Miwok, Yokuts, Northern Foothills Yokuts (Chukchansi, Dumna, Kechayi), Salinan, Kawaiisu, Mono (Monache), Tubatulabal, Bannock, Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Navajo, Seri, Pima, Warihio (Guarijío), Tarahumara, Rama, Guatuso, Choco: Embera, Nonama (Waunana), XVI century Dabaiba, pre-Columbian iconography of Sinu, Yupa (Yukpa), Wapishana (incl Ataroi); Mapidian; Taruma, Macuxi, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Upper Chinook: Wasco, Wishram, Clackamas, Kathlamet, Chulym Turks, Yellowknife, Japan AD 700-1700, Western Yakuts (Sakha): Olekma and Vilyuy Basins, Northwestern Yakuts (Sakha): Yessey, Anabar, Olenyok and Lower Lena Basins, Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins, Southern Altai: Teleut, Russian Pomors (“seasiders): Arkhangelsk province without its southern part (Shengur district and Konosha dstrict), Karelia White Sea coast, Russians: Vologda province (incl. Belozersk, Kirillov and Cherepovets districts of form. Novgorod Province), Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Early Russian written sources, Russians: Southern part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Belgorod, Voronezh, Tambov, Penza, Lipetsk, Orel, Kursk, Bryansk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Samara, Simbirsk and Saratov provinces), Lutsi (Ludza), Terek Cossacks, Rusyns, Hutsuls, Russians: Olonets province/SE Karelia, Shengur district of Arkhangelsk province, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha – Chita area
C6 Diver: Characters dive to the bottom to get an item
Location / Tradition: Gros Ventre, Crow, Mansi, Mivoc
C6A The diver is a turtle/frog: The desired object is brought from the bottom (or from the lower world) or destroyed by a turtle, toad/frog
Location / Tradition: Lake Miwok, Plains Miwok
C6c3 Loon is a successful diver
Location / Tradition: Koryaks
C6c4 Duck is a successful diver
Location / Tradition: Arapaho, Batulabal, Mandan
C6j1 Earth is brought by the antagonist of the deity
Location / Tradition: Armenians
G6 The First Tree: One of the trees is the main thing, the original, something very different from the others (the first to arise; the ancestor of trees; the ancestor of wild or cultivated plants; the sea and the rivers within it; the world’s axis; above the others; obscures the sky).
Location / Tradition: Armenians
I11 Space turtle/toad: turtle (toad, frog) serves as the support (embodiment) of the earth (sky).
Location / Tradition: Lake Miwok, Plains Miwok, Karachays, Balkar
I11a The earth is fixed on the back of a turtle (frog)
Location / Tradition: Huron (incl Wyandot), Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga)
1: Comparative Mythology: the systematic comparison of mythic themes gathered from a wide variety of cultures and ideas https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/11/comparative-mythology-the-systematic-comparison-of-mythic-themes-gathered-from-a-wide-variety-of-cultures-and-ideas/
2: Creation myths: From chaos, Ex nihilo, Earth-diver, Emergence, World egg, and World parent https://damienmarieathope.com/2022/05/creation-myths-from-chaos-ex-nihilo-earth-diver-emergence-world-egg-and-world-parent/
3: Water and Mythology: Water Deities and Creation https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/06/water-and-mythology-water-deities-and-creation/
4: Cosmic egg/World Egg and the Mound of Creation/Mountain of God mythology, seen around the world, are loosely related? https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/09/cosmic-egg-world-egg-and-the-mound-of-creation-mountain-of-god-mythology-seen-around-the-world-are-loosely-related/
5: World Turtle, Cosmic Turtle, or World-bearing Turtle, is a mytheme of a giant turtle supporting or containing the world https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/11/world-turtle-cosmic-turtle-or-world-bearing-turtle-is-a-mytheme-of-a-giant-turtle-supporting-or-containing-the-world/
6: Chaotic Primordial Waters and Flood Catastrophe Myths Worldwide: commonly a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, and destroys civilization https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/11/chaotic-primordial-waters-and-flood-catastrophe-myths-worldwide-commonly-a-great-flood-usually-sent-by-a-deity-or-deities-and-destroys-civilization/
7: Sky Father/Sky Mother “High Gods” or similar gods/goddesses of the sky more loosely connected, seeming arcane mythology across the earth seen in Siberia, China, Europe, Native Americans/First Nations People and Mesopotamia, etc. https://damienmarieathope.com/2023/03/sky-father-sky-mother-high-gods-or-similar-gods-goddesses-of-the-sky-more-loosely-connected-seeming-arcane-mythology-across-the-earth-seen-in-siberia-china-europe-native-american/
8: Sky Father/Sky Chief Mythology: Great spirit, Great Mystery, and Great Father https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/11/sky-father-sky-chief-mythology-great-spirit-great-mystery-and-great-father/
9: Confucianism’s Tiān (Shangdi god 4,000 years old): Supernaturalism, Pantheism or Theism? https://damienmarieathope.com/2018/01/confucianism-tian-pantheism-and-gods/
10: Low Gods (Earth/ Tutelary deity), High Gods (Sky/Supreme deity), and Moralistic Gods (Deity enforcement/divine order) https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/01/low-gods-earth-tutelary-deity-high-gods-sky-supreme-deity-and-moralistic-gods-deity-enforcement-divine-order/
11: Lightning Bolts and Thunderbolts Associated in Religion and Deities https://damienmarieathope.com/2025/05/lightning-bolts-and-thunderbolts-associated-in-religion-and-deities/
12: “Deities of war/violence” and/or “War Gods/Goddesses” https://damienmarieathope.com/2022/08/deities-of-war-violence-and-or-war-gods-goddesses/
13: Myths and Folklore: “Trickster gods and goddesses” https://damienmarieathope.com/2022/01/myths-and-folklore-trickster-gods-and-goddesses/
14: Duality in mythology: Dual Deities, Devine Couple, or Devine Twins beyond Proto-Indo-European https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/09/duality-in-mythology-dual-deities-devine-couple-or-devine-twins-beyond-proto-indo-european/
15: Single God Religions (Monotheism) = “Man-o-theism” started around 4,000 years ago with the Great Sky Spirit/God Tiān (天)? https://damienmarieathope.com/2016/03/single-god-religions-monotheism-man-o-theism/
16: Life-Death-Rebirth Deities: Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, Attis, Zagreus, Dionysus, and Jesus https://damienmarieathope.com/2025/01/life-death-rebirth-deities-osiris-tammuz-adonis-and-attis-zagreus-dionysus-and-jesus/
17: Creation of Life/Humans from Clay, seen around the World, loosely related as many other Myths do https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/11/creation-of-life-humans-from-clay-seen-around-the-world-loosely-related-as-many-other-myths-do/
18: Weaving and Mythology: Spider Grandmother/Woman, seen in Indigenous Beliefs in the Americas as well as around the World https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/10/weaving-and-spider-mythology/
19: Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians: mountains, mounds, and temples: Ziggurats or Pyramids https://damienmarieathope.com/2024/10/sumerians-and-ancient-egyptians-mountains-mounds-and-temples-ziggurats-or-pyramids-with-related-deities-as-well-as-mythology/
20: Reincarnation/Rebirth in Indigenous Religions (Siberia, Americas, and Aboriginal Australians), Celtic druids, as well as “Indian Religions” https://damienmarieathope.com/2025/03/reincarnation-rebirth-in-indigenous-religions-siberia-americas-and-aboriginal-australians-celtic-druids-as-well-as-indian-religions-such-as-hinduism-buddhism-jainism-and-sikhism/
But is Atlantis real?
No. Atlantis (an allegory: “fake story” interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning) can’t be found any more than one can locate the Jolly Green Giant that is said to watch over frozen vegetables. Lol
May Reason Set You Free
There are a lot of truly great things said by anarchists in history, and also some deeply vile things, too, from not supporting Women’s rights to Anti-Semitism. There are those who also reject those supporting women’s rights as well as fight anti-Semitism. This is why I push reason as my only master, not anarchist thinking, though anarchism, to me, should see all humans everywhere as equal in dignity and rights.
We—Cory and Damien—are following the greatness that can be found in anarchist thinking.
As an Anarchist Educator, Damien strives to teach the plain truth. Damien does not support violence as my method to change. Rather, I choose education that builds Enlightenment and Empowerment. I champion Dignity and Equality. We rise by helping each other. What is the price of a tear? What is the cost of a smile? How can we see clearly when others pay the cost of our indifference and fear? We should help people in need. Why is that so hard for some people? Rich Ghouls must End. Damien wants “billionaires” to stop being a thing. Tax then into equality. To Damien, there is no debate, Capitalism is unethical. Moreover, as an Anarchist Educator, Damien knows violence is not the way to inspire lasting positive change. But we are not limited to violence, we have education, one of the most lasting and powerful ways to improve the world. We empower the world by championing Truth and its supporters.
Anarchism and Education
“Various alternatives to education and their problems have been proposed by anarchists which have gone from alternative education systems and environments, self-education, advocacy of youth and children rights, and freethought activism.” ref
“Historical accounts of anarchist educational experiments to explore how their pedagogical practices, organization, and content constituted a radical alternative to mainstream forms of educational provision in different historical periods.” ref
“The Ferrer school was an early 20th century libertarian school inspired by the anarchist pedagogy of Francisco Ferrer. He was a proponent of rationalist, secular education that emphasized reason, dignity, self-reliance, and scientific observation. The Ferrer movement’s philosophy had two distinct tendencies: non-didactic freedom from dogma and the more didactic fostering of counter-hegemonic beliefs. Towards non-didactic freedom from dogma, and fulfilled the child-centered tradition.” ref
Teach Real History: all our lives depend on it.
Damien sees lies about history as crimes against humanity. And we all must help humanity by addressing “any and all” who make harmful lies about history.
Dylan Violette (CopperViolette) (in Maine) and Damien Marie AtHope (in Texas) seek to learn more about the indigenous peoples of the Americas (First Nations/Native Americans) where they both live.
Native Americans in Maine are: collectively known as the Wabanaki or “People of the Dawnland.” Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (Maliseet/Wolastoqiyik), Miꞌkmaq Nation (concentrated in Northern Maine, specifically Aroostook County), Passamaquoddy Tribe (with communities at Motahkomikuk/Indian Township and Sipayik/Pleasant Point), and Penobscot Nation (headquartered on Indian Island).
Native Americans in Texas: More than 30 organizations claim to represent historic tribes within Texas; however, these groups are unrecognized, meaning they do not meet the minimum criteria of federally recognized tribes and are not state-recognized tribes. There are three federally recognized tribes in Texas, each with their own reservation:
- Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas: Located near Livingston in the Big Thicket area, the reservation is the oldest in Texas.
- Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas: Based in Eagle Pass, the tribe maintains strong cultural ties and resides on a reservation along the Rio Grande on the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (Tigua): Located in El Paso, this is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in Texas, established in 1682.
Before European settlement, numerous tribes lived across the varied Texas landscape, developing distinct cultures
Southeastern & East Texas: The Caddo built large, permanent villages and elaborate ceremonial mounds, developing extensive trade networks. Other groups included the Atakapa and Wichita peoples.
Gulf Coast: Tribes like the Karankawa and Coahuiltecans were semi-nomadic, adapting to the coastal environment through fishing, hunting, and gathering.
Plains (North & West Texas): The powerful, horse-mounted Comanche and Kiowa dominated a vast territory known as the Comanchería, hunting bison and conducting trade and raids. The Apache, including the Lipan and Mescalero groups, were also prominent in West and Central Texas before being pushed out by the Comanche and later by Anglo settlers.
West Texas: The Jumano people lived along rivers and practiced farming and extensive trading before eventually joining Apache groups.
Damien and Dylan live around a 33 hr. drive apart.
Dylan Violette (CopperViolette) (in Maine) is close to the Mi’kmaq. He passes by their reservation whenever he heads south (the nearest city is that way; He is almost in the middle of nowhere).
Damien Marie AtHope (in Texas) lives in Corpus Christi, which is in the Gulf Coast Tribes area, like the Karankawa and Coahuiltecans. (I was living in Florida, but moved to Texas)
My favorite “Graham Hancock” Quote?
“In what archaeologists have studied, yes, we can say there is NO Evidence of an advanced civilization.” – (Time 1:27) Joe Rogan Experience #2136 – Graham Hancock & Flint Dibble
People don’t commonly teach religious history, even that of their own claimed religion. No, rather they teach a limited “pro their religion” history of their religion from a religious perspective favorable to the religion of choice.
Do you truly think “Religious Belief” is only a matter of some personal choice?
Do you not see how coercive one’s world of choice is limited to the obvious hereditary belief, in most religious choices available to the child of religious parents or caregivers? Religion is more commonly like a family, culture, society, etc. available belief that limits the belief choices of the child and that is when “Religious Belief” is not only a matter of some personal choice and when it becomes hereditary faith, not because of the quality of its alleged facts or proposed truths but because everyone else important to the child believes similarly so they do as well simply mimicking authority beliefs handed to them. Because children are raised in religion rather than being presented all possible choices but rather one limited dogmatic brand of “Religious Belief” where children only have a choice of following the belief as instructed, and then personally claim the faith hereditary belief seen in the confirming to the belief they have held themselves all their lives. This is obvious in statements asked and answered by children claiming a faith they barely understand but they do understand that their family believes “this or that” faith, so they feel obligated to believe it too. While I do agree that “Religious Belief” should only be a matter of some personal choice, it rarely is… End Hereditary Religion!
Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey
“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref
We are like believing machines; we vacuum up ideas, like Velcro sticks to almost everything. We accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives, often without realizing it. Our willingness must be to alter skewed beliefs that impede our balance or reason, which allows us to achieve new positive thinking and accurate outcomes.
My thoughts on Religion Evolution with external links for more info:
- (Pre-Animism Africa mainly, but also Europe, and Asia at least 300,000 years ago), (Pre-Animism – Oxford Dictionaries)
- (Animism Africa around 100,000 years ago), (Animism – Britannica.com)
- (Totemism Europe around 50,000 years ago), (Totemism – Anthropology)
- (Shamanism Siberia around 30,000 years ago), (Shamanism – Britannica.com)
- (Paganism Turkey around 12,000 years ago), (Paganism – BBC Religion)
- (Progressed Organized Religion “Institutional Religion” Egypt around 5,000 years ago), (Ancient Egyptian Religion – Britannica.com)
- (CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS after 4,000 years ago) (Origin of Major Religions – Sacred Texts)
- (Early Atheistic Doubting at least by 2,600 years ago) (History of Atheism – Wikipedia)
“Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings…
Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure, or a firefighter talks about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victims of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.
Understanding Religion Evolution:
- Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago)
- Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago)
- Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago)
- Shamanism (Siberia: 30,000 years ago)
- Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago)
- Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago), (Egypt, the First Dynasty 5,150 years ago)
- CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago)
- Early Atheistic Doubting (at least by 2,600 years ago)
“An Archaeological/Anthropological Understanding of Religion Evolution”
It seems ancient peoples had to survived amazing threats in a “dangerous universe (by superstition perceived as good and evil),” and human “immorality or imperfection of the soul” which was thought to affect the still living, leading to ancestor worship. This ancestor worship presumably led to the belief in supernatural beings, and then some of these were turned into the belief in gods. This feeble myth called gods were just a human conceived “made from nothing into something over and over, changing, again and again, taking on more as they evolve, all the while they are thought to be special,” but it is just supernatural animistic spirit-belief perceived as sacred.
Quick Evolution of Religion?
Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) pre-religion is a beginning that evolves into later Animism. So, Religion as we think of it, to me, all starts in a general way with Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item), which then enlists a full-time specific person to do this worship and believed interacting Shamanism (Siberia/Russia: 30,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employment of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago) (often a lot more nature-based than most current top world religions, thus hinting to their close link to more ancient religious thinking it stems from). My hypothesis is expressed with an explanation of the building of a theatrical house (modern religions development). Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago) with CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago).
Historically, in large city-state societies (such as Egypt or Iraq) starting around 5,000 years ago culminated to make religion something kind of new, a sociocultural-governmental-religious monarchy, where all or at least many of the people of such large city-state societies seem familiar with and committed to the existence of “religion” as the integrated life identity package of control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine, but this juggernaut integrated religion identity package of Dogmatic-Propaganda certainly did not exist or if developed to an extent it was highly limited in most smaller prehistoric societies as they seem to lack most of the strong control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine (magical beliefs could be at times be added or removed). Many people just want to see developed religious dynamics everywhere even if it is not. Instead, all that is found is largely fragments until the domestication of religion.
Religions, as we think of them today, are a new fad, even if they go back to around 6,000 years in the timeline of human existence, this amounts to almost nothing when seen in the long slow evolution of religion at least around 70,000 years ago with one of the oldest ritual worship. Stone Snake of South Africa: “first human worship” 70,000 years ago. This message of how religion and gods among them are clearly a man-made thing that was developed slowly as it was invented and then implemented peace by peace discrediting them all. Which seems to be a simple point some are just not grasping how devastating to any claims of truth when we can see the lie clearly in the archeological sites.
I wish people fought as hard for the actual values as they fight for the group/clan names political or otherwise they think support values. Every amount spent on war is theft to children in need of food or the homeless kept from shelter.
Here are several of my blog posts on history:
- To Find Truth You Must First Look
- (Magdalenian/Iberomaurusian) Connections to the First Paganists of the early Neolithic Near East Dating from around 17,000 to 12,000 Years Ago
- Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
- Possible Clan Leader/Special “MALE” Ancestor Totem Poles At Least 13,500 years ago?
- Jewish People with DNA at least 13,200 years old, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
- Baltic Reindeer Hunters: Swiderian, Lyngby, Ahrensburgian, and Krasnosillya cultures 12,020 to 11,020 years ago are evidence of powerful migratory waves during the last 13,000 years and a genetic link to Saami and the Finno-Ugric peoples.
- The Rise of Inequality: patriarchy and state hierarchy inequality
- Fertile Crescent 12,500 – 9,500 Years Ago: fertility and death cult belief system?
- 12,400 – 11,700 Years Ago – Kortik Tepe (Turkey) Pre/early-Agriculture Cultic Ritualism
- Ritualistic Bird Symbolism at Gobekli Tepe and its “Ancestor Cult”
- Male-Homosexual (female-like) / Trans-woman (female) Seated Figurine from Gobekli Tepe
- Could a 12,000-year-old Bull Geoglyph at Göbekli Tepe relate to older Bull and Female Art 25,000 years ago and Later Goddess and the Bull cults like Catal Huyuk?
- Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago.
- Alcohol, where Agriculture and Religion Become one? Such as Gobekli Tepe’s Ritualistic use of Grain as Food and Ritual Drink
- Neolithic Ritual Sites with T-Pillars and other Cultic Pillars
- Paganism: Goddesses around 12,000 years ago then Male Gods after 7,000 years ago
- First Patriarchy: Split of Women’s Status around 12,000 years ago & First Hierarchy: fall of Women’s Status around 5,000 years ago.
- Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
- J DNA and the Spread of Agricultural Religion (paganism)
- Paganism: an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system
- Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism)
- Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and the Shamanism Phenomena
- Need to Mythicized: gods and goddesses
- 12,000 – 7,000 Years Ago – Paleo-Indian Culture (The Americas)
- 12,000 – 2,000 Years Ago – Indigenous-Scandinavians (Nordic)
- Norse did not wear helmets with horns?
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago?
- 10,400 – 10,100 Years Ago, in Turkey the Nevail Cori Religious Settlement
- 9,000-6,500 Years Old Submerged Pre-Pottery/Pottery Neolithic Ritual Settlements off Israel’s Coast
- Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 9,500 to 7,700 years ago (Turkey)
- Cultic Hunting at Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”
- Special Items and Art as well as Special Elite Burials at Catal Huyuk
- New Rituals and Violence with the appearance of Pottery and People?
- Haplogroup N and its related Uralic Languages and Cultures
- Ainu people, Sámi people, Native Americans, the Ancient North Eurasians, and Paganistic-Shamanism with Totemism
- Ideas, Technology and People from Turkey, Europe, to China and Back again 9,000 to 5,000 years ago?
- First Pottery of Europe and the Related Cultures
- 9,000 years old Neolithic Artifacts Judean Desert and Hills Israel
- 9,000-7,000 years-old Sex and Death Rituals: Cult Sites in Israel, Jordan, and the Sinai
- 9,000-8500 year old Horned Female shaman Bad Dürrenberg Germany
- Neolithic Jewelry and the Spread of Farming in Europe Emerging out of West Turkey
- 8,600-year-old Tortoise Shells in Neolithic graves in central China have Early Writing and Shamanism
- Swing of the Mace: the rise of Elite, Forced Authority, and Inequality begin to Emerge 8,500 years ago?
- Migrations and Changing Europeans Beginning around 8,000 Years Ago
- My “Steppe-Anatolian-Kurgan hypothesis” 8,000/7,000 years ago
- Around 8,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Mistress of Animals, “Ritual” Motif
- Pre-Columbian Red-Paint (red ochre) Maritime Archaic Culture 8,000-3,000 years ago
- 7,522-6,522 years ago Linear Pottery culture which I think relates to Arcane Capitalism’s origins
- Arcane Capitalism: Primitive socialism, Primitive capital, Private ownership, Means of production, Market capitalism, Class discrimination, and Petite bourgeoisie (smaller capitalists)
- 7,500-4,750 years old Ritualistic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine
- Roots of a changing early society 7,200-6,700 years ago Jordan and Israel
- Agriculture religion (Paganism) with farming reached Britain between about 7,000 to 6,500 or so years ago and seemingly expressed in things like Western Europe’s Long Barrows
- My Thoughts on Possible Migrations of “R” DNA and Proto-Indo-European?
- “Millet” Spreading from China 7,022 years ago to Europe and related Language may have Spread with it leading to Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Indo-European (PIE), ancestor of Indo-European languages: DNA, Society, Language, and Mythology
- The Dnieper–Donets culture and Asian varieties of Millet from China to the Black Sea region of Europe by 7,022 years ago
- Kurgan 6,000 years ago/dolmens 7,000 years ago: funeral, ritual, and other?
- 7,020 to 6,020-year-old Proto-Indo-European Homeland of Urheimat or proposed home of their Language and Religion
- Ancient Megaliths: Kurgan, Ziggurat, Pyramid, Menhir, Trilithon, Dolman, Kromlech, and Kromlech of Trilithons
- The Mytheme of Ancient North Eurasian Sacred-Dog belief and similar motifs are found in Indo-European, Native American, and Siberian comparative mythology
- Elite Power Accumulation: Ancient Trade, Tokens, Writing, Wealth, Merchants, and Priest-Kings
- Sacred Mounds, Mountains, Kurgans, and Pyramids may hold deep connections?
- Between 7,000-5,000 Years ago, rise of unequal hierarchy elite, leading to a “birth of the State” or worship of power, strong new sexism, oppression of non-elites, and the fall of Women’s equal status
- Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite & their slaves
- Hell and Underworld mythologies starting maybe as far back as 7,000 to 5,000 years ago with the Proto-Indo-Europeans?
- The First Expression of the Male God around 7,000 years ago?
- White (light complexion skin) Bigotry and Sexism started 7,000 years ago?
- Around 7,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Divine Bird (Tutelary and/or Trickster spirit/deity), “Ritual” Motif
- Nekhbet an Ancient Egyptian Vulture Goddess and Tutelary Deity
- 6,720 to 4,920 years old Ritualistic Hongshan Culture of Inner Mongolia with 5,000-year-old Pyramid Mounds and Temples
- First proto-king in the Balkans, Varna culture around 6,500 years ago?
- 6,500–5,800 years ago in Israel Late Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Period in the Southern Levant Seems to Express Northern Levant Migrations, Cultural and Religious Transfer
- KING OF BEASTS: Master of Animals “Ritual” Motif, around 6,000 years old or older…
- Around 6000-year-old Shared Idea of the Solid Wheel & the Spoked Wheel-Shaped Ritual Motif
- “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan; a Proto-Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna or Star of Venus?
- Religious/Ritual Ideas, including goddesses and gods as well as ritual mounds or pyramids from Northeastern Asia at least 6,000 years old, seemingly filtering to Iran, Iraq, the Mediterranean, Europe, Egypt, and the Americas?
- Maykop (5,720–5,020 years ago) Caucasus region Bronze Age culture-related to Copper Age farmers from the south, influenced by the Ubaid period and Leyla-Tepe culture, as well as influencing the Kura-Araxes culture
- 5-600-year-old Tomb, Mummy, and First Bearded Male Figurine in a Grave
- Kura-Araxes Cultural 5,520 to 4,470 years old DNA traces to the Canaanites, Arabs, and Jews
- Minoan/Cretan (Keftiu) Civilization and Religion around 5,520 to 3,120 years ago
- Evolution Of Science at least by 5,500 years ago
- 5,500 Years old birth of the State, the rise of Hierarchy, and the fall of Women’s status
- “Jiroft culture” 5,100 – 4,200 years ago and the History of Iran
- Stonehenge: Paganistic Burial and Astrological Ritual Complex, England (5,100-3,600 years ago)
- Around 5,000-year-old Shared Idea of the “Tree of Life” Ritual Motif
- Complex rituals for elite, seen from China to Egypt, at least by 5,000 years ago
- Around 5,000 years ago: “Birth of the State” where Religion gets Military Power and Influence
- The Center of the World “Axis Mundi” and/or “Sacred Mountains” Mythology Could Relate to the Altai Mountains, Heart of the Steppe
- Progressed organized religion starts, an approximately 5,000-year-old belief system
- China’s Civilization between 5,000-3,000 years ago, was a time of war and class struggle, violent transition from free clans to a Slave or Elite society
- Origin of Logics is Naturalistic Observation at least by around 5,000 years ago.
- Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State)
- Ziggurats (multi-platform temples: 4,900 years old) to Pyramids (multi-platform tombs: 4,700 years old)
- Did a 4,520–4,420-year-old Volcano In Turkey Inspire the Bible God?
- Finland’s Horned Shaman and Pre-Horned-God at least 4,500 years ago?
- 4,000-year-Old Dolmens in Israel: A Connected Dolmen Religious Phenomenon?
- Creation myths: From chaos, Ex nihilo, Earth-diver, Emergence, World egg, and World parent
- Bronze Age “Ritual” connections of the Bell Beaker culture with the Corded Ware/Single Grave culture, which were related to the Yamnaya culture and Proto-Indo-European Languages/Religions
- Low Gods (Earth/ Tutelary deity), High Gods (Sky/Supreme deity), and Moralistic Gods (Deity enforcement/divine order)
- The exchange of people, ideas, and material-culture including, to me, the new god (Sky Father) and goddess (Earth Mother) religion between the Cucuteni-Trypillians and others which is then spread far and wide
- Koryaks: Indigenous People of the Russian Far East and Big Raven myths also found in Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and other Indigenous People of North America
- 42 Principles Of Maat (Egyptian Goddess of the justice) around 4,400 years ago, 2000 Years Before Ten Commandments
- “Happy Easter” Well Happy Eostre/Ishter
- 4,320-3,820 years old “Shimao” (North China) site with Totemistic-Shamanistic Paganism and a Stepped Pyramid
- 4,250 to 3,400 Year old Stonehenge from Russia: Arkaim?
- 4,100-year-old beaker with medicinal & flowering plants in a grave of a woman in Scotland
- Early European Farmer ancestry, Kelif el Boroud people with the Cardial Ware culture, and the Bell Beaker culture Paganists too, spread into North Africa, then to the Canary Islands off West Africa
- Flood Accounts: Gilgamesh epic (4,100 years ago) Noah in Genesis (2,600 years ago)
- Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)
- When was the beginning: TIMELINE OF CURRENT RELIGIONS, which start around 4,000 years ago.
- Early Religions Thought to Express Proto-Monotheistic Systems around 4,000 years ago
- Kultepe? An archaeological site with a 4,000 years old women’s rights document.
- Single God Religions (Monotheism) = “Man-o-theism” started around 4,000 years ago with the Great Sky Spirit/God Tiān (天)?
- Confucianism’s Tiān (Shangdi god 4,000 years old): Supernaturalism, Pantheism or Theism?
- Yes, Your Male God is Ridiculous
- Mythology, a Lunar Deity is a Goddess or God of the Moon
- Sacred Land, Hills, and Mountains: Sami Mythology (Paganistic Shamanism)
- Horse Worship/Sacrifice: mythical union of Ruling Elite/Kingship and the Horse
- The Amorite/Amurru people’s God Amurru “Lord of the Steppe”, relates to the Origins of the Bible God?
- Bronze Age Exotic Trade Routes Spread Quite Far as well as Spread Religious Ideas with Them
- Sami and the Northern Indigenous Peoples Landscape, Language, and its Connection to Religion
- Prototype of Ancient Analemmatic Sundials around 3,900-3,150 years ago and a Possible Solar Connection to gods?
- Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)
- The Weakening of Ancient Trade and the Strengthening of Religions around 3000 years ago?
- Are you aware that there are religions that worship women gods, explain now religion tears women down?
- Animistic, Totemistic, and Paganistic Superstition Origins of bible god and the bible’s Religion.
- Myths and Folklore: “Trickster gods and goddesses”
- Jews, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
- An Old Branch of Religion Still Giving Fruit: Sacred Trees
- Dating the BIBLE: naming names and telling times (written less than 3,000 years ago, provable to 2,200 years ago)
- Did a Volcano Inspire the bible god?
- Dené–Yeniseian language, Old Copper Complex, and Pre-Columbian Mound Builders?
- No “dinosaurs and humans didn’t exist together just because some think they are in the bible itself”
- Sacred Shit and Sacred Animals?
- Everyone Killed in the Bible Flood? “Nephilim” (giants)?
- Hey, Damien dude, I have a question for you regarding “the bible” Exodus.
- Archaeology Disproves the Bible
- Bible Battle, Just More, Bible Babble
- The Jericho Conquest lie?
- Canaanites and Israelites?
- Accurate Account on how did Christianity Began?
- Let’s talk about Christianity.
- So the 10 commandments isn’t anything to go by either right?
- Misinformed christian
- Debunking Jesus?
- Paulism vs Jesus
- Ok, you seem confused so let’s talk about Buddhism.
- Unacknowledged Buddhism: Gods, Savior, Demons, Rebirth, Heavens, Hells, and Terrorism
- His Foolishness The Dalai Lama
- Yin and Yang is sexist with an ORIGIN around 2,300 years ago?
- I Believe Archaeology, not Myths & Why Not, as the Religious Myths Already Violate Reason!
- Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
- Aquatic Ape Theory/Hypothesis? As Always, Just Pseudoscience.
- Ancient Aliens Conspiracy Theorists are Pseudohistorians
- The Pseudohistoric and Pseudoscientific claims about “Bakoni Ruins” of South Africa
- Why do people think Religion is much more than supernaturalism and superstitionism?
- Religion is an Evolved Product
- Was the Value of Ancient Women Different?
- 1000 to 1100 CE, human sacrifice Cahokia Mounds a pre-Columbian Native American site
- Feminist atheists as far back as the 1800s?
- Promoting Religion as Real is Mentally Harmful to a Flourishing Humanity
- Screw All Religions and Their Toxic lies, they are all fraud
- Forget Religions’ Unfounded Myths, I Have Substantiated “Archaeology Facts.”
- Religion Dispersal throughout the World
- I Hate Religion Just as I Hate all Pseudoscience
- Exposing Scientology, Eckankar, Wicca and Other Nonsense?
- Main deity or religious belief systems
- Quit Trying to Invent Your God From the Scraps of Science.
- Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
- Ancient Alien Conspiracy Theorists: Misunderstanding, Rhetoric, Misinformation, Fabrications, and Lies
- Misinformation, Distortion, and Pseudoscience in Talking with a Christian Creationist
- Judging the Lack of Goodness in Gods, Even the Norse God Odin
- Challenging the Belief in God-like Aliens and Gods in General
- A Challenge to Christian use of Torture Devices?
- Yes, Hinduism is a Religion
- Trump is One of the Most Reactionary Forces of Far-right Christian Extremism
- Was the Bull Head a Symbol of God? Yes!
- Primate Death Rituals
- Christian – “God and Christianity are objectively true”
- Australopithecus afarensis Death Ritual?
- You Claim Global Warming is a Hoax?
- Doubter of Science and Defamer of Atheists?
- I think that sounds like the Bible?
- History of the Antifa (“anti-fascist”) Movements
- Indianapolis Anti-Blasphemy Laws #Free Soheil Rally
- Damien, you repeat the golden rule in so many forms then you say religion is dogmatic?
- Science is a Trustable Methodology whereas Faith is not Trustable at all!
- Was I ever a believer, before I was an atheist?
- Atheists rise in reason
- Mistrust of science?
- Open to Talking About the Definition of ‘God’? But first, we address Faith.
- ‘United Monarchy’ full of splendor and power – Saul, David, and Solomon? Most likely not.
- Is there EXODUS ARCHAEOLOGY? The short answer is “no.”
- Lacking Proof of Bigfoots, Unicorns, and Gods is Just a Lack of Research?
- Religion and Politics: Faith Beliefs vs. Rational Thinking
- Hammer of Truth that lying pig RELIGION: challenged by an archaeologist
- “The Hammer of Truth” -ontology question- What do You Mean by That?
- Navigation of a bad argument: Ad Hominem vs. Attack
- Why is it Often Claimed that Gods have a Gender?
- Why are basically all monotheistic religions ones that have a male god?
- Shifting through the Claims in support of Faith
- Dear Mr. AtHope, The 20th Century is an Indictment of Secularism and a Failed Atheist Century
- An Understanding of the Worldwide Statistics and Dynamics of Terrorist Incidents and Suicide Attacks
- Intoxication and Evolution? Addressing and Assessing the “Stoned Ape” or “Drunken Monkey” Theories as Catalysts in Human Evolution
- Sacred Menstrual cloth? Inanna’s knot, Isis knot, and maybe Ma’at’s feather?
- Damien, why don’t the Hebrews accept the bible stories?
- Dealing with a Troll and Arguing Over Word Meaning
- Knowledge without Belief? Justified beliefs or disbeliefs worthy of Knowledge?
- Afrocentrism and African Religions
- Crecganford @crecganford offers history & stories of the people, places, gods, & culture
- Empiricism-Denier?
I am not an academic. I am a revolutionary that teaches in public, in places like social media, and in the streets. I am not a leader by some title given but from my commanding leadership style of simply to start teaching everywhere to everyone, all manner of positive education.
To me, Animism starts in Southern Africa, then to West Europe, and becomes Totemism. Another split goes near the Russia and Siberia border becoming Shamanism, which heads into Central Europe meeting up with Totemism, which also had moved there, mixing the two which then heads to Lake Baikal in Siberia. From there this Shamanism-Totemism heads to Turkey where it becomes Paganism.
Not all “Religions” or “Religious Persuasions” have a god(s) but
All can be said to believe in some imaginary beings or imaginary things like spirits, afterlives, etc.
Paganism 12,000-4,000 years old
12,000-7,000 years old: related to (Pre-Capitalism)
7,000-5,000 years old: related to (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves!
5,000 years old: related to (Kings and the Rise of the State)
4,000 years old: related to (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)
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Low Gods “Earth” or Tutelary deity and High Gods “Sky” or Supreme deity
“An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the “chthonic” deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an “Earth Mother” complementary to the “Sky Father” in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god.” ref
“A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. In some religious traditions or movements, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven or Sky Mother) is the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky father or God the Father.” ref
“Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as “sky father” deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a “sky father” god with an “earth mother” goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with “sky” not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven. Neopagans often apply it with impunity to sky goddesses from other regions who were never associated with the term historically. The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.” ref
“In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a “father”, often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of “sky father” may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an “earth mother“. “Sky Father” is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity name as the Greek Zeûs Pater and Roman Jupiter and Germanic Týr, Tir or Tiwaz, all of which are reflexes of the same Proto-Indo-European deity’s name, *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr. While there are numerous parallels adduced from outside of Indo-European mythology, there are exceptions (e.g. In Egyptian mythology, Nut is the sky mother and Geb is the earth father).” ref
Tutelary deity
“A tutelary (also tutelar) is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of “tutelary” expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the genius, functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Korean shamanism, jangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang. In Philippine animism, Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. Such as: Maria Makiling is the deity who guards Mt. Makiling and Maria Cacao and Maria Sinukuan. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. And similarly, Native American beliefs such as Tonás, tutelary animal spirit among the Zapotec and Totems, familial or clan spirits among the Ojibwe, can be animals.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Austronesian beliefs such as: Atua (gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori or the Hawaiians), Hanitu (Bunun of Taiwan‘s term for spirit), Hyang (Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology and this spiritual entity, can be either divine or ancestral), Kaitiaki (New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land), Kawas (mythology) (divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of the living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts), Tiki (Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne and represents deified ancestors found in most Polynesian cultures). ” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Mesopotamian Tutelary Deities can be seen as ones related to City-States
“Historical city-states included Sumerian cities such as Uruk and Ur; Ancient Egyptian city-states, such as Thebes and Memphis; the Phoenician cities (such as Tyre and Sidon); the five Philistine city-states; the Berber city-states of the Garamantes; the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth); the Roman Republic (which grew from a city-state into a vast empire); the Italian city-states from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, such as Florence, Siena, Ferrara, Milan (which as they grew in power began to dominate neighboring cities) and Genoa and Venice, which became powerful thalassocracies; the Mayan and other cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including cities such as Chichen Itza, Tikal, Copán and Monte Albán); the central Asian cities along the Silk Road; the city-states of the Swahili coast; Ragusa; states of the medieval Russian lands such as Novgorod and Pskov; and many others.” ref
“The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE; also known as Protoliterate period) of Mesopotamia, named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. City-States like Uruk and others had a patron tutelary City Deity along with a Priest-King.” ref
“Chinese folk religion, both past, and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. Such as Tu Di Gong (Earth Deity) is the tutelary deity of a locality, and each individual locality has its own Earth Deity and Cheng Huang Gong (City God) is the guardian deity of an individual city, worshipped by local officials and locals since imperial times.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is the patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include: Mumbadevi (Mumbai), Sachchika (Osian); Kuladevis include: Ambika (Porwad), and Mahalakshmi. In NorthEast India Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. Tibetan Buddhism has Yidam as a tutelary deity. Dakini is the patron of those who seek knowledge.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion:
You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician.” ref
“Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games (ludi) in her honor.” ref
“Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.” ref
“The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele) as “tower-crowned” represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.” ref
Household deity (a kind of or related to a Tutelary deity)
“A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess – often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia.” ref
“The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the Lares of ancient Roman religion, the Gashin of Korean shamanism, and Cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish Brownie and Slavic Domovoy.” ref
“Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as “household gods” in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings, or reliefs. They could also be found on domestic objects, such as cosmetic articles in the case of Tawaret. The more prosperous houses might have a small shrine to the household god(s); the lararium served this purpose in the case of the Romans. The gods would be treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or be given offerings of food and drink.” ref
“In many religions, both ancient and modern, a god would preside over the home. Certain species, or types, of household deities, existed. An example of this was the Roman Lares. Many European cultures retained house spirits into the modern period. Some examples of these include:
- Brownie (Scotland and England) or Hob (England) / Kobold (Germany) / Goblin / Hobgoblin
- Domovoy (Slavic)
- Nisse (Norwegian or Danish) / Tomte (Swedish) / Tonttu (Finnish)
- Húsvættir (Norse)” ref
“Although the cosmic status of household deities was not as lofty as that of the Twelve Olympians or the Aesir, they were also jealous of their dignity and also had to be appeased with shrines and offerings, however humble. Because of their immediacy they had arguably more influence on the day-to-day affairs of men than the remote gods did. Vestiges of their worship persisted long after Christianity and other major religions extirpated nearly every trace of the major pagan pantheons. Elements of the practice can be seen even today, with Christian accretions, where statues to various saints (such as St. Francis) protect gardens and grottos. Even the gargoyles found on older churches, could be viewed as guardians partitioning a sacred space.” ref
“For centuries, Christianity fought a mop-up war against these lingering minor pagan deities, but they proved tenacious. For example, Martin Luther‘s Tischreden have numerous – quite serious – references to dealing with kobolds. Eventually, rationalism and the Industrial Revolution threatened to erase most of these minor deities, until the advent of romantic nationalism rehabilitated them and embellished them into objects of literary curiosity in the 19th century. Since the 20th century this literature has been mined for characters for role-playing games, video games, and other fantasy personae, not infrequently invested with invented traits and hierarchies somewhat different from their mythological and folkloric roots.” ref
“In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism. In reality, this distinction is somewhat academic, since totemism may be regarded as a particularized manifestation of animism, and something of a synthesis of the two positions was attempted by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s Totem and Taboo, both totem and taboo are outward expressions or manifestations of the same psychological tendency, a concept which is complementary to, or which rather reconciles, the apparent conflict. Freud preferred to emphasize the psychoanalytic implications of the reification of metaphysical forces, but with particular emphasis on its familial nature. This emphasis underscores, rather than weakens, the ancestral component.” ref
“William Edward Hearn, a noted classicist, and jurist, traced the origin of domestic deities from the earliest stages as an expression of animism, a belief system thought to have existed also in the neolithic, and the forerunner of Indo-European religion. In his analysis of the Indo-European household, in Chapter II “The House Spirit”, Section 1, he states:
The belief which guided the conduct of our forefathers was … the spirit rule of dead ancestors.” ref
“In Section 2 he proceeds to elaborate:
It is thus certain that the worship of deceased ancestors is a vera causa, and not a mere hypothesis. …
In the other European nations, the Slavs, the Teutons, and the Kelts, the House Spirit appears with no less distinctness. … [T]he existence of that worship does not admit of doubt. … The House Spirits had a multitude of other names which it is needless here to enumerate, but all of which are more or less expressive of their friendly relations with man. … In [England] … [h]e is the Brownie. … In Scotland this same Brownie is well known. He is usually described as attached to particular families, with whom he has been known to reside for centuries, threshing the corn, cleaning the house, and performing similar household tasks. His favorite gratification was milk and honey.” ref
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“These ideas are my speculations from the evidence.”
I am still researching the “god‘s origins” all over the world. So, you know, it is very complicated, but I am smart and willing to look, DEEP, if necessary, which going very deep does seem to be needed here, when trying to actually understand the evolution of gods and goddesses. I am sure of a few things and less sure of others, but even in stuff I am not fully grasping I still am slowly figuring it out, to explain it to others. But as I research more, I am understanding things a little better, though I am still working on understanding it all or something close and thus always figuring out more.
Sky Father/Sky God?
“Egyptian: (Nut) Sky Mother and (Geb) Earth Father” (Egypt is different but similar)
Turkic/Mongolic: (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) Sky Father and (Eje/Gazar Eej) Earth Mother *Transeurasian*
Hawaiian: (Wākea) Sky Father and (Papahānaumoku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*
New Zealand/ Māori: (Ranginui) Sky Father and (Papatūānuku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*
Proto-Indo-European: (Dyḗus/Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) Sky Father and (Dʰéǵʰōm/Pleth₂wih₁) Earth Mother
Indo-Aryan: (Dyaus Pita) Sky Father and (Prithvi Mata) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Italic: (Jupiter) Sky Father and (Juno) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Etruscan: (Tinia) Sky Father and (Uni) Sky Mother *Tyrsenian/Italy Pre–Indo-European*
Hellenic/Greek: (Zeus) Sky Father and (Hera) Sky Mother who started as an “Earth Goddess” *Indo-European*
Nordic: (Dagr) Sky Father and (Nótt) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Slavic: (Perun) Sky Father and (Mokosh) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Illyrian: (Deipaturos) Sky Father and (Messapic Damatura’s “earth-mother” maybe) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Albanian: (Zojz) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*
Baltic: (Perkūnas) Sky Father and (Saulė) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Germanic: (Týr) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*
Colombian-Muisca: (Bochica) Sky Father and (Huythaca) Sky Mother *Chibchan*
Aztec: (Quetzalcoatl) Sky Father and (Xochiquetzal) Sky Mother *Uto-Aztecan*
Incan: (Viracocha) Sky Father and (Mama Runtucaya) Sky Mother *Quechuan*
China: (Tian/Shangdi) Sky Father and (Dì) Earth Mother *Sino-Tibetan*
Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian: (An/Anu) Sky Father and (Ki) Earth Mother
Finnish: (Ukko) Sky Father and (Akka) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*
Sami: (Horagalles) Sky Father and (Ravdna) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*
Puebloan-Zuni: (Ápoyan Ta’chu) Sky Father and (Áwitelin Tsíta) Earth Mother
Puebloan-Hopi: (Tawa) Sky Father and (Kokyangwuti/Spider Woman/Grandmother) Earth Mother *Uto-Aztecan*
Puebloan-Navajo: (Tsohanoai) Sky Father and (Estsanatlehi) Earth Mother *Na-Dene*
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“In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Baiame (or Biame, Biami, Baayami, Baayama, Byamee) is the creator god and sky father, and Birrangulu, or Birrahgnooloo, a “fertility spirit” with powers over water (can send floods if properly asked), maintenance of the earthly landscape, and one of his two wives, can be seen as the mother from the sky, often being identified as an emu. By coming to earth (and possibly staying on earth), she may have become the earth mother and is said to be the mother of Daramulum. Daramulum (variations: Darhumulan, Daramulan, Dhurramoolun or Dharramaalan), a sky hero shapeshifter associated with an emu-wife. In other stories, Dharramalan is said to be the brother of Baiame. The Baiame story tells how Baiame came down from the sky to the land and created rivers, mountains, and forests in all the lands. When he had finished, he returned to the sky, and people called him the Sky Hero, or All Father, or Sky Father. He then gave the people their laws of life, traditions, songs, and culture of several Aboriginal Australian peoples of south-eastern Australia, such as the Wonnarua, Kamilaroi, Guringay, Eora, Darkinjung, and Wiradjuri peoples.” ref, ref, ref
“There are Australian Aborigines who believed that the Sun Mother created all the animals, plants, and bodies of water on earth upon the urging of the Father of All Spirits. These two divine beings did not actually have children. Only their names reflected the mother-father theme. However, the Sun Mother was portrayed as one who gives life to the sleeping spirits. A human mother also gives life to a spirit.” ref
I believe that the birth of the Earth Mother, which may have occurred sometime before 10,000 years ago, or after it sometime at least by 8,000 years ago to likely 9,000 years ago from the Sky Woman/Mistress of Animals, took place at Nevalı Çori (8400-8100 BCE or approximately 10,000 years ago), in Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. This new Earth Mother/Mistress of Animals goddess is later seen at Çatal Höyük (7,100-5,700 BCE or 9,100 to 7,700 years ago), sitting figurines, and to me, the standing figurines are likely related to the sky. Later, after 6/5,000 years ago, even sky deities may be depicted as sitting and sitting in a chair/stool in general, after this time seems to be associated with elites and deities. These ideas seem to spread in the movement ways of Haplogroup E, west to Central Turkey as seen at seen at Çatal Höyük, on next to west Turkey, then Europe/Balkans/Ukraine, as seen at the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, It moved south to Israel and Egypt/North Africa, as well as Sodi Arabia and the Horn of Africa. These ideas seem to spread East to Iran, then Pakistan/India, as seen in the Indus Valley civilization.
From Sky Mother to Earth Mother?
Native American Legends: Sky Woman (Ataensic, Atahensic, Ataentsic)
“Tribal affiliation: Iroquois League, Wyandot
Native names: Ataensic, Ata-en-sic, Ataentsic, Atahensic, Ataensiq, Aataentsic, Athensic, Ataensie, Eataentsic, Eyatahentsik, Iaataientsik, Yatahentshi; Iotsitsisonh, Iotsitsisen, Iottsitison, Iottsitíson, Atsi’tsiaka:ion, Atsi’tsiakaion, Ajinjagaayonh; Iagen’tci, Iagentci, Eagentci, Yekëhtsi, Yagentci; Awenhai, Awenha’i, Awenha:ih; Wa’tewatsitsiané:kare; Aientsik, Aentsik
Also known as: Grandmother Moon, the Woman who Fell from the Sky
Type: Mother goddess, sky spirit, first woman
Related figures in other tribes: Nokomis (Anishinabe), Our Grandmother (Shawnee)” ref
“Sky Woman is either the grandmother or the mother (depending on the version) of the twin culture heroes Sky-Holder and Flint, sometimes known as Good Spirit and Bad Spirit.” ref
Sky Woman (depending on the version) either dies giving birth to twins and becomes Earth Mother, or Sky Woman has a daughter who dies giving birth to twins, becoming Earth Mother.
“Myths about Sky Woman vary enormously from community to community. In some Iroquois myths, Sky Woman is a minor character who dies in childbirth immediately upon reaching the earth, while in others, she is the central character of the entire creation saga. In some myths, Sky Woman is the mother of the twins, but more commonly, she is the mother of a daughter, Tekawerahkwa or Breath of the Wind, who in turn gives birth to the twins. In some Iroquois traditions, the twins represent good and evil, while in others, neither twin is evil, but Flint represents destruction, death, night, and winter to Sky-Holder’s creation, life, day, and summer. In many versions of the myth, Sky Woman favored Flint, usually because Flint had deceived her into thinking Sky-Holder killed Tekawerahkwa, but sometimes because Sky Woman herself disapproved of Sky-Holder’s human creations and their ways. In other versions, Sky Woman supported both of her grandchildren equally, declaring that there must be both life and death in the world. Sky Woman is associated with the moon by many Iroquois people. In some traditions, Sky Woman turned into the moon; in others, Sky-Holder turned her body into the sun, moon, and stars after her death; and in still others, it was Sky Woman herself who created the sun, moon, and stars.” ref
“Sky Woman goes by many different names in Iroquois mythology. The name “Sky Woman” itself is a title, not her name– she is a Sky Woman because she is one of the Sky People, Karionake. Her own name is variously given as Ataensic (a Huron name probably meaning “ancient body,”) Iagentci (a Seneca name meaning “ancient woman,”) Iotsitsisonh or Atsi’tsiaka:ion (Mohawk names meaning “fertile flower” and “mature flower,”) Awenhai (a Cayuga and Seneca name also meaning “mature flower,”) and Aentsik (probably an Iroquois borrowing from Huron.) She is sometimes also referred to as Grandmother or Grandmother Moon.” ref
“Sky Woman (Shy Mother in my thinking) is the Iroquois sky goddess who falls from the sky world to a watery world, where animals create land on a turtle’s back. Sky Woman gives birth to the first child on earth, a daughter (Earth Mother in my thinking), who later becomes pregnant, dies in childbirth, giving birth to twins who are polar opposites; her body becomes the source of the Earth’s fertility. The good twin created the Moon and Stars from his mother’s breasts, and tasked them, his sisters, to guard the night sky. He gave the rest of his mother’s body to the earth, the Great Mother from whom all life came. Hahgwehdiyu then planted a seed into his mother’s corpse. From this seed grew corn, as a gift to mankind.”
According to Mohawk midwife Katsi Cook: “They say corn is the breast milk of Mother Earth. In Akwesasne, a Mohawk community on the New York/Canadian border, the connections between women’s fertile bodies and these important cultural foods are reinforced through Mother Earth gardens, which were planted as part of the Ohero:kon Rites of Passage ceremonies revitalized by Bear Clan Mother Louise MacDonald and her family. As part of this ceremony, young men shape a pile of dirt into the form of a woman’s body, while the uncles lead them in a discussion about the sanctity of women. The young women then plant seeds on the woman-shaped garden—corn at her breasts, strawberries at her heart, beans at her fingers, squash at her navel, and sunchokes at her feet—just as they sprang up from the grave of Sky Woman’s daughter.
Sky Woman (Shy Mother in my thinking) fell from the sky and was placed upon the newly formed earth made for her. Soon after her arrival, Sky Woman gave birth to twins. The firstborn became known as the Good Spirit. The other twin caused his mother so much pain that she died during his birth. He was to be known as the Evil Spirit. The Good Spirit took his mother’s head and hung it in the sky, and it became the sun. The Good Spirit also fashioned the stars and the moon from his mother’s body. He buried the remaining parts of Sky Woman under the earth (Thus, she became Earth Mother, in my thinking). Thus, living things may always find nourishment from the soil, for it springs from Mother Earth. While the Good Spirit provided light, the Evil Spirit created the darkness.” ref
Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. ref
Judaism around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (The first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew” dated to around 3,000 years ago Khirbet Qeiyafa is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Elah Valley. And many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed around 2,500) ref, ref
Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)
“Judaism is an Abrahamic, its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Some scholars argue that modern Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the religion of ancient Israel and Judah, by the late 6th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions.” ref
“Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel, essentially polytheistic, with a plethora of gods and goddesses. Heading the pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with his consort, the goddess Asherah; below them were second-tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, all of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees, and a third and fourth tier of minor divine beings, including the mal’ak, the messengers of the higher gods, who in later times became the angels of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yahweh, however, was not the ‘original’ god of Israel “Isra-El”; it is El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, whose name forms the basis of the name “Israel”, and none of the Old Testament patriarchs, the tribes of Israel, the Judges, or the earliest monarchs, have a Yahwistic theophoric name (i.e., one incorporating the name of Yahweh).” ref
“El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity“, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ‘ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning “god”. Specific deities known as ‘El or ‘Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia’s Early Dynastic Period. ʼĒl is listed at the head of many pantheons. In some Canaanite and Ugaritic sources, ʼĒl played a role as father of the gods, of creation, or both. For example, in the Ugaritic texts, ʾil mlk is understood to mean “ʼĒl the King” but ʾil hd as “the god Hadad“. The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh, Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. In Ugaritic the plural form meaning “gods” is ʾilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ʾelōhîm “powers”. In the Hebrew texts this word is interpreted as being semantically singular for “god” by biblical commentators. However the documentary hypothesis for the Old Testament (corresponds to the Jewish Torah) developed originally in the 1870s, identifies these that different authors – the Jahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and the Priestly source – were responsible for editing stories from a polytheistic religion into those of a monotheistic religion. Inconsistencies that arise between monotheism and polytheism in the texts are reflective of this hypothesis.” ref
Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. ref
Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. ref
Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. ref
Christianity around 2,o00 years old. ref
Shinto around 1,305 years old. ref
Islam around 1407–1385 years old. ref
Knowledge to Ponder:
Stars/Astrology:
- Possibly, around 30,000 years ago (in simpler form) to 6,000 years ago, Stars/Astrology are connected to Ancestors, Spirit Animals, and Deities.
- The star also seems to be a possible proto-star for Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna, or Star of Venus.
- Around 7,000 to 6,000 years ago, Star Constellations/Astrology have connections to the “Kurgan phenomenon” of below-ground “mound” stone/wood burial structures and “Dolmen phenomenon” of above-ground stone burial structures.
- Around 6,500–5,800 years ago, The Northern Levant migrations into Jordon and Israel in the Southern Levant brought new cultural and religious transfer from Turkey and Iran.
- “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan may have connections to the European paganstic kurgan/dolmens phenomenon.
“Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamicate world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person’s personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.” ref
Around 5,500 years ago, Science evolves, The first evidence of science was 5,500 years ago and was demonstrated by a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world. ref
Around 5,000 years ago, Origin of Logics is a Naturalistic Observation (principles of valid reasoning, inference, & demonstration) ref
Around 4,150 to 4,000 years ago: The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which was originally titled “He who Saw the Deep” (Sha naqba īmuru) or “Surpassing All Other Kings” (Shūtur eli sharrī) were written. ref
Hinduism:
- 3,700 years ago or so, the oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rig Veda was composed.
- 3,500 years ago or so, the Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Judaism:
- around 3,000 years ago, the first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew”
- around 2,500 years ago, many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed
Myths: The bible inspired religion is not just one religion or one myth but a grouping of several religions and myths
- Around 3,450 or 3,250 years ago, according to legend, is the traditionally accepted period in which the Israelite lawgiver, Moses, provided the Ten Commandments.
- Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, a collection of ancient religious writings by the Israelites based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament is the first part of Christianity’s bible.
- Around 2,400 years ago, the most accepted hypothesis is that the canon was formed in stages, first the Pentateuch (Torah).
- Around 2,140 to 2,116 years ago, the Prophets was written during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books.
- Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections:
- The first five books or Pentateuch (Torah).
- The proposed history books telling the history of the Israelites from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon.
- The poetic and proposed “Wisdom books” dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world.
- The books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God:
- Henotheism:
- Exodus 20:23 “You shall not make other gods besides Me (not saying there are no other gods just not to worship them); gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.”
- Polytheism:
- Judges 10:6 “Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”
- 1 Corinthians 8:5 “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords.”
- Monotheism:
- Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
Around 2,570 to 2,270 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.
Expressions of Atheistic Thinking:
- Around 2,600 years ago, Ajita Kesakambali, ancient Indian philosopher, who is the first known proponent of Indian materialism. ref
- Around 2,535 to 2,475 years ago, Heraclitus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or modern Turkey. ref
- Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, according to The Story of Civilization book series certain African pygmy tribes have no identifiable gods, spirits, or religious beliefs or rituals, and even what burials accrue are without ceremony. ref
- Around 2,490 to 2,430 years ago, Empedocles, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. ref
- Around 2,460 to 2,370 years ago, Democritus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher considered to be the “father of modern science” possibly had some disbelief amounting to atheism. ref
- Around 2,399 years ago or so, Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher was tried for sinfulness by teaching doubt of state gods. ref
- Around 2,341 to 2,270 years ago, Epicurus, a Greek philosopher known for composing atheistic critics and famously stated, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ref
This last expression by Epicurus, seems to be an expression of Axiological Atheism. To understand and utilize value or actually possess “Value Conscious/Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care responsibilities. Because value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic/psychopathic evil.
“Theists, there has to be a god, as something can not come from nothing.”
Well, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something. This does not tell us what the something that may have been involved with something coming from nothing. A supposed first cause, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something is not an open invitation to claim it as known, neither is it justified to call or label such an unknown as anything, especially an unsubstantiated magical thinking belief born of mythology and religious storytelling.
Dylan Violette (CopperViolette)
Psychology Minor and Philosophy Student who’s interested in archaeology, history, and astronomy.
Current Research Interests: The Archaic Era in North America; Long-Distance Trading Across the Americas; Eurasian Prehistory. Current Research Focus: The Eastern Archaic and the Megalithic Builders (10,000 – 1,177 B.C.E.).
Dylan Violette and I decided to blog jointly and will start doing videos together as well. Cory has had to step away from our joint endeavors we did for years, as he has issues he needs to focus on, and my friend Dylan is willing to step in and help me continue making thoughtful videos together.
Our Joint Academia Articles:
While hallucinogens are associated with shamanism, it is alcohol that is associated with paganism.
The Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries Shows in the prehistory series:
Show two: Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show tree: Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show four: Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show five: Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show six: Emergence of hierarchy, sexism, slavery, and the new male god dominance: Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves!
Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses: VIDEO
Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism): VIDEO
Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves: VIEDO
Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State): VIEDO
Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism): VIEDO
I do not hate simply because I challenge and expose myths or lies any more than others being thought of as loving simply because of the protection and hiding from challenge their favored myths or lies.
The truth is best championed in the sunlight of challenge.
An archaeologist once said to me “Damien religion and culture are very different”
My response, So are you saying that was always that way, such as would you say Native Americans’ cultures are separate from their religions? And do you think it always was the way you believe?
I had said that religion was a cultural product. That is still how I see it and there are other archaeologists that think close to me as well. Gods too are the myths of cultures that did not understand science or the world around them, seeing magic/supernatural everywhere.
I personally think there is a goddess and not enough evidence to support a male god at Çatalhöyük but if there was both a male and female god and goddess then I know the kind of gods they were like Proto-Indo-European mythology.
This series idea was addressed in, Anarchist Teaching as Free Public Education or Free Education in the Public: VIDEO
Our 12 video series: Organized Oppression: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of power (9,000-4,000 years ago), is adapted from: The Complete and Concise History of the Sumerians and Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia (7000-2000 BC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFjxmY7jQA by “History with Cy“
Show #1: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Samarra, Halaf, Ubaid)
Show #2: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power
Show #3: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Uruk and the First Cities)
Show #4: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (First Kings)
Show #5: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Early Dynastic Period)
Show #6: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power
Show #7: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Sargon and Akkadian Rule)
Show #9: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Gudea of Lagash and Utu-hegal)
Show #12: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Aftermath and Legacy of Sumer)
The “Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries”
Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ Atheist Leftist @Skepticallefty & I (Damien Marie AtHope) @AthopeMarie (my YouTube & related blog) are working jointly in atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, antifascist, anarchist, socialist, and humanist endeavors in our videos together, generally, every other Saturday.
Why Does Power Bring Responsibility?
Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept? I know I see the deep ethical responsibility that if there is power their must be a humanistic responsibility of ethical and empathic stewardship of that power. Will I be brave enough to be kind? Will I possess enough courage to be compassionate? Will my valor reach its height of empathy? I as everyone, earns our justified respect by our actions, that are good, ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanity’s flushing, over being brought down by some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.
I create the world I want to live in, striving for flourishing. Which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. To master oneself, also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. I may have lost a god myth as an atheist, but I am happy to tell you, my friend, it is exactly because of that, leaving the mental terrorizer, god belief, that I truly regained my connected ethical as well as kind humanity.
Cory and I will talk about prehistory and theism, addressing the relevance to atheism, anarchism, and socialism.
At the same time as the rise of the male god, 7,000 years ago, there was also the very time there was the rise of violence, war, and clans to kingdoms, then empires, then states. It is all connected back to 7,000 years ago, and it moved across the world.
Cory Johnston: https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/04/cory-johnston-mind-of-a-skeptical-leftist/?v=32aec8db952d
The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist (YouTube)
Cory Johnston: Mind of a Skeptical Leftist @Skepticallefty
The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist By Cory Johnston: “Promoting critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics by covering current events and talking to a variety of people. Cory Johnston has been thoughtfully talking to people and attempting to promote critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics.” http://anchor.fm/skepticalleft
Cory needs our support. We rise by helping each other.
Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ @Skepticallefty Evidence-based atheist leftist (he/him) Producer, host, and co-host of 4 podcasts @skeptarchy @skpoliticspod and @AthopeMarie
Damien Marie AtHope (“At Hope”) Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, Psychology, and Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Historian.
Damien is interested in: Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Equality, Ethics, Humanism, Science, Atheism, Antiteism, Antireligionism, Ignosticism, Left-Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism, Mutualism, Axiology, Metaphysics, LGBTQI, Philosophy, Advocacy, Activism, Mental Health, Psychology, Archaeology, Social Work, Sexual Rights, Marriage Rights, Woman’s Rights, Gender Rights, Child Rights, Secular Rights, Race Equality, Ageism/Disability Equality, Etc. And a far-leftist, “Anarcho-Humanist.”
I am not a good fit in the atheist movement that is mostly pro-capitalist, I am anti-capitalist. Mostly pro-skeptic, I am a rationalist not valuing skepticism. Mostly pro-agnostic, I am anti-agnostic. Mostly limited to anti-Abrahamic religions, I am an anti-religionist.
Around 10,000 years ago, ideas went into Africa. Around 10,000 to 9,000 years ago, these ideas from the Middle East were in Siberia then moved to China and to the Americas by around 9,000 years ago. Religious ideas also left the Middle East from 9,000 to 8,000 years ago to Europe. Around 8,000 years ago, new ideas got to Ukraine but didn’t spread far. From 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, ideas again entered Africa with evolved beliefs from the Middle East. By 7,000 years ago, evolved deities from the Middle East moved again to Europe and Ukraine. And 7,000 years ago, the Siberian sun god of the sky, with a warrior culture, armed forts, and pre-kurgans, moved from Siberia to Ukraine and then returned to the Middle East around 6,000 years ago, influencing the Sumerian religious ideas. 6,000 to 5,000 years ago, these new Siberian influenced ideas from the Middle East were also in Africa. Then new evolved ideas moved back out of from Ukraine to the East by 5,500 to 5,000 years ago to Siberia, then China, and the Americas. Ideas from Ukraine went into Europe as well. Then, 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, the new ideas, now somewhat evolved again, from Siberia headed back to Europe, and so did ideas from the Middle East. ETC. This is just a rough outline to grasp some of the details, as I feel I understand them. There is a bit more, but this gives a good idea of how complicated it was.
I think the person, snakes, and two birds seen at Körtik Tepe is the oldest known Neolithic archaeological site in Turkey, more than 12,000 years old, were likely related to the Orion constellation as a shamanic figure holding a snake, referencing the use of the Milky Way to communicate with the gods and ancestors, as well as soul travel via the Milky Way. The big snake to me would reference the Milky Way itself and the two birds, either the star Venus and the moon, or some aspect of the sun, and the moon, but the sun aspect was likely not the noon sun by itself, as I see that as gaining prominence at a later date. And I think the other figures, also related to the Orion constellation, either as a deity or a deity of the stars, put Orion there. I assume, as seen at Tell Fekheriye, Syria, 11,000 to 9,000 years old, involving two standing figures on “step stools of power” that by 11,000 years ago were at least two sky deities, such as something similar to both a sky father and a sky mother deity, at this time, related to the stars, or planets (also seen as stars or star-like). But we must remember that planets were seen as star-related in mythology.
High Gods and a Divine Couple (universal mommy and daddy)?
I think high gods started with a divine couple, a sky god (sky father) “Day sky, often the Sun” and a sky goddess (sky mother) “Night sky, often the Noon” around 11,000 years ago or older, associated with pre-pastoralism animal management, early herding, and proto-pastoralism, of big-horned goats, big-horned sheep, both domesticated around 11,000 years ago, and cattle domesticated around 10,000 years ago or a little older, especially so with cattle, the last three. Then, as farming and agriculture grew and the domestication of grains emerged a little after 10,000 to 9,000 years ago, and along came a new Earth goddess (Earth Mother), who then commonly took the place of the older sky goddess (sky mother) as the wife or consort to the sky god (sky father). This younger divine couple, a sky god (sky father) and Earth goddess (Earth Mother), becomes the norm the world over. Spread largely with the spread of farming and agriculture to me.
The myths of (Sky Father) and Earth Mothers in general are found throughout the world, and I think started in the Middle East, with their origins around 11,000 years ago or older. Though totem couple artifacts are seen in Siberia’s Lake Baikal area with the Ancient North Eurasians Mal’ta–Buret’ culture (24,000 years ago) and seem to trace back to at least Russia, above the area between north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountains at the Kostenki site 25,000 years ago, a time when Kostenki is related to the eastern Gravettian culture, because the Kostenki site started with Aurignacian culture. I think the couple theme, though it seems to have evidence dating back to at least 25,000 years ago in portable totem pole-like figurines, was not considered deities until they evolved in the Middle East, due to different lifestyles creating a motivation for different thinking, a transition from hunting and gathering to herding and farming.
Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):
Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism
My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com