How the World was Created According to Greek Mythology?

No one can say that Greek mythology is all about one myth. Actually it is the combination of many myth that gives Greek mythology it’s flavour – every mythological story differs such as the story of Hesiod, Homer, and Orphism about how the world, gods, and humans are created. In this article, we are going to read about – how the world was created according to Greek Mythology? The creation of the universe is a significant aspect of mythologies and religions. In a few cultures, the tale of creation is detailed and well-recorded such as the one used by the Abrahamic faiths, the Book of Genesis. However, the story of Greek mythology differs from several other traditions. Hesiod offers the most complete and popular creation myth, while Homer creates a bridge between the older custom and Hesiod. The Orphic tradition however is different from both the traditions.

Hesiod

The first creation myth of Greek was recorded by Hesiod named Theogony, in which Hesiod elaborates on the creation of the universe, god, and mankind. This poem is the most well-known out of the three and the longest written creation tale of the creation myths. It commences with a hymn for the muses and it tells the story of the world beginning from when there was just one primordial situation, to the formation of women.

The other poem of Hesiod named Works and Days contains tales about the formation of man and woman, but in totality, it is not a creation myth. It was only Chaos or the “yawning void” during the primordial condition and from that emerged Gaia or Earth, Eros or Desire, Erebus or Darkness, Tartarus or Underworld, and Nyx or Night. After that, they formed the other primordial beings – Uranus or Sky or Heaven, Pontus or Sea, and Hemera or Day. Gaia and Uranus create the ‘Twelve Titans” – six brothers and sisters who will mate with each other. According to Hesiod’s Works and Days, mankind was created several times by the Olympian gods and Titans.

Homer

Homer is perhaps the most known Greek poet due to the creation of Homer and Odyssey. In Iliad during the deception of Zeus in Book XIV, Hera addresses Oceanus and Typhus as the primeval couple instead of Uranus and Gaia. According to Theogony, Typhus and Uranus were the Titans who gave birth to the sea and river deities. The tradition of Typhus and Oceanus, two water deities, present within the epic book of the Iliad could be an indication of an earlier Greek creation myth, the myth of Eurynome. In this creation myth, Eurynome and Ophion emerged from disorder and created a cosmic egg from which the universe and the gods were formed.

Orphic

A Greek enigmatic religion is said to be formed by Orpheus known as Orphism. The creation of religion and myth revolves around the god Dionysus and his resurrection. There is no recorded form of the religion in the form of a book but the hymns and other accounts help us to comprehend its creation myth. Several scholars believe that this religion comes was influenced by Eastern culture. In Orphism, humankind was created from the ashes of the Zagreus (Dionysus was originally named Zagreus after he was born as the son of Zeus and Persephone) and Titans. The Orphic tradition believes in the fact that it is the soul of a man that is divine and the body is a sin – as the body comes from the ashes of Titans and the soul comes from the ashes of Zagreus.

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