Creation or Chaos

Pillars of Creation (Hubble Telescope)

The similarities, fittingly enough start at the beginning! In the Greek accounts (Hesiod) Chaos gave birth to Earth, Tartarus (underworld), Eros (love and sex), Erebus (darkness) and black night. In the Christian creation story of Genesis the earth began with nothingness - a void (Genesis 1:2) God, who would be paralleled to Chaos, creates all the same things other than an underworld, with the creation of Eros being Adam and Eve. This obviously differs, with God remaining in the universe in Biblical stories whereas in Greek accounts Chaos is replaced with several divine and actual beings. Regarding God/Chaos, the question is; why is one so much easier to believe than the other? Is it not just as easy to imagine that the earth is ruled by human-like beings with human like emotions/wants/desires/needs etc. as an all-encompassing all-knowing/loving and powerful being? Look at the picture above; is this God or Chaos...?

A translation of Hesiod’s Theogany can be viewed at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/theogony.htm

The standard U.S.A. version of Genesis can be viewed at: http://asvbible.com/genesis/1.htm 

Crossing the Gods...

Eve AKA Pandora...?

The stories continue their similarities with the fall of man's relationship with God/Zeus. The offences to both Gods did vary, but both were the result of deceit, trickery and temptation that were both in relation to food; Zeus tricked into taking the fat covered bones and Eve by eating the apple in Eden. The most relevant similarity in these stories is not in the deceit itself however, it is the strikingly similar roles that women play in both. In the biblical account, it is Eve who disobeys God resulting in man being exiled from the pure utopia that was the Garden of Eden. Now man must face all the worries/dangers/evils that come with this. While in the Greek account woman (Pandora) was actually the punishment intended for man for the deceit of Zeus. Pandora, then later, also released all the evils upon the world. In both accounts it was women who were the cause of man’s ‘fall from grace’.

Zeus or Jesus...?

There can be only ONE!!

Now let us take a look at some of the major players! Round one: Zeus versus Jesus. In Greek myth, the Greek God Cronos was warned of a prophecy that one of his children would conquer and overthrow him. To prevent this, Cronos thought it would be a good idea to swallow his children. Rhea, Cronos' wife, managed to hide his youngest child, Zeus by sending him to a cave in Crete. He was nourished by the goat of Amalthea and a swarm of bees, amongst other animals to aid him. In the biblical story, King Herod heard of a prophecy that the "king of the Jews" was to be born. Jesus (also a son of God) was hidden from Herod and born in a cave in Israel. Animals surrounded and offered warmth to Jesus in the cave (Matthew 2). Both prophecies were unsuccessfully thwarted and the sons of Gods continued on to succeed. Both characters sit upon the throne of their respective kingdoms, be it Mt Olympus or Heaven. Another thought…maybe it's all in the name Jesus (often pronounced HEY-ZEUS)....

The Great Flood!!

Prometheus Calling

Probably one of the clearest parallels revolve around the great flood. In Greek myth, Zeus becomes very angry with his bronze race due to their overwhelming wickedness and intends to flood the entire world to eliminate the race. Warned by his father Prometheus, Deucalion built an ark to survive the flood with his wife Pyrrha in order to re-populate the earth. In the Christian account (Genesis 6) "the lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become" and he decided to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. However, he found righteousness in one man, Noah; so God had him build an ark so that he, his family, and two of every animal on earth would survive to re-populate the earth.

Two floods to eradicate man for his wickedness. Two Arks. Warnings from God to one man to save himself and family. I think the similarities speak for themselves!

The Heroes Collide

Lions Pffft you ain't seen nothin!

We should start with arguably the greatest of Greek heroes, Hercules (Heracles as in Greek). His strength was unmatched. His conquests stuff of true legends. Killing lions with his bare hands. Capturing Cerberus (The guard dog from hell). But strong not just in the physical sense; strong willed enough to leave the island of Lemnos, even with it being solely populated by needing women, cunning enough to steal the apples of Hersperides. All in all, one very capable man!

Hmmm seems to remind me of someone...Oh yes Samson comes to mind! Samson too had god like strength and coincidentally he also strangled and killed a lion. He also got himself in some lady troubles with the harlots of Canaan too. His ventures certainly do not go to the extremes of Hercule's but the similarities certainly shine through.

A key similarity to note as well is the death of these great heroes is not the result of a great war or battle but resulting from the betrayal of a woman. Delilah in Samson's case who cut his hair in order to take away his strength and Deianeira who poisoned Herucles with the blood of Nessus to stop him being unfaithful.

Oh The Humanity!

Must Have Faith!

What is it to sacrifice one's own children? I suppose the ultimate sacrifice to God; what kind of God I'm not too sure! 

Anyway getting on with it! There are two stories here; one, of the sacrifice of Phrixos and Helle, and the other of the sacrifice of Isaac. 

In the Greek account King Athamas, thinking it was under Gods order was set to kill his two children, Phrixos and Helle. "The oracle said, kill Phrixos and Helle at the altar for a sacrifice, or your corn will grow no more". This was very hard for the king but he believed he must obey what he believed to be a God's wish. At the altar, knife in hand at the moment of sacrifice, a golden ram was sent from the God's to rescue them. 

In the biblical account Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son Isaac; Abraham who did not want to go against the word of god set about to do so. He took his son atop a mountain, he built an altar and with knife to throat an angel of God came down to spare Isaac. Abraham happy with this also found a ram stuck in a bush and sacrificed that in Isaac's place. 

So in both accounts we have a father, against his will, set to sacrifice his child/children by the word of God. We have the children at the altar under knife, and at the last moment saved by divine intervention and also, but under different pretences a ram. 

What Does it All Mean!?

What did he SAY??

Myth: Cultural Globalization?

Due to the compelling commentary, I feel the need to examine a little more in depth; where and how all these similarities come about!  Throughout religion and myth, similarities in the stories occur; so what is it that causes these similarities? Is it indeed just coincidence? Is it a divine force that inspires the stories authors? Is it perhaps truth, or at least the adaptation of truth? Or is it just collections of stories from all over the world that are adapted and changed to suit the current culture? When considering this it may be beneficial to think about how ideas, stories and beliefs are spread today.

It is typically ruled out, due to the laws of possibility - especially considering the odd nature of the subject - that the similarities in myth (including early biblical stories) are just coincidences. Some theists may point at a divine force; not necessarily in the sense of the muses as in Homer and Hesiod, but of a divine force at one time “Not only is the Myth the explanation of the rite, it is at the same time, in part at least, the explanation of god…worshipers will not proceed one step without authority. And who is their authority? Well, the oldest tribesman within his memory. And so the tradition goes back and back…and it ends, as a thousand instances show…in a divine founder” (Raglan, 1955). The theory is that the idea had to come from somewhere; these stories, all containing gods and divine beings, had to originate from some truth. So, whether it be Homer, Moses, Jesus or Hesiod, or more likely someone far, far, back in history, someone had to have this interaction with the divine.

This theistic idea then blends two theories together. It suggests the origin of myth is God, but it also suggests that these stories originate from a similar source, the latter which applies whether it is God who is the originator or real events. This would provide a very clear understanding for why so many similarities are seen in myths and religions, especially in a day when the written word was non-existent! Can you imagine what would happen to a Chinese-whisper that lasted for thousands of years? Similarities would most likely be seen in the end, but some vast differences would most likely have arisen; just like myths and religions. This may be a good time to take a look at our world, present day, to see how ideas in our time spread.

We live in a world with over 31,000 McDonalds in over 120 countries. We have Christianity, through to the European football league, being worshipped by people in the middle of Africa; Hollywood celebrities who are known in more countries in the world than can be imagined. Does that mean we assume them to be coincidence? Or divinely intended? Of course not! We have explanations for these things, we have migration, technology, globalisation; but are they the same all over the world? In n McDonalds you have the Chicken McNuggets and the McChicken, but then you have the McVeggie and the Chicken Maharaja Mac. Why these similarities and why the differences? The similarities are easy to explain, they originate from a similar source; but then why the difference? It may also be fairly simple; culture. The majority of Indians are Hindu, they do not eat cow, so cultural adaptations are made; new facets are added and some removed to fit into the culture it resides in.

Christianity is another example. From historical evidence it arose from a single source and from this source, many different sects of Christianity has arisen. From the Zion Christian Church in Africa to the Conservative Protestant Christianity (who gave rise to the Ku Klux Klan) in America. As the religion was spread over the world through multiple means it encountered differing cultures and in these cultures it adapted. The religions share many similarities, but also very many differences, differences that allow it to fit into varying cultures. Now imagine this in another two thousand years, or more, and imagine there being no textual way to pass on the stories, or evidence of origin; they are almost unrecognizable now!

Our world today has gone mad with technology, and with it has come the cultural globalisation of thousands of things. It has allowed migration in the millions per year, telecommunication by the billions and because of this we have so many examples of similar ideas, originating from one source, seen around the world, that vary due to culture. I believe it is perfectly reasonable to apply this to the ideas of past stories and mythologies. Due to similarities seen throughout, it is reasonable to assume that Myth, be it biblical, Greek or Babylonian, arose from a shared source. This great story (truth or not) was then spread throughout cultures around the world, from the likes of travellers, art and migration. The stories were adapted to suit as it met differing cultures and in different times much like the Chicken Maharaja Mac, and due to oral repetition being the spreading tool of these stories, the differences or origins could become easily enlarged and dramatized. So unless some amazing discoveries are made, the original source will most likely never be known, but I think it is fair to assume that the Christian Bible and Greek Myth share, at least some common history.

Raglan, L. (1955). Myth and ritual. Journal of American Folklore, 68(270), 454-461.