Creation Myth

Creation myths (cosmogonic myths) are foundational narratives that explain how the universe, earth, life, and human civilization came into being. Despite their diversity, creation myths share common patterns: emergence from chaos or void, the cosmic egg, earth-diver myths (where an animal brings mud from the ocean floor), and world-parent myths (where sky and earth separate). Greek mythology describes Chaos giving birth to Gaia and Uranus; Norse mythology tells of Ymir being dismembered to form the world; Genesis describes divine speech creating the cosmos; and Japanese mythology recounts Izanagi and Izanami churning the primordial sea. Creation myths establish a culture's fundamental worldview and its relationship to the natural and supernatural.