Browsing the archives for the Creation Myths category

Amaterasu Hides Her Face

Cart commemorating Amaterasu’s cave, Kyoto (click picture for details) Credit: Ganjin on Flickr, CC Several recent Mythphile posts hinge on “return of the sun” mythology. Around the world, people have always told stories about night and winter. They attempt to answer a life-or-death question that had no answer before the science of astronomy: how do […]

The Word and Unstruck Sound

Words have power, and many creation myths begin with god speaking or singing the universe into being. The New Testament speaks of Logos, the word. Kosmos, the universe, which also means “that which is ordered, structured,” arises from logos, the word. This is older than Christianity, of course: Greek philosophers spent a lot of time […]

World Flood Myths: Giants, Stones & New Life

Within the last year, devastating floods have hit Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, Queensland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, such that the Christmas flooding in the southwestern U.S. seems like a single drop of water by comparison. Floods are epic events that claim or change lives, fundamentally altering landscapes and leaving traumatic memories in their wake. Unless you have […]