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Life From The Present: Motifs In Myth

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Recommended: Importance of Greek mythology

Faith Dailey
Motif Essay
Mythology
4 April 2023
Learning About Life from the Past in the Present: Motifs in Myths Mythology has a vast variety of cultures containing creation myths, all of which are unique and individual to one another; every culture has a completely different creation myth. However, there are many motifs -- otherwise known as recurring features or ideas -- that the extremely diverse series of myths share. These similarities can help the humans of the present learn more about the humans of the past. Concerning creation myths, there are three main motifs that raise questions and hint at possible knowledge about these past humans: the ideas of gods and goddesses representing nature, the significance of nature, and the ideas …show more content…

Greek mythology contains many gods and goddesses within a very complicated family tree: such as Zeus, the god of the sky with his mighty thunderbolt; Poseidon, the god of the sea with his trident; and not to mention the many other gods and goddesses, who all have powers regarding nature and such. In the Theogony, the Greek creation myth creators even went as far as to explain why and how humans possess fire and other phenomenons. Another amazing example of this theory is the Hindu creation myth, Rig Veda, where most of the creation myth revolves around Prajapati and his beautiful daughter Dawn; the two representing a stag and a doe. After what the people of the Hindu culture perceive as an unforgivable sin, Prajapati and Dawn produced all of the cattle of the world. This creation myth could suggest that cattle, as well as the stag and the doe, are extremely important to the Hindu …show more content…

However, the Mayans and the Egyptians also state that humans were meant to worship the gods and goddesses as well. There are also creation myths that have completely different reasons for the creation of humans; such as the Chinese Songs of Chu, where the dragon goddess Nuwa desires someone to talk to and love; or the Cheyenne creation myth, where Maheo creates humans as a gift to Grandmother Earth, so she has company and the knowledge that Maheo cares for

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