All about history book of myths and legends. ( PDFDrive )

Europe that, because they have been written

down and widely circulated, have had an

enormous influence across the world.

COSMOS AND PEOPLE
Among the seemingly endless variety of myths

are common themes. Nearly every mythology

starts with the question: “How did the universe

begin?” Often, a shadowy creator takes the first

step; a god, perhaps, who wills himself into

being. Frequently, the creator is faced with a

cosmic egg. In one variation of the Chinese

creation myth, for instance, the god Pan Gu

has to break such an egg to form the land and

sky. Sometimes the creator has to fetch land

from the depths of a primal ocean – like the

Earth Diver, a common figure in Native

American myths. In other myths the world is

the ofspring of a male and a female creator.

Often, people come much later. Usually

they are moulded from clay or carved from

wood. Like human sculptors, the gods often

make several false starts. Myths from Mexico

to Greece tell of three versions of people, only

the last being right. Sometimes the first people

are male, and when they begin to die the gods

make women so that the people can reproduce.

GODS AND THEIR POWERS

Most cultures have a large number of gods or

spirits – sometimes thousands, because there

are spirits everywhere. In places as far apart as

INTRODUCTION

SOME CULTURES HAVE THOUSANDS OF

DEITIES, SO THE SCOPE FOR VARIATIONS

IN THEIR MYTHS IS ALMOST INFINITE.

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