I
n around 4000 BCE, the first
large cities emerged in Sumer,
in southern Mesopotamia.
Soon after, the peoples of the region
developed cuneiform writing. This
enabled them to record myths—
such as that of the fertility goddess,
Inanna—that had previously been
passed down orally. This region
was home to the Epic of Gilgamesh,
one of the oldest of all surviving
literary works, dating to 2100 BCE.
The tale was recorded on clay
tablets discovered in the Library
of Ashurbanipal—named after the
7th-century BCE king—during an
archaeological study of the ancient
city of Nineveh. The Enuma Elish,
a 16th-century Babylonian creation
myth, was also recovered there.
Another civilization to emerge
in the Middle East was that of the
Persians. The first Persian Empireflourished from 550–ca. 330 BCE. Its
myths revolved around the ideas of
good and evil—also evident in
Zoroastrianism, the imperial state
religion from 600 BCE to 650 CE.Myths from major faiths
The Hindu faith that developed
on the Indian subcontinent starting
around 1900 BCE created much of
the framework for Indian myths.
Originally, these were passed
on orally—including India’s two
greatest epic poems, the Ramayana
and Mahabharata, which described
the lives of the gods. However,
Hinduism was not the only faith to
influence mythology in India and
across Asia. Siddhartha Gautama
was born in modern-day Nepal
around the 6th century BCE.
Becoming the Buddha, he gained
many followers, and his teachingsspread from India across the
continent, influencing the myths
of nations such as Japan, China,
and Korea. From the 1st century BCE
onward, it became increasingly
common for tales to be recorded
in these parts of Asia. Myths were
recorded in Sanskrit, which
became the major written language
of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other
faiths that originated in this region.Written narratives
The first royal dynasty in China
emerged around 2200 BCE. Over the
centuries, the political reach of
these rulers extended from their
power base in central China
across Asia. During the 2nd
millennium BCE, Chinese script was
developed. This allowed Chinese
scholars to record myths and
legends in works such as TheINTRODUCTION
CA. 2100–1800 BCE
CA. 1595–1157 BCE CA. 450 BCE CA. 400 BCE CA. 140 BCE
539 BCE 440 BCE 221-206 BCE
The earliest
tablets containing the
Epic of Gilgamesh
are inscribed in
ancient Mesopotamia.The Enuma Elish, an
ancient Babylonian text,
depicts the creation of
the universe by the
primeval gods.Attributed to the sage
Valmiki, the Hindu
epic Ramayana
expounds on the
duties of mankind.Greek writer Herodotus
portrays the ancient
traditions of Persia
and other cultures in
his Histories.The oldest preserved
parts of the anicent
Hindu epic, the
Mahabharata, are
written down.The fall of
Babylon marks the
end of Babylonian
and Akkadian rule
in Assyria.The written
Chinese script is
standardized under
the Qin dynasty.Prince Liu An
discusses mythology
and the ideal social
order in a series of
essays, the Huainanzi.180
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CA. 140 BCE
Shan Hai Jing, or
“The Classic of
Mountains and
Seas,” compiles
Chinese myths.Historical Records of
the Three Sovereign
Divinities tells the
story of Pangu’s
creation of the world.The Devi Mahatmya
follows the valiant
goddess Durga as
she wages war on
the forces of evil.O no Yasumaro’s
Kojiki, composed at
Empress Genmei’s
behest, explores
Japan’s origins.Samguk Yusa
charts the rise of the
Three Kingdoms of
Korea through myth
and history.Avesta, the
sacred book of
Zoroastrianism,
praises the god
Ahura Mazda.Wu Cheng’en’s
Journey to the West
tells the story of
Sun Wukong, the
Monkey King.The Royal Library
of Ashurbanipal,
containing the Epic
of Gilgamesh, is
discovered in Nineveh.Classic of Mountains and Seas and
later Xu Zheng’s Historical Records
of the Three Sovereign Divinities
and the Five Gods. The Japanese
chronicle, Kojiki, was written in a
form of Chinese, as was the Korean
Samguk Yusa.
In some parts of Asia, myths
were only written down in the
20th century, at the instigation of
explorers from the West. The Ifugao
of the Philippines, for example,
continued to transmit their myths
orally for more than 1,000 years,
creating many different versions,
which only began to be documented
by anthropologists in the 1940s.Order and chaos
A major theme in Asian mythology
is the quest for balance, both
in heaven and on Earth. Marduk,
the Babylonian god, helped toestablish order by defeating
the demonic forces of chaos and
naming all things in the universe.
This quest for balance appears in
stories such as that of Pangu, who
emerges from an egg—a theme
that reemerges in the Korean myth
of Jumong—to bring order to a
formless universe and ensure
balance between the forces of Yin
and Yang. The concept of dharma—
living in balance with the cosmos
and the world—is a major theme
in the story of the Hindu god
Rama. The Japanese myth of the
rivalry between the gods
Amaterasu and Susanoo also
displays this clash between
disorder and harmony.
Zoroastrian mythology is based
on the idea of cosmic dualism. The
god Ahura Mazda created a pure
world, which the spirit Ahrimanattacked with aging, sickness, and
death. Ahriman and Ahura Mazda
are twin deities who are exact
opposites: creator and destroyer.Gods and founders
The idea of deities taking multiple
identities or forms is common in
many strands of mythology across
the world, but especially in Asia.
Vishnu, a principal Hindu god and
the preserver in the Trimurti, has
multiple avatars that he embodies
to restore order to the world.
Legendary founding figures are
another common theme in Asian
mythology. Some are gods who
created entire countries. Others are
mythical human figures, such as
Dan’gun Wanggeom, who founded
the first Korean Kingdom, or Yi, the
fabled archer who saved the world
from 10 blazing suns. ■ASIA
1 ST CENTURY BCE
3 RD CENTURY CE 5 –7TH CENTURY CE 1277 CE 1849 CE
CA. 309 CE 712 CE CA. 1592 CE
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