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Essay Comparing Creation Stories

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Each creation story highlights the most important aspects of the cultures that wrote them. Not only do they show the values of the people, but they can give us an insight into how these cultures might have been. Comparing the Atra-hasis, Rig Veda, Genesis, Yijing, and Popol Vuh has uncovered many distinct themes when focusing on the time and place the creation story occurred. Patterns found in creation stories from different parts of the world show how similar human beings are. Creation stories told in the same time period as each other expose many parallels. The Rig Veda and the Yijing, written within 400 years of one another, have many fascinating similarities. Firstly, both creation stories follow a cyclical creation process and it can …show more content…

In the Atra-hasis the entire reason for man to exist is to do the work of the lesser gods, however, by the time the Yijing was copied down, there was nothing humans had to do in return to their divinities. Time reveals many relationships and patterns between creation stories. Creation stories written great time periods away from one another are shown to be very different. Our earliest creation story, the Atra-hasis and a more recent one, the Yijing were written centuries away from one another, this can be proved by the beliefs of the people. The Atra-hasis told its people to worship the gods and complete their tasks whereas the Yijing only described how man could utilize the earth for further development. Similarly, the Atra-hasis and Rig Veda have the same differences. When written in different time periods, creation stories do vary. When written in the same area as one another, creation stories share many common ideas. The creation stories which took place in Eurasia, the Atra-hasis, Rig Veda, Genesis, and the Yijing, all mention or imply patriarchy. Whether it be in male gods or the way in which males and females are placed in order, patriarchy was common in this part of the world. Though agriculture was typical in the Americas, only the creation stories which occurred in Eurasia made a point of mentioning it. The western side of Eurasia is where the cultures that wrote Atra-hasis and Genesis could be found. These two stories are both linear and humans

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