Creation Myths

Author: Marie-Louise von Franz
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834840804
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Book Description
A leading Jungian scholar analyzes common motifs in creation myths from cultures around the world, explaining how they “inform the collective unconscious and contribute to our ability to create as human beings” (Parabola) Creation myths are the deepest and most important of all myths because they are concerned with both the basic patterns of existence and the ultimate meaning of life. In this book, an eminent Jungian analyst examines the recurring motifs that appear in creation myths from around the world and shows what they teach us about the mysteries of creativity, the cycles of renewal in human life, and the birth of consciousness in the individual psyche. Among the topics discussed are: • Why the creative process is often accompanied by anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear of the unknown. • The meaning of creation motifs such as the egg, the seed, the primordial being, the creative fire, the separation of heaven and earth, and the four stages of creation. • Creation symbolism in the alchemical opus of medieval tradition. • How creation-myth motifs appear in the dreams of people who are on the verge of a leap forward in consciousness.

In the Beginning

Author: Carolyn North
Publisher: ICRL Press
ISBN: 193603302X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 106

Book Description
IN THE BEGINNING: CREATION MYTHS FROM AROUND THE WORLD is a beautifully illustrated and informative collection of creation stories from 15 cultures, using indigenous sources. These stories demonstrate that creation is ongoing, everywhere and always, and that all of us are creators all of the time. This engaging book of images and stories is ultimately about creativity in all its forms. Originally an exhibition, IN THE BEGINNING has appeared in museums, galleries, churches, and schools in several U.S. cities. An audio version of the book, in which the myths are read by Amy Walker, is available from Findhorn Press.

A Dictionary of Creation Myths

Author: David Adams Leeming
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780195102758
Category : Creation
Languages : en
Pages : 342

Book Description

Encyclopedia of Allegorical Literature

Author: David A. Leeming
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
From Absalom and Achitophel to Zadig, and from Richard Adams to William Butler Yeats, this volume presents more than 400 articles covering all aspects of literary allegory. In addition, it examines the relationship of allegory to film, music, psychoanalysis, and other fields. Includes many illustrations and black-and-white photos, and an extensive index and bibliography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Babylonian Creation Myths

Author: Wilfred G. Lambert
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1575068613
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 657

Book Description
For much of the last half of the twentieth century, W. G. Lambert devoted much of his research energy and effort to the study of Babylonian texts dealing with Mesopotamian ideas regarding creation, including especially Enuma Elish. This volume, which appears almost exactly 2 years after Lambert’s death, distills a lifetime of learning by the world’s foremost expert on these texts. Lambert provides a full transliteration and translation of the 7 tablets of Enuma Elish, based on the known exemplars, as well as coverage of a number of other texts that bear on, or are thought to bear on, Mesopotamian notions of the origin of the world, mankind, and the gods. New editions of seventeen additional “creation tales” are provided, including “Enmesharra’s Defeat,” “Enki and Ninmah,” “The Slaying of Labbu,” and “The Theogony of Dunnu.” Lambert pays special attention, of course, to the connection of the main epic, Enuma Elish, with the rise and place of Marduk in the Babylonian pantheon. He traces the development of this deity’s origin and rise to prominence and elaborates the relationship of this text, and the others discussed, to the religious and political climate Babylonia. The volume includes 70 plates (primarily hand-copies of the various exemplars of Enuma Elish) and extensive indexes.

Sun Songs

Author: Raymond Van Over
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Creation
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Book Description

In the Beginning

Author: Virginia Hamilton
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780152387426
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Book Description
An illustrated collection of twenty-five myths from various parts of the world explaining the creation of the world.

Myths of Creation

Author: Philip Freund
Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
ISBN: 0720618053
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293

Book Description
An exploration of mythology, religious belief, and scientific theory on the origins of the universe. A classic study of mythology, this examination investigates stories from all continents and ages—with all their startling similarities and contrasts—to reveal the workings of the human mind and imagination. Philip Freund provides revealing insight into the universality of ideas and faith by examining a wide range of texts such as the Old Testament, the Upanishads, and Gilgamesh in his search for parallels between creation fables. The analysis estimates, for example, that more than 500 flood legends have been told by more than 250 tribes and peoples from around the world. Also featured are clear presentations of the theories of towering figures such as Freud, Jung, Frazer, Campbell, and Malinowski who have proposed variously that myths are primitive history based on literal fact, a means of expressing profound tribal wisdom and psychological and sexual truth, or that they represent a search for kinship with the animal and vegetable world. Fascinating and erudite, this revered book ranks among the select handful of core texts in any mythology collection.

Creation Myths of the World [2 volumes]

Author: David A. Leeming
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1598841750
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 654

Book Description
The most comprehensive resource available on creation myths from around the world—their narratives, themes, motifs, similarities, and differences—and what they reveal about their cultures of origin. ABC-CLIO's breakthrough reference work on creation beliefs from around the world returns in a richly updated and expanded new edition. From the Garden of Eden, to the female creators of Acoma Indians, to the rival creators of the Basonge tribe in the Congo, Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia, Second Edition examines how different cultures explain the origins of their existence. Expanded into two volumes, the new edition of Creation Myths of the World begins with introductory essays on the five basic types of creation stories, analyzing their nature and significance. Following are over 200 creation myths, each introduced with a brief discussion of its culture of origin. At the core of the new edition is its enhanced focus on creation mythology as a global human phenomenon, with greatly expanded coverage of recurring motifs, comparative themes, the influence of geography, the social impact of myths, and more.

Creation Stories

Author: Anthony Aveni
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300251246
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Book Description
An accessible exploration of how diverse cultures have explained humanity's origins through narratives about the natural environment Drawing from a vast array of creation myths--Babylonian, Greek, Aztec, Maya, Inca, Chinese, Hindu, Navajo, Polynesian, African, Norse, Inuit, and more--this short, illustrated book uncovers both the similarities and differences in our attempts to explain the universe. Anthony Aveni, an award-winning author and professor of astronomy and anthropology, examines the ways various cultures around the world have attempted to explain our origins, and what roles the natural environment plays in shaping these narratives. The book also celebrates the audacity of the human imagination. Whether the first humans emerged from a cave, as in the Inca myths, or from bamboo stems, as the Bantu people of Africa believed, or whether the universe is simply the result of Vishnu's cyclical inhales and exhales, each of these fascinating stories reflects a deeper understanding of the culture it arose from as well as its place in the larger human narrative.