World Literature

1

• World Literature
• Teacher Mr. Woodrum
• -Take a course outline from back table
• -Seating Chart
• -Creation Myth lecture

2
Creation Myths

• Cosmogeny Explanation of the origin of the
  universe.
• Motif a little theme
• A. Dominant Motifs There are some dominant
  motifs that can appear in creation myths
• The Cosmic Egg
• Primitive Chaos
• Creation Ex-Nihilo
• World Parents
• Emergence from Earth

3
Creation Myth Characteristics

• B. Creator Is there one or many?
  (MonotheisticOne/PolytheisticMore than One)
• Is/are the God(s) humanlike (anthropomorphic)?
• C. Creation Was creation accomplished by word,
  act, or both? What kind of act? What kind of
  words were spoken?
• D. Creation of humans From what materials were
  humans created?

4
Creation Myths continued

• E. Evil/Death/Punishment Was evil involved in
  the creation of the world and/or humankind?
• Did humans bring evil into creation or was it
  brought in otherwise?
• Why did evil appear, if it did appear?
• How was death explained?
• Was humankind punished for anything?

5
Creation Myths . . .

• F. Destruction/Renewal Was creation
  cyclicalthat is, was the world repeatedly
  destroyed and renewed? Was there any indication
  of an afterlife?

6
Motif Chart for Creation Myths

• Dominant Creator Creation
  Creation Evil/Death Destruction/
• Motif of man Punishment Renewal

7
Cuneiform wedge-shaped writing on stone tablets.