Norse+Creation+of+World+vs+Greek+Creation+of+World



In the early stages of the world, there were three great lands; Ginnungagap, Niefheim, and Muspelheim. Ginnungagap was in the center. It was a deep chasm of nothingness. Muspelheim was to the south, and was the land of flames and fire. Niefheim was the land of fog and ice. In Niefheim, there were these eleven rivers that flowed from the spring Hvergelmir. Eventually over time, the rivers kept freezing, and each layer of frozen water let the river grow higher until it eventually started to tumble into Ginnungagap. Similarly to the south, Muspelheim started to spark and bubble, splashing flaming rocks into Ginnungagap. The heat of the fire eventually started to melt the frozen rivers, and the mixture caused a great primordial giant named Ymir and the cow Audhumla. The cow provided the milk that kept Ymir alive ("Norse Mythology”).

After awhile, Ymir began to sweat from the heat. From his arm sweat, a male and female giant were born, and another giant popped up from his leg sweat. These were the first three giants. The cow Audhumla was busy licking the salty ice for nutrients, and from this licking, the god Buri was created. Buri went to have a son, Bor. Bor had three children, Odin, Vili and Ve. Odin and his brothers then killed Ymir, unleashing a torrent of blood that washed away all of the frost giants except two. The sons of Bor then threw the carcass of Ymir into Ginnungagap to create the land and the sky (“Norse Creation Myth”). The stars, sun, and the moon were created from sparks that shot out of Muspelheim. One day, the gods were walking on the beach when they saw two logs on the sand. One was of an elm tree, and the other of an ash tree. The gods crafted these into the first two humans, and they lived on Midgard, the world of men. The rest of the gods lived on Asgard, which was above Midgard.

The creation of the world in Norse Mythology shares some similarities with the Greek creation of the world. In Greek mythology, there was a great big void known as Chaos. Chaos serves as the same median that the world is created out of, similar to Ginnungagap's role. After awhile, Chaos started to shift and change, and out of it, arose Gaia, which was the Earth, Tartarus, which was the underworld, Eros, whom controlled desire, Nyx, the darkness that arose during night, and Erebus, the darkness that was found all over the underworld ("Greek Creation Myths" ). Gaia created Ouranos, the starry sky, to cover her rolling hills and seas. Ouranos and Gaia copulated and many titans were born. Eventually, Gaia became tired of Ouranos always wanting children, so Gaia asked her youngest son, Cronos, to make him stop. Cronos eventually killed Ouranos and became the head Titan. Further down the line, Zeus does the same thing to Cronos and becomes the head god. It was during this time that a titan by the name of Prometheus crafted humans from clay so that the gods would have something to worship them.

Many similarities are seen between the two creation myths. Firstly, there was nothing but primal energy, and something more and more fine becomes created from it. In the Greek version, Gaia serves as the earth, and is created as such. In Norse mythology, Ymir lived as a frost giant, but when he died, he was turned into the world. In both myths, humans are created out of inanimate objects. Wood in the Norse creation myth, and clay in the Greek creation myth. Both also have similarities with how the gods have their own realm above where men live. Overall, the Greek myths of the creation of the world and of humans have a lot more different gods succeeding, while the Norse have a short line of succession leading to the creation of humans.

References: "Greek Creation Myths." //Crystalinks//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. "Norse Creation Myth." //Meta-Religion//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. "Norse Mythology." //Myths Encyclopedia//. Advameg Inc, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.