SOME TALES FROM MYTHOLOGIES

SOME TALES FROM MYTHOLOGIES

HOW DID THE MYTHOLOGICAL STORIES ABOUT THE EARTH START ?

In ancient times, our ancestors gazed in awe at the Sun, Moon, and stars and wondered how they came into existence.

They trembled with fear when lighting flashed and thunder crashed,when the Earth shook, and when winds roared. They welcomed life giving rains, and were fascinated by the towering mountains and by the restless oceans.

In trying to figure out an explanation for all these wondrous phenomena, they wove stories about them. These evolved into the myths, legends, and religions of the different civilizations and cultures of the ancient world, including the Ancient Greek, Egyptian,Roman, and Indian civilizations.What is really surprising though, is the remarkable similarity that these mythologies have with one another.

WHO WAS GEB?

In ancient Egypt, Geb was worshipped as the Earth God. He was the provider of crops and a healer. The Ancient Egyptians believed that his laughter caused earthquakes!

Since he was God of the Earth, all life on the Earth and below it, was his domain. To show his powers for making life from the Earth, Geb is sometimes drawn with flowers coming out of his elbow. 

He was also responsible for the dead bodies beneath the Earth, and their tombs.So, Geb was also considered to be the God of Death. 

He was one of the gods that sat in a judgement when a dead person's heart was weighed on scales to determine his fate in afterlife. Geb was often depicted as a male figure with the head of a goose. 

WHO WAS THE SUMERIAN GOD OF THE EARTH AND AIR?

More than 3,000 years ago in the land that was then called Mesopotamia, and is now known as Iraq and Kuwait, an ancient civilization known as the Sumerian civilization flourished. The Sumerians had many gods and goddesses, and one of them was Enlil. He was God of the lands and of the Earth. He was a very powerful god, who held the tablets of destiny.

These tablets gave him control over the fate of Man. Enlil himself is depicted as wearing a crown with horns. His temple, the 'mountain house' was located in the city of Nippur, the religious center of Mesopotamia.

According to Sumerian mythology, Enlil, who was considered to be the 'father of the gods', was banished to the world of the dead by the other gods, for certain wrongs that he committed.

WHO WAS GAEA?

Gaea is the Earth goddess in Greek mythology. Gaea was born from Chaos, the great void of emptiness within the Universe; She gave birth to Pontus the sea, and Uranus the sky.

Her offspring included the Titans, 6 sons and 6 daughters. Gaea was worshipped as the Universal mother, who not only created the Universe, but also created the first race of Gods and the first humans. Gaea is responsible for the star spangled sky,the magnificent mountains, the sweeping plains, the tumultuous seas and the winding rivers that make this Earth so beautiful. 

Gaea presided over marriages, and was honored as a prophetess.She was supreme, and the Greeks believed that an oath sworn by Gaea was the strongest, since no one could escape from the Earth. 

She was also worshipped under the epithet Anesidora, which means 'giver of gifts'.

WHAT WERE THE MAYAN BELIEFS ABOUT THE EARTH?

The Maya was an ancient civilization that stretched throughout much of Central America. Their universe was composed of kab, or Earth which could be seen around them, kan, or the sky above, where the invisible gods lived and xibalba, or the watery underworld below where the invisible underworld gods dwelt.

They believed that the Earth itself was flat with 4 corners, each representing a different direction. Each direction also had a specific color - red for east, white for north, black for west, and yellow for south- but the center was green. 

Some Mayans believed that the sky was multi - layered, and was supported at the corners of the Earth by 4 gods of immense physical strength called Bacabs. Others believed it to be held up by 4 trees of different colors. The Earth itself, according to the Mayans, was the back of a giant crocodile that rested in a pool of water lilies. 

WHAT IS PANCHAMAMA?

The Incas had one of the greatest civilizations of Ancient Peru. They worshipped the Sun God Inti, and the Earth Goddess Panchamama, as well as the Moon, thunder, lightning and rainbows. 

Their emperors were believed to be descendants of the Sun God, while the Earth Goddess Panchamama, whose name means 'World Mother, presided over planting and harvesting.

She was honored at harvest festivals, and also at all other festivals throughout the year. She lived beneath the mountains and when she quivered the Earth shook. Panchamama's sacred animals are the puma and the snake. 

The dragon is also sacred to her, in fact, she is herself viewed as a benevolent dragoness. She is the Great Creator of the Universe,and the Universe itself. Panchamama teaches us to care for her fertile world, and if we do so, she will be bountiful.

WHO IS BHUMI DEVI?

The Earth is revered to as a goddess in Hindu Mythology. Her name is Bhumi Devi, and she is the Divine mother Earth,who gives life, nourishes, and sustains. 

She is also the divine wife of Varaha, an avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In the story of their pairing, Bhumi Devi takes on the role of the Earth, while Varaha assumes the form of a boar. 

When Mother Earth is carried off by the demon Hiranyaksha, and submerged under the vast ocean by the demons, Varaha comes to her aid, diving deep into the great waters.

 At the bottom of the ocean, he kills the demon and carries Bhumi Devi on his snout, above the water once again. He then maps the Earth as it is known today, sculpting mountains and valleys, and dividing it into the continents.

Bhumi Devi plays a major role in Ramayana too, where she is worshipped as the mother of Sita, who was found by her father in a ploughed field. It is believed that, when Sita finally left her husband Rama, she returned to Bhumi Devi. 

WHY IS PRITHVI IMPORTANT?

Hindus also worship Mother Earth as the Goddess Prithvi. She represents the feminine, the creative, the cosmic energy of the Universe.

She makes our life possible, and sustains it. She represents fertility, and is the source of all plants and living things. Goddess Prithvi is never addressed alone. She is always linked to Dyaus who is the male deity associated with the sky. They are considered as the parents who have created the world. Thus Dyaus is often called the father, and Prithvi is known as the mother. 

Prithvi plays an important role in Buddhism too. She is depicted as protecting Gautama Buddha, and as being a witness to his enlightenment.

She is a national personification in Indonesia, where she is known as Ibu Pertiwi.

WHO WAS THE EARTH GODDESS OF THE MAORI CIVILIZATION?

The Ancient Maori people of the New Zealand believed that Rangi and Papa were the sky father and the earth mother. They were locked together in a tight embrace. They had many children, who were forced to live in the cramped darkness between them.

The children longed to live in the light. Tumatauenga, the fiercest of the children, proposed that the best solution was to kill their parents. But his brother Tane disagreed. He suggested that it would be better to push them apart, to let Rangi be a stranger to them in the sky above, while Papa would remain below to nurture them.
After many attempts, Tane, god of forests and birds, forced his parents apart.The parents were heartbroken at being separated. 
Tawhirimatea the god of storms and winds, could not bear to hear the cries of his parents, nor see the tears of Rangi. He flew off to join Rangi, and his children include the winds. Papa, the Earth Goddess, continued to weep for her husband, and her tears are the rain.


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