The Creation of Life: the Fundamental Worldviews of the Originating Cultures - Essay Example

There were also issues regarding rules being explicitly ordered to comply; yet, were evidently broken. Finally, the symbols included fire for power or energy for warmth needed for existence, gods as possessing supreme power who enabled the creation of the world and everything in it. There were disparities between the myths in terms of characters and settings. For one, the three myths have diverse conceptual settings. In the Greek creation myth, everything was deemed to have started in darkness and nothing really existed except a bird with black wings.

In contrast, the African myth indicated that there were already people and animals who existed underneath the earth. Moreover, the Japanese myth seemed to be initially vague about where life actually started. Understanding the discourse gave credence to life coming from a muddy sea which reportedly emerged from the mixing of elements stemming from a germ of life. Another disparity is the characters in the myths. The Greek myth includes the bird, Nyx, as the origin; while the African myth’s main character was Kaang, the Great Master and Lord of Life.

In the Japanese myth, the main characters were gods named Izanagi and Izanami. These similarities and differences revealed that different cultures have diverse beliefs and value systems that paved the way for their creation myths. The Greek myth focused on the gods as the source of power and origin of life; while the African myth could have been unclear on the origin of life due to differences in identifying a supreme power. On the other hand, Japanese culture has been clear that their emperor really descended from the gods.

Some of the elements that are still relevant for consideration in contemporary times are the presence of gods or supreme power as enabling the creation of life, as well as the need for the sun (or fire) for warmth and to sustain life on earth.