• Powell: go to his web site:  click here
• Leeming: what functions do myths serve in their societies?

• Powell: go to his web site: click here
• Leeming:
• basic questions (not applicable to all the creation myths):
• Who are the original beings and what is the primary matter in the account?
• How or by what mechanism does creation occur?
• Who is the creator and what is the nature of the world that was created?
• How are the other deities created?
• What questions does the story answer and on what occasions is the story told or retold?
• specific questions regarding deities:
• Egyptian: Who are Re, Shu, Tefnut, and the Eye, and what role do they play in the myth?
• Indian (Veda): Who is the One and what role did it(?) play in the myth?
• Indian (Upanishad):  Who is the Soul (Atman), Man, Wife and what role do they play in the myth?
• Hopi: Who are Tawa and Spider Woman and what role do they play in the myth?
• Bantu: Who are Bumba, the three sons of Bumba, and Tsetse and what role do they play in the myth?
• Mesopotamian: Who are Apsu, Tiamat, Mummu, Ea, and Marduk and what role do they play in the myth?
• Mayan (pp. 60-1) Who are Heart of the Sea, the Plumed Serpent, Heart of the Sky and Hurricane and what role do they play in the myth?
• Greek: go to Powell's web site: click here

• Creation Accounts:
• Powell: Prometheus, Sumerian, Prometheus: Protector of Mortals, Five Ages of Man, Pandora, Aristophanes
• Leeming: Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Hebrew, Indian (Upanishad), Hopi, Bantu, Mayan (60-62)
• Powell: go to his web site: click here
• Leeming:
• basic questions (not applicable to all the creation (of mortals) myths):
• Who is the creator of humans?
• How or by what mechanism does creation occur?
• Why are humans created (i.e. what role/purpose do they play in creation)?
• What questions does the story answer?

Flood Stories

• Flood Accounts:
• Powell: Sumerian (Ziusudra), Akkadian (Atrahasis. NB same story as Leeming, Mesopotamian only name of hero different), Greek
• Leeming: Hebrew, Mesopotamian (Utnap.), Chinese, Indian (Manu), Greek, Mayan
• Powell: go to his web site: click here
• Leeming: basic questions (not applicable to all flood stories):
• Who creates the flood?
• Why did this deity (or deities) create the flood?
• Who is saved, how and why?
• How is the earth repopulated?

• Know definition of Apocalypse and Eschatology
• Stories: Hebrew, Christian (add end of Revelation), India, Norse, and Hopi
• Know "who, what, why, result, & nature of time (linear or cyclical)" for each story
• What is culturally specific for each story
• Know what are common themes in these stories and their significance

1. Short Essay Question: (150-200 words long)
• Leeming, in his introduction to his section on Apocalyptic literature, p. 76, proposes that "Psychologically, it [the apocalypse] speaks to a need to confront reality, to make ultimate decisions." Do the Norse and Hindu myths fit this statement, and if so, how and why? If not, how and why not?


2. Long Essay Questions: (300-400 words long)

• In the course of our discussion of the "cosmic" myths (see Leeming for types of myths), we have observed that these stories share common themes despite being from different cultures and times. Compare the "cosmic" myths of 2 cultures (Greek, Hebrew, Hopi, Mesopotamia, India) with respect to the themes of conflict and harmony, In your conclusion hypothesize on the significance of your findings.
• In the course of our discussion of "cosmic" myths (see Leeming for types of myths), we have observed that these stories also provide windows into their respective cultures. In particular we have seen that the theme of rebirth is, for some cultures, linear and for others cyclical. Examine the significance of this difference for a "cyclical" culture (Hopi or India) and a "linear" culture (Greek, Hebrew, Christian, or Mesopotamian) with respect to their "cosmic" myths.