• 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 for 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 (also in Powell):  Who are Apsu, Tiamat, Mummu, Ea, and Marduk and what role do they play in the myth?
• Greek: go to Powell's web site: click here

1. In the course of our discussion of these various creation myths, we have observed that these stories contain elements that are related to or comments on the myths of other cultures. Discuss with regard to the Mesopotamian, Hebrew, and Greek myths.

2. Leeming ,pp. 15-16, in his introduction to his chapter on Cosmic Myths states "the creation story is a metaphor for birth [i.e. childbirth]." Examine this idea with regard to two or three of the creation myths we have studied. (Hint: in what ways are the some of the common themes/motifs related to childbirth; why would a culture choose childbirth as a pattern?)