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 Mythology
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(Fact
or fiction)
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The tradition of story-telling
has roots that can be traced deep into humanities distant past. Even today, the
art of oration continues to play a part in the continuity of cultural
preservation around the world.
Certain of these stories have
perpetuated themselves into what are now commonly referred to as
myths.
The age and importance of
these surviving cultural relics is further enhanced by the fact that in
certain cases they appear to have transcended cultural borders, i.e. the
flood myth (see below). While it has long been
declared that myths are largely fictitious, there is a school of thought
that argues otherwise.
-Featured
Myths-
A look at some universal myths.
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Scroll down for more...
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Mythology as a
historical narrative
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The substance of myth..
It was long believed that
the city of Troy was an imaginary city from Homer's 'Illiad'.
However, in 1871 Dr Heindrich Schlieman used the text in order to discover
its location. Troy is an example of the way in which facts can become
fiction over time.
Discoveries such as the city of Troy
illustrate the possibility that a myth can be based on fact. We cannot
however conclude from this that all myths are based on fact. It is equally
likely that some myths may have become embellished over time from a 'seed'
of truth, which can no longer be separated from the narrative.
In Homers
Iliad (17. 426 pp), concerning the fall of Troy, he writes that:
"The horses of Aiakides (Akhilleus, Achilles) standing apart from the
battle wept, as they had done since they heard how their charioteer
(Patroklos) had fallen in the dust at the hands of murderous Hektor".
Such a description certainly evokes the misery felt at the loss of the commanding
officer, an event which may indeed have occurred, but when we are informed
that Hector's horses also wept at his passing, we are forced to consider
where truth separates from reality.
As previously mentioned, it has been observed that
certain ' universal' myths have been repeated within apparently unrelated
cultures from around the world. The following reasonable arguments are put
forward to explain this:
1. - That they are
descriptions of events which were witnessed simultaneously around the
world.
2. - That they are stories that have originated from a
single
ancient common source.
3. - That humanity possesses a collective conscious
(termed the 'z-factor' by biologists).
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Featured Myths:
The Flood myth -
With over a hundred independent world-wide accounts of the 'Great Flood', we are forced
to consider that at the very least, people witnessed catastrophic flood
events in the past. Is it possible that the myth of a 'great flood' may have its origins
in the flood events following the end of the last ice-age?.
(More about the Flood
Myth)
Giants -
Giants were recorded in ancient text and archaeological discovery supports the idea that races of ' Giants'
may have once existed. Even today, the genetic variation of our species
includes gigantism, suggesting that stories of giants cannot be so easily
refuted. But beware the fakes...
(More about Giants)
'Feathered Serpents'
(Dragons, Comets?)
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This curious combination of symbols appears in mythologies
from around the ancient world, but what are their origins and how are we to
explain the fact that so many apparently unrelated cultures adopted these
two strikingly contrary symbols independently of each other? Examples
include the South American 'God' Quetzalcoatl and the Cult of the feathered
serpent, the Egyptian culture which includes several surprisingly similar
examples, Chinese dragons and much more.
(More about Feathered
Serpents)
The day the sun stood
still
- A look at the fascinating set of myths from around the world that appear to
record the same astronomical event.
The World mountain
- From the Greek Olympus to the Indian 'Mount Mashu', the belief in
the concept of a World mountain is found in myths around the ancient
world.
There is speculation
that the world mountain may refer to the Great pyramid. Passages in the
Egyptian 'Book of the Dead' are suggested to refer to
Immaculate conception
- The idea of a 'virgin
birth' is frequently associated to the birth of a person of historical
importance.
Coming soon...
War of the Gods -
Whatever or Whoever the gods were, it is recorded that they fought it out in
the greatest battle of all battles.
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The Flood Myth.
What is considered the most common global
myth is that of a great deluge which almost eliminated life on Earth.
Variations of this story occur from all round the world, many of which contain
similar details. For example, in almost all versions the survivor/s are
forewarned of the deluge. They are given instructions to build a craft, to
store a selection of life on board, they use birds to find land, and are the
progenitors of the species from that time on. In fact, there are over 150
similar flood myths world-wide. Some of the better known versions follow:
Hindu -
'Manu, a hero, finds a fish, rears it and then releases it into the Ganges.
As a reward the fish announces it will save him from a purification of the
world. It gives him instructions to build a ship with stores and everything
is destroyed except Manu and the seven 'Rishis' he had taken. The fish
guides the boat until they reach a mountain top, whereupon it reveals itself
as 'Prajapati'(or Vishnu in versions), the supreme god who helps Manu
recreate life.
Aztec -
('Na-Hui-Atl'-The age of water). After the world had existed for 1716 years
the flood came. All mankind was lost and drowned and found themselves
changed to fish. In a single day all was lost. Only 'Nata' and his wife
'Nana' were saved, having been warned by the god 'Titlacahuan' to make a
boat from a Cyprus tree.
Maori -
Mankind once became so disrespectful of the great God 'Tane' who had created
them that there were only two prophets left who preached the truth. Insulted
by men, they built a house on a huge raft, stocked it with food and dogs,
and brought down heavy rain by incantation to demonstrate the powers of 'Tane'.
The waters rose and the prophets embarked with a few others. After six
months the flood began to subside and they settled on dry land, to discover
the whole world and its inhabitants had been destroyed.
and so on around the world...
There are also several textual references to a
flood:-
An inscription on a tablet in the
British museum (K3050, K2964), bears testament by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal to the following: 'I have read the artistic script of
the Sumer and the dark script of the Akadian and now I take great
pleasure in the reading of the stone inscriptions from
before the flood'.
In 1922, the Weld-Blundell
expedition excavating at Sumerian Larsa discovered the 'Weld Prism', now
in the Ashmolean museum, Oxford. The prism contains a history written by
a scribe called 'Nur-Ninsubur' in approx 2100 BC. In his account he
records the list of ten pre-flood kings (a legendary era of 241,200
years), and ends his writing with the words, 'and the Flood overthrew
the land'. Enki warns the king of Sippar 'Ziasudra', who escapes.
(9)
225 A.H. (836 AD) - Papyrus of Abou
Hormeis
- 'In this manner were the pyramids
built. Upon the walls were written the mysteries of science, astronomy,
geometry, physics, and much useful knowledge, which any person, who
understands our writing, can read. The deluge was to take place
when the heart of the lion entered the first minute of the head of cancer, at
the declining of the star. The other indications were the sun and moon
entering into the first minute of the head of Aries and Saturn, in the first
degree and twenty eight minutes of Aries; and Jupiter, in the twenty-ninth
degree twenty-eight minutes of Pisces; and Hermes, i.e. Mercury, in the fifth
degree and three minutes of the Lion.' (Note- This statement was translated
from the Coptic into Arabic 225 A.H., supposed to be four thousand three hundred
and twenty-one years after the construction of the pyramids ( = 836AD = 4321
- 836 = 3485 BC) an account of the appearance of the heavens when the
waters subsided, is also included).
2,400 BC - The canons of the Chinese
emperor. 'In the lifetime of Yao, the sun did not set for ten full
days and the entire land was flooded by an immense wave, that reached
the sky'.
Greek mythology
talked of two floods. Deucalion and (?)
We are left with a clear
record of flood-events from all around the world. The most recent known
flood events occurred following the end of the last great Ice-age, which
occurred over three main flood periods following the Ice-age, it is very
likely that the global flood-myths are testimony of these events.
It is not so surprising then, that geologists have found
evidence of flooding world-wide, or that whole cities have been discovered
underwater.
(Recommended reading/viewing:
G. Hancock.
Underwater Kingdoms of the Ice-Age).
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Feathered Serpents.
The Maya called the plumed dragon Cuculcan or Cucumatz, the Zuñi
Kolowissi, the Hopi Palulukoñ. As far South as Venezuela we hear of the snake
Huiio who crowned herself with the scattered feathers of the ancestral birds,
as the Makiritare people report. In Greek mythology, the heaven-spanning giant
Typhon had serpents for legs and a body "all winged" or feathered, as
Apollodorus reported.
S. America -
The Aztec god
Quetzalcoatl is
represented as a 'feathered serpent'. Also known as Kukulcan to the Mayans,
the feathered serpent features heavily in south American iconography.
El Castillo - The temple of Kukulcan,
Chichen Itza, Mexico.
Each face of the pyramid has a stairway with ninety-one steps, which
together with the shared step of the platform at the top, add up to 365 (the
number of days in the year). The stairs also divided into nine terraces of
each side of the pyramid into eighteen segments, representing the eighteen
months of the Mayan calendar.
During the Equinoxes, the sun causes a shadow of a serpent on the
northern steps of the pyramid. In the spring, it appears to ascend, and in
the autumn it descends again (1)
The Pyramid of
the feathered serpent
is located at Teotihuacan. It is located in the Ciudadela at the south end
of the avenue of the dead.
This pyramid was built over existing structures, and has
been built over since by the 'Adosada', which was integrated into the design
of the original temple, archaeology has re-exposed the original temple of
the feathered serpent, upon which can be seen the numerous 'feathered
serpents' heads carved into the temples facade and stairwell.
Connections with Egyptian feathered serpents:
There are several striking similarities between Mesoamerican
feathered serpents and those from ancient Egypt.
T emple of Hatshepsut:
Of particular interest is the Temple of Hatshepsut, which is entered by
passing up a long sloping ramp, with stairs up the centre and stone banisters
with a serpent running from top to bottom, ending at the bottom in a birds body.
(Click here for other
examples Pre-Columbian contact between the 'Old' and 'New' worlds)
Egyptian feathered serpents:
The Royal insignia
on all of Tutankhamun's
(1336-1327 BC)
coffin masks and headdresses have both the serpent and the snake on them.
(The
Nekhbet-vulture and
Buto-uraeus),
demonstrating the importance of these symbols to the Egyptians.
From left to Right; Tutankhamun's headband, his funerary
mask, The funerary casket and second funerary casket.
Greeks:
The Caduceus.
(Rod of Hermes)
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According to mythology, Hermes
threw his magic wand at two fighting snakes. The snakes became entwined as
they stopped fighting. The actual origin of the Caduceus is from two
sources. The first was from the Babylonia god Ningizzida and the second was
from a shepherd's crook that was forked on top.
Typhon. (Typhaon,
Typhoeus, Typhus) was the last son of Gaia. Typhon's father was tartarus. He
is described as having a hundred serpent heads. With Echidna Typhon's
children were Cerberus, the Lernaean hydra, and the Chimaera. Typhon is
mentioned by Hesiod, Pindar, Aeschylus, and the Homeric Hymn to Apollo.
Later writers identified him with the Egyptian god
Seth.
On the right is an Eruscan Mural
from the Tomb of Orcus, in which we can see Typhöeus, whose legs are
serpents, bracing himself beneath the land. His constant struggle causes Mt.
Etna to roar.
Dragons:
Babylonian -
Tiamat slays a dragon.
Christian -
St. George
slays a dragon. St. Michael - Dragon lines.
Chinese -
Dragon gods and
living dragon culture. 'Dragon-lines' of feng-shui.
(Note
- Although dragons are not strictly feathered, they are winged serpents).
-:More on this subject soon:-
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The Day the Sun Stood Still.
The following remarkable set of myths from around the
ancient world appears to confirm the occurrence of an astronomical
phenomena.
Joshua
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'...As they fled from
before Israel the Lord cast down great stones from heaven unto Azekah, and
they died : they were more which died with hail stones (stones of barad)
than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword ...And he said in
the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gideon; and thou, Moon, in
the valley of Ajalon. And the Sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until
the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is it not written in
the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and
hastened not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that
before it or after it...'
(Ref: Joshua (10:11-14),
compiled from the more ancient book of Jasher).
The 'Midrashim',
the books on ancient traditions which are not embodied in the scriptures,
relates that the sun and the moon stood still for thirty six 'Itim',
or eighteen hours, and thus from sunrise to sunset the day lasted about
thirty hours. (22).
Although these
myth-stories could be argued to have originated from an original source, the
same cannot be said so easily of the following accounts, which originate
from other apparently independent cultures from the ancient world.
Sahagun
-
The Spanish savant who came to America a generation
Columbus and gathered the traditions of the natives, wrote that at the time
of one cosmic catastrophe the
sun rose only a little way over the horizon
and remained there without moving: the moon
also stood still. (22).
The
Andeans record a myth-story that
the sun stayed away for twenty hours. This
event is said to have occurred under the reign of Yupanqui Pachacuti II, the
fifteenth ruler of the old time.
In the
Mexican 'Annals of Cuauhtitlan' or 'Codex Chimpalpopoca'
- the history of the empire in Culhuacan and Mexico, written in Nahua-Indian
in the sixteenth century - it is related that during a cosmic catastrophe
that occurred in the remote past, the night did not end for an extended
period of time. (22).
And from Asia:-
The canons of the Chinese emperor. (2,400 B.C
?) - 'In the
lifetime of Yao, the
sun did not set
for ten full days and the entire land was flooded (by an immense wave), that
reached the sky'.
(Note: A. Sitchin, believes both events occurred approx 1,400 BC).
It is important to realise that these
stories were recorded from different
locations on earth. On one side of the Earth people record that the Sun
stayed in the sky, while on the other side, the stores are that the Sun
stayed away.
The most logical cause of the appearance of the Sun,
Moon and stars stopping in their paths, is that in fact, we stopped turning on ours.
But what could cause a temporary cessation of the rotation of our globe? It
has been suggested that a possibility could have been that something large affected our
ordered symmetry momentarily (Such as a large celestial object)
It is possible that earths rotation has been affected more
than once before in the past. Velikovsky concluded that the earth was hit
twice with a gap of 52 years between events. This is supported by Mexican
tradition. Although this may be true, I feel that many of the sources he
uses are from much earlier. The number off times, duration or cause of these
incidents remains undetermined.
As Earths rotation has reduced in recent years by an average
of one second every 500 days (leap second), our Earth will, if the
deceleration rate remains constant, show no self rotation around its axis
within less than 120,000 years, (8).
We are reminded also of the story of
Phaethon, in which the 'sun chariot roamed'
Phaethon/Phaeton
- 'The blazing one' -
The best known version of this Greek
legend is that of the Latin poet, Ovid, who wrote that Pheathon, who claimed
parentage from the sun, tried to drive the chariot of the sun but was unable
to make his way 'against the whirling poles,' and 'their swift
axis' swept him away. The chariot of the sun moved 'no longer in the
same course as before.' The horses 'break loose from their course'
and 'rush aimlessly, knocking against the stars set deep in the sky and
snatching the chariot along through uncharted ways. The
constellations of the cold Bears tried to plunge into the forbidden sea, and
the suns chariot roamed...as a useless ship driven before the
headlong blast, whose pilot has let the rudder go and abandoned the ship to
the gods..'. Ovid then continues to describe how 'The earth burst into
flame...' and catastrophe ensued. He ends the story with the phrase, 'she
(the earth).....sank back a little lower than her wanton place'.
(Ref: Ovid. Metamorphoses).
Solon -
On his visit to Egypt, questioned the priests on early
history and lore was told '....in truth, the story that is told in your
country as well as ours, how once upon a time Phaethon, son of Helios, yoked
his fathers chariot, and, because he was unable to drive it along the course
taken by his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth and himself
perished in a thunderbolt - that story, as it is told, has the fashion of a
legend, but the truth of it lies in the occurrence of a shifting of the
bodies in the heavens which move around the earth, and a destruction of
things on the earth...'.
(Ref: Plato. Timaeus)
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The World Mountain.
Gilgamesh reaches Mount 'Mashi' or 'Sunset
hill',.. which divided the land of living with dead. A Dark
tunnel pierces it. He enters through a door and follows the suns road
for 12 leagues (12 hours = the Amduat), to its rising through the
mountain (p177 Babylonian myths)
'Mashu' (Machu?)
which means 'Twins' in Akkadian. It was a mountain
with twin peaks into which the sun descends at nightfall.
The name of Enlils temple at Nippur
has been translated as 'Mountain
House' or 'Like a mountain'. These Babylonian 'Temple towers' were
symbols of the 'world-hill' - (Babylonian myths)
The 'Pyramid texts'
state that the goal of a pharaoh after death is
'The duat'. In the land of the mountain gods. He has to enter the 'house
of two truths', 'the house of fire'. Reachable by entering
a mountain and going down hidden paths and secret doors etc. 'At
the gate of the duat the folding doors of the mountain of light are
opened to thee'.
The Chinese
have a sacred/world mountain called 'Hua Shan' of the
West.
The Babylonian 'Temple Towers'
were symbols of the world hill.
The Great pyramid has been referred to
as the 'Bible in Stone',
by a number of people. The most seemingly
appropriate references from the bible are: 'Isaiah. Ch 19: 19, 20. 'In
that day shall there be an alter to the lord in the midst of the land
of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the lord, and it shall
be a sign and for a witness unto the lord of hosts in the land of
Egypt'. Seiss (15), notes that the word
'Alter' in Hebrew, translates as 'The lion of God'.
Ezekiel describes an alter as 'The
mountain of God'. Some people find the passage in Job. 38: 1-7,
also relevant to the pyramid "Declare if thou hast understanding. Who
aid the measure thereof, if thou knowest? Whereupon are the
foundations fastened or who laid the cornerstone thereof?'.
There is also much reference to 'Jesus' being the 'Head Cornerstone'
of the religion.
Note - See Sitchin for Sumerian references to the Giza
Pyramids. He refers to the E.KUR, meaning 'House which is like a
Mountain'. They depicted the Ekur on clay tablets by a square-based
pyramid with wings, sometimes with a spherical glowing apex, sometimes
even accompanied by a lion-shaped statue
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Virgin Births: Immaculate
conception.
There
are several examples of the myth of immaculate conception in religious literature,
for example,
Egypt - Luxor temple. Representation of
Queen Hatshepsut.
Adonis - Babylonian god born of the
virgin Ishtar.
Zoaraster - Born of a virgin 1500-1200
BC
Krishna - Born of the virgin Devaki
around 1200 BC.
Indra - Born of a virgin in Tibet around
700 BC.
Buddha - Born of the virgin Maya
around 600 BC.
Mithra - Born of a virgin in a stable on
25 December around 600 BC.
Diontsus - Greek god, born of a virgin
in a stable, also turned water into wine.
Attis - Born of the virgin Nama in
Phrygia around 200 BC.
Quirrnus - An early Roman saviour, born
of a virgin.
Christ - From the virgin Mary in
Bethlehem.
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