Undoubtedly, the best known of all the theogonies is that of Hesiod , which, in fact, gives name to his most famous work, Theogony. However, when speaking of theogonies, we are referring directly to the origin of any type of gods. In fact, theogony is a word that etymologically means "the principle of the gods" . Therefore, one can speak of as many theogonies as there are mythologies. Next, we bring you some of the most curious theogonic myths that exist and that you probably did not know about. We hope you enjoy them!
10 very curious theogonic myths | The origins of rarer gods
1. Theogonic myths in Greek culture
Hesiod explains widely the process of creation of Cosmos from the original Chaos. At the beginning of everything, cosmogony is narrated, that is, the creation of the world from Chaos. In this way, they emerge first Uranus (Heaven) and Gea (the earth). Although, to be fair, we still could not talk about gods, since both Uranus and Gea would be two personified concepts but, in reality, they correspond simply with the celestial vault and the planet Earth (although many at that time did not know that it was a planet). From the union of Gea and Uranus would be born the titans, a series of beasts that inform the forces of nature and the Cosmos, as for example Cronos , which embodies the concept of time. Finally, from the union of Cronos and Rea (which would be identified as mother nature in many cases), the first generation of gods would really emerge, with Zeus at the head of all and that, together with their brothers and sons, would constitute the Olympic gods .
2. Theogonic myths in Egyptian culture
According to the creation myth of the world that was most popular in the Egypt of the Pharaohs , in the beginning, there was nothing, except an infinite ocean of dark waters, called Nun . However, in this primordial ocean, all the necessary components for creation resided. In this way, the spirit of the world became aware of itself, that is, it was created, and received the name of Ra , the first and father of all other gods. Ra's first son was Shu , the wind, which arose from his breath. Next, Ra created from his saliva to Tefnut , humidity. Afterwards, Ra brought the earth out of the primordial waters, giving rise to the creation of Egypt, which would later become the home of men. Finally, Ra gave rise to the other gods of the Egyptian pantheon, thus completing the theogony of one of the most amazing civilizations of antiquity.
3. Theogonic myths in the Mesopotamian culture
The Mesopotamian culture encompasses several different peoples, such as the Sumerians, the Akkadians, or the Babylonians among others. However, they all had a similar culture and much of their religion and worldview was very similar. While it is true that all of them had their own pantheon of divinities, these were related to each other and, depending on the people who governed at each moment, they received more or less attention from the rulers. The myth of Mesopotamian theogony can be found in the Enuma Elish , a poem of Babylonian origin that narrates the origin of the world and the creation of the gods. According to this document, at the beginning of creation there was only an ocean of infinite chaos. However, two gods emerged, Tiamat and Apsu , which correspond respectively to salt water and fresh water. These two initial gods united to give rise to the first generation of gods, which in turn would give rise to new gods, thus completing the pantheon of the Mesopotamian religion.
4. Theogonic myths in Chinese culture
Chinese culture also had, in its principles as a civilization, its own explanation of the origin of the world. In this case, we also find a primordial chaos that would precede the world, although, in this case, there would be a primordial god who would emerge from said chaos. This primitive god receives the name of P'an-ku and it would be the cosmic egg that would give rise to the world. In fact, according to the most popular myth, P'an-ku died when he created the world. But, with his death, all the aspects that make up the world were born, from heaven and earth, where heaven is considered one of the most important gods for Chinese tradition, even human beings and other gods of minor character, more similar to protective spirits than to gods in the proper sense of the word.
5. Theogonic myths in Japanese culture
The myth that narrates the creation of the Japanese gods is the same one that narrates the creation of the world and, in fact, according to Japanese tradition, the divinities that inhabit the sky arise spontaneously by themselves, without the need for them to interact each other to breed new gods. According to this story, at the beginning the Universe was a dense and solid mass that had no form. However, little by little, the lighter particles were ascending. These lighter particles were light and, as they were ascending, they created the sky , from which the first three gods of Japanese mythology would also emerge spontaneously. Later, the particles that were less dense than the rest but more than the light would form the clouds and, finally, those denser, the ocean and the Japanese archipelago, where some gods would also be born, later, they would ascend to heaven.
6. Theogonic myths in Hindu culture
The myth of the creation of the gods in the Hindu religion it is one of the most interesting of all, since, according to this version, the world would not be a creation of the gods, but, rather, an emanation of the supreme god. According to the Hindu myth, at the beginning there was only the great god, absolute unity , which is called Braman . However, when this unit was fragmented, from each of its parts arose the different elements that make up the world. Among all these elements that were born from the remains of Braman, the Trimurti , which is the triad of the main gods of the Hindu pantheon. These gods were Brama, Vishnu and Shiva which corresponded respectively to creation, conservation and destruction, the three actions that govern the existence of the whole world.
7. Theogonic myths in the Aztec culture
The myth of the birth of the gods in the Aztec culture it is one of the simplest we can find, since, in this case, the creation of the world and of the gods does not necessarily run hand in hand, but rather they are shown in the form of different spheres. In the beginning, the primordial and infinite god, Ometecuhtli He was alone, so he decided to create a couple who would be the founders of the Aztec divine dynasty. This couple was formed by Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatl , two supreme gods like Ometecuhtli. However, this couple decided to have children, who would no longer be superior gods but would be closer to the lives of men. In this way, they were born Tezcatlipoca red and Tezcatlipoca black, Quetzalcóatl , the most important of the gods in the Aztec pantheon, and finely Huitzilopochtli .
8. Theogonic myths in the culture of the North American Indians
When we speak of the North American Indians, we are referring to a group of peoples who had a common culture and geographical space but who, in practice, were independent peoples. Some examples of these towns were the Sioux, the Cherokee, or the Navajo . Each of these peoples has its own particular theogonic myths. However, in all of them, the origin of the world and of the gods, which are commonly associated with the animals of the environment in which they lived, part of the so-called Great spirit . This Great Spirit would be the primordial and infinite god that would create the world and, especially, the Earth, to which many of these people called Great mother and considered as a god as important as the Great Primary Spirit.
9. Theogonic myths in Inuit culture
He Inuit people , better known as the Eskimos, a derogatory name given by the Europeans and which means "eaters of raw fish", is a town that inhabits the Arctic regions from Greenland to Alaska. According to the tradition of the Inuit people, the origin of the world arose from a primitive sea in which there was nothing. However, the god Kaila , god supreme and that has no origin, created the rain and the wind, gods that are called Sila and Aunra , that made it rain and snow on that primal sea. This created the Earth and, later, Kaila himself would create each of the animals, many of them considered gods, as happens with the caribou, incarnation of the god Tekkeitsertok , or with the wolf, incarnation of Amarok .
10. Theogonic myths in the Rapa-nui culture
The rapa-nui culture is the name by which the original peoples of the Easter Island , an island located in the Pacific Ocean about 4,000 km from the continental region of Chile . This town explained the origin of the gods starting from a great primal god and whose origin was not known Make-Make . Make-Make would be the creator of the world and everything that was in it, as well as the other gods that were worshiped by the rapa-nui tribes. Among them, Uoke , son of Make-Make and that was known as the god of destruction, to which it was better not to get angry.