FREE ESSAY ON SCANDIAN MYTH

SCANDIAN MYTH

The Scandinavian myth of creation begins by presenting Odin as the All-Father, a god that
is older and mightier than all other beings. Being the ruler of all living things, Odin
was responsible for the creation of the skies in the heavens and the ground on the earth.
Soon after his formation the planet, the deity composed the first man, breathing life
into his body and providing generously a soul to the frame. Even with such apparent power
and control over the world, Odin the All-Father, was not the first creature.
Before Odin there was only a great emptiness called Ginnungagap and was the only thing
that existed. Niflheim, an area filled with mist and ice, was fashioned in the abyss
along with Muspellsheim, a section in the south of intense heat and fire. Yggdrasil, the
world-tree, and her nemesis, Nidhogg, an evil serpent, were spawned to occupy the space
as well.
The two points of cold and hot, Niflheim and Muspellsheim, collided into each other,
melting the ice with a strong fire. From the interaction, Ymir was formed, the
frost-giant who adopted the shape of humans. Giants were produce from his perspiration,
causing a massive cow to be grown to feed them. The cow began to lick the ice, resulting
in the appearance of hair, a head, and then a full body named Buri. From Buri three gods,
Odin, Vili, Ve, were born, producing a new race that killed Ymir.
The offspring of Ymir, the giants, drowned in immense sea of his blood. His body made
land and his skull into the heavens by three gods. Dwarfs were molded from the maggots
that consumed Ymir`s body, while the first man was created from an ash tree and a woman
from a vine.
In Greece, the origins of creation were not drastically different, referring to the story
of King Lycaon of Arcadia. Lycaon was a conventional ruler and man of the age, having no
regard for other mortals, beasts, or even gods. Zeus, the god above all others,
masquerading carefully in a human form, visited the castle of the great king only to find
him and his nobles in celebration. As a practice of the day, the god sat down at the
table and ordered a hot meal, expecting a hospitable welcome as a visitor. Having seen
through Zeus's ruse, Lycaon replaced him intended dinner with that of human limbs, an
effort to murder the god. Zeus rose from the table, scorned and furious, removing all who
were present at the banquet with his mighty wrath except for one, Lycaon, a man that was
transformed into a wolf.
In an attempt to eradicate the mortals, Zeus commanded a flood to be spread upon the
earth once he reverted to his original form at Mount Olympus. The creator of humans, a
titan Prometheus, forewarned Deucalion, his mortal son, of the destructive plans,
allowing him to gather his wife Pyrrha and rations before the danger. Deucaltion and
Pyrrha, two individuals that were in Zeus's favor, survived by resting on a chest for
nine days and nights, remaining after all mortals had be destroyed. Both looked to the
goddess of the titans, Themis, for council, praying for advice of the situation. The
goddess instructed for Deucalion to throw stones over his shoulder, resulting in the
creation of men, and directed Pyrrha to perform the same, generating women upon the earth
from stone.
Bibliography
Work Cited
Crystal, Ellie. "Greece - Creational Myths." Creation 28 Sept. 2001 .
Crystal, Ellie. "Scandinavian Creational Myths - Odin." Creation 28 Sept. 2001 .