Creation myth
A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony,[2] a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it.[3][4][5] While in popular usage the term myth often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths.[6][7] In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths – metaphorically, symbolically, historically, or literally.[8][9] They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths – that is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness.[10]
"Creation Stories" redirects here. For the 2021 biopic of Alan McGee, see Creation Stories (film).
Creation myths often share several features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions.[11] They are all stories with a plot and characters who are either deities, human-like figures, or animals, who often speak and transform easily.[12] They are often set in a dim and nonspecific past that historian of religion Mircea Eliade termed in illo tempore ('at that time').[11][13] Creation myths address questions deeply meaningful to the society that shares them, revealing their central worldview and the framework for the self-identity of the culture and individual in a universal context.[14]
Creation myths develop in oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions;[4] found throughout human culture, they are the most common form of myth.[8]
Creation myth definitions from modern references:
Religion professor Mircea Eliade defined the word myth in terms of creation:
