Origin Myths

"To me, you are not the cause, only the gods can be causes."- Pg. 93. This reiterates a point I made in an earlier blog; people at this time weren't made to be responsible for their actions because those actions were encouraged by a god or two. That excuse certainly worked for Helen of Troy. In fact, in mythology, the gods are the cause of practically everything, including (as we learned in class) the creation of the Earth. One of the most popular myths is the earth- diver myth, which generally includes a deity or very capable animal diving into the ocean and creating land from the dirt below. Dr. Sexon noted in class how coincidental it was that so many different cultures had this myth in common. I find it is much the same as reincarnation; cultures ranging from Ancient Egypt to the native Americans believed in it, despite having nothing to do with each other. It will be interesting to discuss in class how it works that unrelated cultures have so much mythology in common.