Post by Josh on Feb 18, 2007 21:32:05 GMT -8
9/11/06:
I've recently been teaching 3 classes literature units on mythology, looking specifically at 'creation stories' lately. Comparing and contrasting Greek myth and Hebrew narrative has been totally a blast, and my students have been quite interested.
If you're not too familiar with ancient mythology, it's worth some time because of the way it amplifies your reading of the Bible.
The Greek/ Hebrew narratives about the creation of the world have some striking similarites, of course, such as the idea that in the beginning the earth was chaotic, formless, and void, and that the spirit of (either Eros or God) was hovering over the creation. Here we also find notable differences, though. Whereas the Greek notion was that the universe had been eternal, the Hebrews had the far more accurate idea that the univese had a finite beginning.
But that's just the tip of the iceburg.
Going further, for example, the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1-3) both closely parallels AND contrasts remarkably with the Greek stories of Prometheus and Pandora.
In the Prometheus story, mankind is destitute, living almost like the animals without fire. Prometheus, a half-Titan, wonders why Zeus won't allow man to have the knowledge of fire. Zeus explains that man is content in his innocence, that the gift of fire would bring them woe, and furthermore that fire could only make men proud to the point that they began thinking they were as great as the gods.
Prometheus is not convinced, so he sneaks some fire to the humans, and soon they are well on their way to experience all the benefits and horrors of technology.
Zeus in his anger chains Prometheus to a mountain where his punishment is that every day two giant vultures peck his liver out, only for it to grow back the next day for a continual repeat.
Zeus' revenge on the humans for getting fire is to create a girl made out of clay, which he breathes life into. This first woman was given many skills by the gods- Pandora, the multi-gifted. Pandora was also given a mysterious box which she was told never to open (as well as the 'gift' of curiousity-- not a good combo, needless to say) and sent as a 'gift' (but really a punishment in disguise) to the human brother of Prometheus, to be his wife.
Everything is happy at first, but Pandora is vexed by her curiousity to open the box. Despite her valiant efforts to refuse the temptation, she eventually gives in and opens the box in a state of crazed euphoria.
But out of the box come foul, disgusting, bat-like creatures that spread out across the world bringing every manner of evil and suffering to mankind. After nearly fainting, Pandora finds just enough strength to shut the box, leaving only one thing left inside- hope.
Of course, there are a lot of parallels between these stories and the Genesis text, such as:
-the creation of a human from 'clay' or 'dust' and the 'breath of life'
-the idea that mankind's suffering came about as the result of giving in to some kind of temptation
-the ways in which Pandora and Eve both try to avoid their temptation: Pandora buries the box to try to quell her temptation, Eve adds an extra rule to God's rule about the fruit to distance herself further from her temptation
-the ways in which Pandora and Eve both justify/excuse their actions (didn't really go into this in my brief summary)
-the sin or error of man is listed as "pride"
-the similarities between Prometheus and the snake, in that they both offer man illicit knowledge (of fire/good and evil)
-the punishments inflicted (both on Prometheus and the snake, as well as on mankind)
and, lastly, and I find this one most fascinating:
-in the Genesis narrative, even though mankind is cursed, God extends the promise to Eve that her offspring will 'crush the head of the snake'. Of course, we as Christians see that as a promise of Christ. In the Greek story of Pandora, what was left in her box? Hope. What does Pandora's box symbolize? Well, um, her sexuality, according to a lot of scholars. Or we might say, her womb. Hope is left in her womb. That's pretty much what Eve is told in the Genesis narrative.
ALL that said about the similarities, I think the differences in the narratives are equally striking:
-In the Greek narrative, woman is seen primarily as a punishment from the gods, in the Hebrew, she is a gift from a loving God who wants Adam to have a helpful partner
-In the Hebrew narrative, Eve is made from Adam's rib- i.e., they are made of the same stuff. In the Greek story of Pandora, she is wholly other (there is, however, a later, beautiful Greek story which says mankind was originally one sex, but the gods split them in two and ever since then men and women have been 'looking for their other half'- also not a far cry from the Genesis account)
-In the Greek story, Pandora (ie,the woman) is almost solely to blame for the suffering of man, whereas in the Hebrew story it is Adam, Eve, and the serpent, who equally share in the blame.
-In the Greek story, Prometheus, who acts much like the snake in the Genesis story (in that he is the revealer or bringer of forbidden knowledge), is actually the HERO and Zeus, who doesn't want man to have fire, is seen as a cranky deity for whom man is just some kind of laboratory rat.
Of course, in the Genesis story, God is looking out for man's best interest, lovingly providing them with what they need and protecting them for what they aren't ready for yet, and snake is using lies to tempt man into pride.
-in the Genesis narrative what mankind loses is intimate relationship with God, but in the Greek narrative, mankind never had that to begin with.
What does all this mean? Well, I'd love to hear from anyone else more enlightened on the subject, but for me it means a few things:
*far from being random, fanciful stories created out of thin air, it seems clear to me that both stories (and many similar ones in all world cultures) tell of some common memory of mankind's actual history. Did pagan mythology here influence the Bible narrative? No, both stories were influenced by actual human experience.
*the Hebrew narrative, being God's inspired story, takes the high ground in terms of its accuracy about the true nature of God and His relationship to man and woman. Yet, the Greek narrative, with it's corruptions, still bears powerful marks of truth and correspondance to reality- a strong hint at the truth (very much akin to the stuff we studied in Eternity in their Hearts, for example)
*just another mark that, as Acts says, God has never left himself without a witness, tainted as it may have been by man's tendency to twist the truth
I've recently been teaching 3 classes literature units on mythology, looking specifically at 'creation stories' lately. Comparing and contrasting Greek myth and Hebrew narrative has been totally a blast, and my students have been quite interested.
If you're not too familiar with ancient mythology, it's worth some time because of the way it amplifies your reading of the Bible.
The Greek/ Hebrew narratives about the creation of the world have some striking similarites, of course, such as the idea that in the beginning the earth was chaotic, formless, and void, and that the spirit of (either Eros or God) was hovering over the creation. Here we also find notable differences, though. Whereas the Greek notion was that the universe had been eternal, the Hebrews had the far more accurate idea that the univese had a finite beginning.
But that's just the tip of the iceburg.
Going further, for example, the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1-3) both closely parallels AND contrasts remarkably with the Greek stories of Prometheus and Pandora.
In the Prometheus story, mankind is destitute, living almost like the animals without fire. Prometheus, a half-Titan, wonders why Zeus won't allow man to have the knowledge of fire. Zeus explains that man is content in his innocence, that the gift of fire would bring them woe, and furthermore that fire could only make men proud to the point that they began thinking they were as great as the gods.
Prometheus is not convinced, so he sneaks some fire to the humans, and soon they are well on their way to experience all the benefits and horrors of technology.
Zeus in his anger chains Prometheus to a mountain where his punishment is that every day two giant vultures peck his liver out, only for it to grow back the next day for a continual repeat.
Zeus' revenge on the humans for getting fire is to create a girl made out of clay, which he breathes life into. This first woman was given many skills by the gods- Pandora, the multi-gifted. Pandora was also given a mysterious box which she was told never to open (as well as the 'gift' of curiousity-- not a good combo, needless to say) and sent as a 'gift' (but really a punishment in disguise) to the human brother of Prometheus, to be his wife.
Everything is happy at first, but Pandora is vexed by her curiousity to open the box. Despite her valiant efforts to refuse the temptation, she eventually gives in and opens the box in a state of crazed euphoria.
But out of the box come foul, disgusting, bat-like creatures that spread out across the world bringing every manner of evil and suffering to mankind. After nearly fainting, Pandora finds just enough strength to shut the box, leaving only one thing left inside- hope.
Of course, there are a lot of parallels between these stories and the Genesis text, such as:
-the creation of a human from 'clay' or 'dust' and the 'breath of life'
-the idea that mankind's suffering came about as the result of giving in to some kind of temptation
-the ways in which Pandora and Eve both try to avoid their temptation: Pandora buries the box to try to quell her temptation, Eve adds an extra rule to God's rule about the fruit to distance herself further from her temptation
-the ways in which Pandora and Eve both justify/excuse their actions (didn't really go into this in my brief summary)
-the sin or error of man is listed as "pride"
-the similarities between Prometheus and the snake, in that they both offer man illicit knowledge (of fire/good and evil)
-the punishments inflicted (both on Prometheus and the snake, as well as on mankind)
and, lastly, and I find this one most fascinating:
-in the Genesis narrative, even though mankind is cursed, God extends the promise to Eve that her offspring will 'crush the head of the snake'. Of course, we as Christians see that as a promise of Christ. In the Greek story of Pandora, what was left in her box? Hope. What does Pandora's box symbolize? Well, um, her sexuality, according to a lot of scholars. Or we might say, her womb. Hope is left in her womb. That's pretty much what Eve is told in the Genesis narrative.
ALL that said about the similarities, I think the differences in the narratives are equally striking:
-In the Greek narrative, woman is seen primarily as a punishment from the gods, in the Hebrew, she is a gift from a loving God who wants Adam to have a helpful partner
-In the Hebrew narrative, Eve is made from Adam's rib- i.e., they are made of the same stuff. In the Greek story of Pandora, she is wholly other (there is, however, a later, beautiful Greek story which says mankind was originally one sex, but the gods split them in two and ever since then men and women have been 'looking for their other half'- also not a far cry from the Genesis account)
-In the Greek story, Pandora (ie,the woman) is almost solely to blame for the suffering of man, whereas in the Hebrew story it is Adam, Eve, and the serpent, who equally share in the blame.
-In the Greek story, Prometheus, who acts much like the snake in the Genesis story (in that he is the revealer or bringer of forbidden knowledge), is actually the HERO and Zeus, who doesn't want man to have fire, is seen as a cranky deity for whom man is just some kind of laboratory rat.
Of course, in the Genesis story, God is looking out for man's best interest, lovingly providing them with what they need and protecting them for what they aren't ready for yet, and snake is using lies to tempt man into pride.
-in the Genesis narrative what mankind loses is intimate relationship with God, but in the Greek narrative, mankind never had that to begin with.
What does all this mean? Well, I'd love to hear from anyone else more enlightened on the subject, but for me it means a few things:
*far from being random, fanciful stories created out of thin air, it seems clear to me that both stories (and many similar ones in all world cultures) tell of some common memory of mankind's actual history. Did pagan mythology here influence the Bible narrative? No, both stories were influenced by actual human experience.
*the Hebrew narrative, being God's inspired story, takes the high ground in terms of its accuracy about the true nature of God and His relationship to man and woman. Yet, the Greek narrative, with it's corruptions, still bears powerful marks of truth and correspondance to reality- a strong hint at the truth (very much akin to the stuff we studied in Eternity in their Hearts, for example)
*just another mark that, as Acts says, God has never left himself without a witness, tainted as it may have been by man's tendency to twist the truth