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Creating the Past Ancient Egyptians and Norsemen, along with all other cultures, believed that the world and all that lies therein were created by a Supreme Being or force. For most people, then and now, faith alone is not enough to base their very existence on: people want to know why, how, and all of the details. It is only human nature to be curious and want to know why something happened the way it did. Curiosity is the reason the Egyptians and Norsemen began to create myths and deities.
Since the beginning of time authors have created and passed on stories, initially as oral recollections and centuries later in written form. These stories were inspired by their lives and surroundings. Ancient Egyptian and Norse creation mythologies and deities yield logical evidence of the cultures from which they came. Many different creation stories occupied the Egyptian region, but most of them began the same.
According to Pierre Montet, their world was created from nothing in a time when there was no sky, when neither the earth, nor men nor gods existed, and when even death did not exist (154). The main and most believed creation stories came from: Heliopolis, Memphis, and Hermopolis, three of Egypt s religious centers. Bound to a different deity, each city created stories trying to prove their god was the original creator of the world. It was only normal for a group of people to want the credit for a great event. The creation myth from Heliopolis acknowledges Atom as its sole creator, who rose out of the primeval waters, that formed from the emptiness and nothing, along with a hill of land (Cavendish 97). Atom, to create offspring, masturbated to form Shu, God of air, and Tefnut, goddess of moisture (Warner 14).
Shu and Tefnut in uniting formed Nut, the sky goddess, and Geb, the earth god. The Egyptians further claimed that from the procreation of Geb and Nut: Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nepthys were formed. In the Memphis creation myth, Ptah, the Memphis god, and Naunet united to create Atom, who created the world. In Hermopolis, Egyptians claimed that Nun, Huh, Kuk, and Amun and their mate s Naunet, Naunet, Naunet, and Amount, an eight-deity group, joined to create the world (Cavendish 97).
Two different stories about the creation of night and day accompanied the three different stories of world creation. In one Egyptian story, Atom was identified with the sun god Re producing Atom-Re, who would sail across the sky in his secret in the morning to produce the light of day. At night Nut would swallow him creating the darkness, and would give birth to him again in the morning (Philip 16). In some areas of Egypt, the Egyptians believed that Atom-Re did not like the union of Geb and Nut. Therefore, in order to separate them he would rise during the day creating light, and is long as the sun shone Nut remained separated from Geb. As soon as the sun went down, Nut would gradually descend until she embraced Geb creating night (Budge 20).
Many aspects of Egyptian culture, including the environment and people, reflected information that was vital to the creation of these myths and deities. Environmentally, the conditions of the Nile Valley, mirror the myths of emerging primeval water and land. Each year the Egyptians watched as the Nile flooded the land and as the water subsided, revealing high points of land. Hence came the story of Atom and his emergence from primeval water. One of the first areas of land to emerge from the flooded Nile was a giant hill. The Egyptians placed Atom s temple on top of that hill, the site of creation, making it Egypt s most sacred place (Warner 13).
The Egyptians perceived that life was dependant upon the sun, [since it aided in] the fertility of the earth, production of abundant crops, and successful harvests (Budge 21). Since the Egyptians witnessed the sun and sky contributing to the fertility of the earth, they naturally would create myths where the procreation of many deities would take place in the sky (Budge 21). In ancient Egypt, women had a higher position with more advantages and recognition than other cultures. This is evident in the part of the creation myth in which the sky, Nut, is portrayed as a female goddess while the earth, Geb, is portrayed as a male god. The portrayal of the sky by a female was a great honor considering that the sky was the most significant aspect of Egyptian mythology (Warner 15). In ancient Egypt, animals were used as symbols for the gods and for their temples.
In many cases, people worshiped the animal symbol of the god, or actually, the god in animal form. According to Lionel Casson, the worship of animals and nature [was] common to early societies (72). In mythology, the worship of animals was a result of the domination of the world surrounding man. As time passed and the Egyptians grew wiser they began to understand the world. Therefore, they started changing the gods to human form or at least fusing them with human parts. Whenever new aspects of the Egyptian society organized or changed, to reflect the times, the Egyptians created new gods.
For example, during the time of social organization and crafts, Ptah, god of craftsmen, was created and worshiped (Casson 72). Many animal-shaped gods in Egyptian mythology had a certain purpose. For example, Anubis was the god of the dead. When the Egyptians were buried in the ground, as were most of the middle and lower classes, a jackal would often come and dig up their bones. From that the Egyptians derived Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the dead (Casson 71). Many texts show that when followers of one god fought with followers of another god, both of the gods were pictured in conflict (Montet 152), revealing another example of how the actions of Egyptians were reflected in their stories or myths.
According to Rex Warner, in the earliest written cosmogonies, or creation myths, we find a mixture of thought and imagery about the beginnings of things which derives both from the new needs of civilized society, and from the cruder concepts of the pre-literary past (13). People are attracted to elaborate and beautiful things, and the architecture in Egypt was magnificent. The Egyptians built temples for gods on a grand scale with many amenities, and the richer the temple the more admired, worshiped, and elaborate the god became in myths (Casson 119 - 120). Lionel Casson wrote, the prominence of a god and the union he might make were [a result of] the political and economic fortune of the town of his origin (72 - 73). Along with many other developments, Ancient Egypt was one of the first cultures to emphasize life after death. The Egyptians religion permeated [their] whole life: socially, politically, and economically (Casson 71).
The Egyptian culture, way of life, and surroundings were ultimately responsible for inspiring the roots and branches of myths and deities. According to the Norse creation myth, in the beginning there was a nothingness called Ginnungagap. Then the fiery Muspell to the south and the icy Niflheim to the north appeared, and in between the two realms the cool and warm air met to thaw ice that began creating a sleeping giant named Ymir. As Ymir slept, he began to sweat (Philip 19), producing three frost giants. The melting ice then created Audhumla; a cow that fed Ymir with rivers of milk that flowed from her utters. She fed herself by licking the salty ice, and as she licked the ice, she uncovered a god named Buri.
A few years later Bor, the son of Buri, married Best, the child of a frost giant. The three brothers Odin, Vii, and Ve were born to the couple (Philip 18 - 19), and the god brothers hated the evil [Ymir] and the ever-growing number of brutal frost giants (Hamilton 70). Therefore, they murdered Ymir, and the slaughtered giant bled so profusely that his blood drowned all but two giants and created the rivers, lakes, and vast ocean. The brothers used the flesh of the giant to make the earth, and his shattered bones and teeth to make the rocks. Then four dwarfs: east, west, north, and south secured the skull of Ymir above the earth to make the sky. Sparks from Muspell were then flung into the sky to make the sun, moon, and stars while Ymir s brains were used to shape the clouds.
The three brothers walking along the shore, spotted two pieces of wood. Each of the brothers took the wood and contributed a part of life to make two humans, a man named Ask and a woman named Embla to whom the gods gave the land of Midgard for their home (Hamilton 70 - 71). Since Ask and Embla were the only two humans all nations and all families and every race of human beings came from [them] (Hamilton 71). Many aspects of the natural environment reflect information that was vital to the creation of Norse myths and deities. Iceland, along with many other Viking lands, was a country of natural extremes, containing volcanoes, geysers, glaciers, and snow.
The theory that the Vikings wrote myths influenced by the surrounding environment clarifies the beginning of the creation story that is set in the fiery realm of Muspell and the icy realm of Niflheim (Philip 19). The Vikings relayed their environment as it was known to them. Richard Cavendish explained the theory well when he wrote, in the stony, sea-beaten lands of the north, men confronted snow, ice and extreme cold, and this inevitably influenced their myths (179). In the creation myth, having the blood of the murdered giant, Ymir, form the rivers, lakes, and vast sea that surrounded and drowned the frost giants shows the influence of life and environment and the fascination with violence. The Vikings were a violent culture and this is evident by the prayer, From the fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord, that was common in France (La Fay 523). In the Norse creation myth, Ymir s bones and teeth become the rocks and stones reflecting the mountainous and rocky region the Vikings lived in (Philip 20).
Most Vikings lived by the sea because it was easier to use ships and the land was more fertile there. Therefore, it was only logical for the Norsemen to create the story of Ask and Embla being created by the sea (gk). In the Viking region, the main trees were the Elm tree and the Ash tree. During the Norse creation myth when Odin, Vii, and Ve created the first man and woman, they named them Ask, meaning Ash, and Embla, meaning Elm tree, reflecting the influence of nature on mythology (Hamilton 71). The influence of Viking society produced evidence that factored into the creation of Norse myths.
The Vikings were arranged into three classes: warlords, free farmers, and slaves; and in Norse mythology there were also three classes: frost giants, gods, and men (Roesdahl 30). Many Vikings owned their own farms with animals such as cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep. The cows on the farm provided the Vikings with milk and food to nourish and strengthen their bodies just as the cow, Audhumla, fed Ymir to strengthen his body (Roesdahl 56). Other Vikings were shipbuilders or traders, depending on the sun, moon, and stars for navigation. The use of the sky as a navigational tool explains why the sky was said to be held in place by four dwarfs named: north, south, east, and west (Jones 192 - 193). The Vikings were fierce creatures, and their soles were drifting as the sea, and all good towns and lands they only saw with heavy eyes, and broke with heavy hands.
There gods were sadder than the sea, gods of a wandering will, who cried for blood like beasts at night, sadly, from hill to hill (G. K. Chesterton q. in Cavendish 179). Many times, the Vikings massacred the inhabitants as they were terrorizing an area. Certainly it is no wonder that they created a myth in which the creation of the earth came from a slaughtered giant.
The god Odin, was the god of battle and death and lived in the home of the gods, Asgard. The Vikings believed that if they died fighting they would go to a hall in Asgard called Valhalla, where they would fight all day and dine all night. Viking warriors, [were] prepared in Valhalla for the oncoming battle of Ragnarok (Encyclopedia Mythica). The Vikings also had burial customs that involved great ceremony. Many Vikings were buried in ships with their possessions and in some cases with their live slaves and dogs. Such graves were supposed to ensure a safe journey to the land of the dead, Valhalla (gk).
Both Egyptian and Norse mythology were extremely influenced by the civilizations in which they flourished. The ancient Egyptians created many myths influenced by the conditions of the Nile Valley, the sun, and the sky. The Vikings created myths influenced by the violent temperament of the people and the environment in their culture. The ancient myths and deities reflect many different aspects of Egyptian and Norse cultures including their environment, society, way of life, and people. The story tellers of old, steeped in their own indigenous cultures, played a vital role in creating the past.
Sources Cited Budge, E. A. Wallis. Legends of the Egyptian Gods: Hieroglyphic Texts and Translations.
New York: Dover, 1994 Casson, Lionel. Ancient Egypt. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life, 1965 Cavendish, Richard, ed. Mythology: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York: Barnes, 1992.
Hamilton, Virginia. In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World. New York: Harcourt, 1988. Jones, Gwyn.
A History of the Vikings. 2 nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1984. La Fay, Howard. The Vikings. National Geographic April 1970: 492 - 523.
Montet, Pierre. Eternal Egypt. New York: NAL, 1964. Philip, Neil. The Illustrated Book of Myths; Tales and Legends of the World. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. New York: Penguin, 1987. Valhalla. Encyclopedia Mythica. (15 Feb. 2000).
Warner, Rex. Encyclopedia of World Mythology. New York: Galahad, 1975.
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