Comparisons Of Ancient Cosmogonies, Platonic And Biblical...

Comparisons of Ancient Cosmogonies Cosmogony myths and stories are seen throughout many cultures and religions and more often then not they overlap with one another sharing many similarities. Although they share similarities they can also have stark differences. This essay will look at the similarities and differences of the Hesiodic, Platonic and Biblical cosmogonies and why this may be, focusing on divine craftsmanship/creation of the world, the creation of man and woman and paradise and the humans fall from it. Firstly, the overarching similarity between these 3 myth traditions is their purpose. These myths were there to provide answers and to explain why the world is the way it is, therefore a reason behind many of the†¦show more content†¦Although all traditions have chaos brought to order the obvious difference between having creators and Gaia mother earth, is the idea of this ordered world being innately good or bad. The creator myths paint the world as inherently good, for example, in Genesis it is Yahweh’s will that the universe would be good - â€Å"and God saw that it was good† (Genesis 1.10 ). Similarly in the Timaeus, Plato has the Demiurge and the idea of good fused together – â€Å"He was good†¦ and being free from jealousy he desired that all things be like himself† (Timaeus 4). In contrast to the above examples, Hesiod’s Theogony holds a very pessimistic view of the world explaining it to be inherently bad. This is particularl y seen in his account of the five ages of men, which will be discussed later, and in the generational rivalry that is ongoing from the beginning of the myth. It is suggested by E.E Pender that Plato’s Timaeus myth is aiming to replace the ‘moral chaos’ that is seen in the Theogony, as he could not believe that the world is built around deception and violence. It can be argued that Plato wrote this new creation myth to make the world good but also in a way that science and math could be added. It is unclear if Hesiod made up the Theogony or simply wrote a well-known story down. A big