If we look at the myths left by different nations of humanity about the origin and evolution of man, the similarities we find are surprising, even among peoples who lived in such distant areas as Mesopotamia and South America. In this article, we will highlight the most significant of these similarities, with the intention of trying to reconstruct the distant past of humanity as described by universal mythology.
Such an attempt may seem meaningless if we stick to the usual approach of the last centuries, according to which myths are just stories for children or even more modern notions that if myths have any value, it is only because of their psychological content. However, there are plenty of examples, such as the legends of King Arthur or the Trojan War, which, although embellished with fantastical elements by imagination and poetic sense, continue to reflect historical truth in a certain way.
The Great Flood
The most famous of these mythical coincidences, which is shared by all Whoever notices even after superficial studying of the subject, is the general flood. Westerners are familiar with this myth in its biblical form, from Hebrew religion, which says that God, angry at human wickedness, decides to send a flood to destroy them – announcing it to Noah, one of the few remaining good people, and advises him to build a boat to save himself, his family, and pairs of animals of each species – and thus to restore the world after the disaster. Noah did that and thus saved himself from the destruction of the world, and when the storm subsided and the water receded, Noah sent a bird to find dry land. When it returned with an olive branch in its beak, he decided to send another one later, but it did not return. After that, they sought a landing place; it was Mount Ararat, which has since become a sacred place as a symbol of the rebirth of humanity.
Although this story is well known to everyone, we have mentioned it here to emphasize some details that will be repeated in the myths of other peoples.
Matsya, avatar b gnje li to znači da je mit o općem potopu samo produkt ljudske mašte i prenosi se s naraštaja na naraštaj, prilagođavajući se vremenskim i društvenim promjenama?”
Iako ne postoji povijesna povezanost između naroda Bliskog Istoka i Amerike u odnosu na mit o potopu, sličnosti u mitovima širom svijeta sugeriraju da je postojao neki stvarni povijesni događaj koji je imao značajan utjecaj na kolektivnu svijest ljudi. Ova činjenica, međutim, nije zabilježena u knjigama o povijesti zbog njihove usmjerenosti na dokumentiranje onoga što su smatrali relevantnim povijesnim događajima.
Miti su, stoga, priče koje su se razvijale i mijenjale kroz stoljeća, prilagođavajući se različitim klimama i društvenim okruženjima. Oni su način na koji ljudi pokušavaju razumjeti i objasniti svijet oko sebe, te su, kao takvi, prisutni u svim kulturama i tradicijama. Bez obzira na njihovu povijesnu točnost, mitovi imaju univerzalnu svrhu – da osvijetle neke aspekte ljudskog iskustva koji se ne mogu lako izraziti kroz činjenice i logiku.
Were these legends a confused depiction of great events of planetary scale that people watched in terror simultaneously on all sides of the planet? Such a question should make us look less skeptical at the esoteric tradition of the existence and destruction of the continent known as Atlantis.
What was the reason for the flood? In most myths, it is believed that human wickedness caused the wrath of God or gods. This is the case with the biblical story, the Egyptian one (although it does not refer directly to the flood, but to the destruction of humanity by Sekhmet, the bloodthirsty lioness, whom Ra sent to avenge the people), and many others, from both European and American tradition. Another version, originating from the Tupi Indians in Brazil, claims that it happened because of a battle between white and black sorcerers. This version aligns with the aforementioned esoteric tradition, as well as with other myths of battles between fantastic beings with magical weapons. This is the case in Celtic mythology where two races, the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians, fight. Danaan and the oldest Formorios, bound to the forces of evil.
Olympus: The Fall of the Titans, painted by Francisco Bayeu y Subías, 1764.
The Ancestors’ Rebellion of Mankind
The story of the rebellion of the ancestors of modern mankind against the gods is widely spread. In the Old Testament, it appears in the legend of the Tower of Babel, which the people of that time tried to build in order to reach the heavens and become like the gods. Interestingly, we find the same tradition in Greece, in a slightly altered form, when the giants (the ancestors of modern humans, according to the ancient Greeks) tried to reach Olympus by piling mountains on top of each other. Another similar version can be found in Plato’s book Symposium, where Aristophanes tells a peculiar story about spherical people (our ancestors) who became so proud of their strength that the gods decided to divide them in two, thus creating the two current genders, and, according to Aristophanes, awakening love between one person and another. By the way, it is worth mentioning one more detail of the Tower of Babel myth that The story is about the division of language and confusion in languages. The same idea appears among the Maya and Aztecs in Central America, where it is said that after a flood, humanity lost its previous unified and universal language, and a multitude of languages emerged that could not understand each other.
There are also many myths that speak of a terrible war, almost cosmic in scale, in which giants, wizards, or gods, depending on the version, fight for control of the world. Those who were defeated were condemned to live under the sea or underground (submerged in the flood?). Such are the titans from Greek mythology, defeated by Zeus and thrown into the underworld, or, as with the indigenous Pericui people from the Californian Gulf, rebels are expelled into an underground cave.
In the same typology, the myth of Atlas is also highlighted (does it refer to Atlantis?). Sentenced to carry the world on his shoulders, he causes earthquakes every time he shifts it from one shoulder to another. The same There is a myth among the Chibcha people of South America about the demon Chibchacum, who does the same thing as Atlas. In connection with this narrative, the story of the giants who are the ancestors of humanity is also important, reflecting another esoteric tradition. Giants are mentioned in many mythologies, such as:
Here we can ask another question, considering the many references to giant ancestors, why they are not mentioned in the “official prehistory,” not even as a working hypothesis? Is it pure fantasy, or perhaps modern science has not yet discovered much?
These primordial myths tell us about events related to the fundamental fact of the universal flood, a kind of central point of the entire mythical history of humanity. But it is also interesting to see what mythology tells us about the time before and after the flood, so that we can get a complete picture.
A depiction of the Egyptian god Osiris in the Weighing of the Heart, around 1375 BC.
Evolution from the pre-flood to the post-flood epoch
If we look back at the distant past, we can see that the mythologies of different civilizations contain similar elements and themes. let’s see that myths often start with a story of a “golden age”, when humans were in close relationship with the gods. In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, it is said that before the flood, humans were ruled by gods from the heavens. In Greek mythology, it is said that during the time of Cronus, gods and humans lived together in harmony, which was later lost. There was no pain, and even death was not a reason for sadness, as it is now, but more like a peaceful and gentle sleep. In the Bible, we have the myth of the Garden of Eden, where neither pain nor death existed. The motif of the succession of ages or races that developed, or in other cases declined, until reaching the current state of humanity, appears in the mythical prehistory, in traditions that confusingly reflect the esoteric history of evolution. The Greek poet Hesiod speaks of four successive ages of decline: golden, silver, bronze, and iron. The Islamic tradition speaks of seven races created from angels, who made of seven different-colored lands. In Persian mythology, the first human couple, conceived from the seed of the first man, gave birth to seven pairs. From one of them, another pair was created, from which fifteen races of humanity originated. In Irish (Celtic) mythology, there is a sequence of four or five races that were successively destroyed by catastrophes, plague, and wars. Among the Mexican people, there is a tradition of four suns or four consecutive worlds, each inhabited by humanity with different characteristics, which were later destroyed because they did not maintain perfection sufficiently.
As we have already seen, towards the middle or end of this cycle, according to tradition, there was an era of crisis, conflict, and wars, whether it was the conflict between gods and angels or the rebellion of humans or giants against the celestial order. On the other hand, there are multiple legends about a flood or catastrophe sent to humanity.
The last phase of this development, before entering the historical era, is marked by the appearance of heroic and divine beings. Those who helped humanity survive the flood, rebuild the future, and develop without the presence of the gods they once relied on. These heroes taught people about agriculture, politics, arts, and magic. The tradition of founding heroes, divine helpers, or divine kings is almost as prevalent as the flood myth itself. In Egypt, for example, we have numerous reminders of the race of divine kings who introduced agriculture, religion, and civilization in general. There is even a reminder of the god-king Osiris, who is said to have traveled throughout Egypt after civilizing it and spreading the principles of civilization throughout the world. In Persian mythology, there is a person very similar to Osiris named Husheng. Like Osiris, he is the first king who brought the gifts of civilization to his people. Later, like Horus (Osiris’ son in Egyptian mythology), he avenges the death of his father who was killed by demons (like the Egyptian god Seth). And then he continues to civilize the whole world. This theme of the mission to civilize the world is The world is very interesting, considering that it is unlikely to have emerged without a foundation in some historical reality. In addition, there is another version on the other side of the world among the Maya people of Central America. There is a legend there about the hero Kukulkan, who came from the west with nineteen followers. They stayed on the Yucatan for ten years, shaping the foundations of Mayan civilization. Kukulkan established wise laws and then boarded a ship, disappearing towards the rising sun.
Pachacamac – the restorer of the world, an ancient deity in South America
In Greece, the god-hero Prometheus, taking pity on the helpless fate of humans, performed a well-known act of bravery by stealing divine fire from Olympus to give it to humans. As a result, he was punished by Zeus to be chained to the mountain of Caucasus until he was freed by the human-hero Heracles.
This heavenly fire symbolizes both the knowledge of physical fire and how it can contribute to the development of civilization (ability to forge tools, weapons, etc.) and the fundamental o Now the spark of intelligence separates us from animals. And not only that, it makes us rational and capable of recognizing the soul within ourselves, divine consciousness, as well as the possibility of becoming gods one day. For this reason, Yahweh punished the serpent (an ancient symbol of wisdom and awakened consciousness) because it tempted man to eat from the tree of knowledge, and Zeus punished Prometheus because he bestowed upon man that forbidden gift.
In this important myth, we find one of the most significant aspects of myth in general, which is its ability to provide knowledge about the evolution of human consciousness. It doesn’t tell us everything, but it encourages those who yearn to know to delve deeper into exploration.
We also find the myth of fire in India, where Matarisvan is the one who took lightning from the heavens and revealed the secret of fire to mortals. Similarly, the god-hero Tohil bestowed fire upon the Mayans, which he gave to them while he resided in Tullan, where they traveled to learn about divine mysteries. It seems that after receiving fire, there was a separation of languages and the creation of multiple ones as a result. “They no longer understood each other.”
Continuing with examples of civilization heroes and divine kings, we come to China. The Chinese claim that in ancient times, people lived in caves (an allusion to the Stone Age?), but later “heavenly emperors” came to teach them how to make tools and build houses. In Australia, a female spirit named “Rainbow Snake” taught her children – the humans – to speak and understand, to find food and choose what to eat. Among the people of the Amazon rainforest (Yanomami), another snake – the cosmic anaconda – taught people how to cultivate crops. Pay attention once again to the mention of the snake. Let us recall that in India, there were beings called “Nagas,” or snake kings famous for their wisdom, who lived in underground caves and were capable of imparting great knowledge to deserving humans.
In America, the figure of the divine hero who brings civilization appears in almost all cities. We can mention Chibche in Colombia, who attributed the sun deity Bochica with the ability to make the crops grow and bring prosperity to the people. The creation of civilization and all the arts. The Incas say the same about Pachacamac, who rejuvenated the world by transforming the people created by Viracocha (the creator god), teaching them various skills and professions. He was known as the “Son of the Sun” and, as mentioned earlier, the “Lord of the Giants.”
After these original impulses, different cultures developed and flourished, giving birth to historical civilizations and cultures that we are more or less familiar with. Thus, the mythical era gave way to historical eras, those that did not sink into the deep past, and that is why our memory of them is clearer and we can describe them, while myth refers to a period that is lost in time, causing facts about it to merge and distort. This is why the concept of myth in our time is colored by an obsession with factual data, lies, and untruths. But it is not like that. Myth, at least in one of its many keys, always relates in some way to historical facts, with the addition of psychological and spiritual phenomena.
Summarizing the image However, acquired through the study of universal mythology, we can analyze it through the stage of the Golden Age or the time when humanity lived with the gods and there was no pain, and the intermediate periods of development/decline, highlighting the possibility of the existence of a race of giants from which the current humanity originated. This phase culminated in:
Do myths tell us anything about the future?
It would be interesting to find out if myths tell us anything about the present, and even more so – about the future. The truth is that they tell us less about that than about the past, as we can expect, but they indicate some very interesting things.
For example, the Persians said: “As time passes and as the end of the world approaches, the Earth will become flatter, people will become more similar to each other and truly better. Ancient heroes, when resurrected, will fight for the common good. Many future helpers, many saviors, Saoshyants, will suppress evil. The ultimate Savior will be – according to one version – the reincarnation of the first man.”
Many other legends They describe similar events, like that of King Arthur, a sleeping ruler who will rise with his knights and return to destroy evil in the world and establish justice. They indicate the cyclicality in historical evolution, which not only applies to the rise and fall of civilizations like the endless ebb and flow, but on a broader scale, to the return to the beginnings of things and the cyclic return in time. Heroes will appear, myths and divine kings, and finally, brotherhood among people and coexistence with the gods that mark the long-awaited golden age will be restored.
Thus, myths tell us something very important about the future, and that is that, although the existing world belongs to the “Iron Age”, we can expect a continuous cyclic evolution of human consciousness that will inexorably lead us to the next heroic age and finally to the reestablishment of the golden age. Having this vision is like having a magical weapon that encourages us to work for that future with patience and enthusiasm. Joško Dvornik