The reason this passage about Aten stands out to me because it celebrates one of the first monotheistic views in history. It was interesting that the king, Akhenaten, decided to stray from the regular polytheistic ways and starts worshipping one god who is in charge of the sun.

Based on the history from before the passage, it seems that a very small portion of society believed in the one god, Aten. It appears that only Akhenaten, the queen, and Aten’s sons are the main believers of this monotheistic view. The rest of Egypt chose to believe in many different gods and not just the sun god. It is also intriguing that after Akhenaten dies, the god Aten is rejected within a few years and the kings monuments are destroyed. They try to erase Akhenaten’s name from the society and go back to the ways of polytheism.

This story focuses on Aten being the sun God. Throughout the prayer, the sun and rays are mentioned many times, the first line of the passage “splended you rise in heaven’s lightland” (Line 1) refers to the sun rising in the sky. It then speaks about how when the sun(Aten) sets “earth is in darkness as if in death” that without Aten there is death and treachery at night, praising Aten for bringing light during the day. This is interesting because if Aten is the god of everything why is the darkness referred to as a separate entity? The prayer speaks about  “their maker rests in lightland” which I assume means anything that happens in the dark has nothing to do with Aten, the sun god. If Aten is the one and only god, I think he should also be praised for the dark he “created”?  

Another thing that was engaging in this prayers was the mention of “dat” which means the underworld. The prayers says “you made Hapy in dat,” which is referring to the flooding of the nile in the underworld. The mention of the underworld is confusing because of Aten being constantly referred to as exclusively the sun god. The underworld seems like something that should be mentioned when referring to whoever controls the night and the darkness, not the positive view of the sun god.

The “Song of Creation” emphasizes the fact that there is no one absolute answer as to how the universe is created, “…he knows–or maybe even he does not know” (line 29). This is particularly interesting because in a variety of religions and even in science, there is always a definite answer to the creation of the universe.

The fact that the people are able to live with the knowledge of not knowing is also fascinating. As humans we ask questions and hope to hear an answer, and when we don’t we stop at nothing to find the answer regardless if the answer is right or wrong. This is the majority of the reason why people turn to religion and science for the answer.

In the both “Genesis” and “The Great Hymn of Aten” there is only creator. In contrast to the “Genesis” and “The Great Hymn of Aten,” “Song of Creation” raises many questions that can’t really be answered.

Despite the society doesn’t know exactly how or who created the universe, they truly believe that every creation has it’s origin (25).  However, the one thing that I can’t seem to grasp the concept of is who or what “The One” (7) is. If “even nothingness, nor existence,” (1) then how did The One come to be? It first seems as if The One is a divine being or a god, but it doesn’t seem to fit the context “the gods themselves are later than creation, so who knows whence it truly arisen?” (23-24).

Through this text, we can see that not knowing is okay even though it goes against our natural instincts. It’s literature like this that help our minds grow and think of possibilities beyond our horizons.

If there were a poetic way to describe the beginning of the universe, i.e. the well supported and popular Big Bang theory, I believe “The Song of Creation” from Rig Veda would be it.

From the first few lines  to the very last ones, the whole song suggested the same thing to me, i.e. the birth of the universe as we know it today. Every part of the song hints, to me,  that the writers of the Rig Veda were advanced beyond their times. They seem to accept the idea of not knowing how the universe came to be or where it started from. The song seems logical and not just provide possible fictional answers to the conceiving of the world and mankind. This poem sounds more scientific than an art work. It raises curiosity through the questions, like:The general idea of futuristic and wise acceptance of “nothingness” in The Song of Creation is suggested by the vocabulary. The vocabulary helps provide to the reader a clue that the author seems to know more than he lets on. His theory of the creation of the universe doesn’t just sound poetic, but also logical.

Like I mentioned before, the author likes to hint of his knowing beyond his poetic arrangement of words. I picked this up from some of the phrases that he used. Some examples I’ve underlined are as follows:

Throughout the captivating opening lines of Enuma Elish, a perspective was painted in which the origins of life were explained according to Babylonian tradition. Before any “name was given to heaven, nor below was the netherworld called by name”, there was but one vast space of water that was ruled and defined by two gods, Apsu and Tiamat. (Pg. 34) Together, Apsu and Tiamat’s physical bodies made up what we know as the ocean today. These immense bodies of power created other gods such as Ea and his brothers.

After the creation of new celestial powers, major conflict developed between disagreeing gods and through the chaos and tumult that were to follow, Ea rises to power over Apsu. Ea’s son, Murduk, suggested to his father that they create mankind to “bear the gods’ burden.”(Pg. 36) After much debate and controversy over the manufacturing of man, Murduk challenges the grandiose Tiamat to battle to settle the destructive divergence. Murduk, rising as victor, rips her body and splits it into two, yielding the land and sky. Tiamat’s husband, Qingu is brought forth to Ea and killed. From Qingu’s blood, Ea fashioned the first forms of mankind to “serve the gods’ many needs.” (Pg.34) In the interest of time Murduk rises to power as “supreme god” and originator of all human kind. (Pg. 37)

After analyzing the story, one can infer how the Babylonian society viewed the cosmos and world. The beginnings of man, according to the Babylonian myth, were spawned by multiple events of disarray and bloodshed. To draw a parallel to such violence, one can look briefly at the cultural norms and aspects of ancient Babylonian communities, such as the widely studied, Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi’s code was, in reality, a very literal and brutal law, which was not only abused, but also used to further existing stratification of Babylonian society. This stratification and brutality was seen throughout the creation myth amidst the constant struggle for power. Some gods were greater than others and only one ruled at a given time. The god who ruled then attempted to control and maintain order amongst the others. The similarities between culture and creation myth instantaneously jumped out at me when I was reading through the story and perhaps helped me perceive similarities to gain a greater understanding for Babylonian culture and behavior.

Amongst reading this creation myth, I found myself constantly trying to fill holes within the story, for the whole myth is not present within the Norton Anthology.  There are in fact seven tablets of Enuma Elish, whereas the Norton Anthology only contains four. It was rather distracting sifting through alternate sources when struggling to understand the story as a whole. “Why did the people responsible with composing the Norton Anthology choose to omit certain tablets from the passage?”

The history behind the “The Great Hymn of Aten” itself is very interesting and one of the main reasons why I chose this creation story. To see a king dedicate himself and his whole nation to one god and as soon as he dies, the people change back to their old religion. This hymn was created to celebrate the sun god Aten.

This creation story tells me that the king Akehnaten viewed Aten as the source of all life. This hymn only tells his point of view, but we know that he changed his name to mean “He who is effective for Aten”. (p. 29)

Akehnaten praises Aten with not only the growth of crops, but with human life. “Who makes seed grow in women, Who creates people from sperm; Who feeds the son in his mother’s womb, Who soothes him to his still tears.” (lines 45-49) Aten is responsible for all functions in the natural world instead of the numerous others that had once been the gods. Aten also seems to soothe a person and feed unborn children.

A question I have for the class is: why is king Akehnaten the only one who praises Aten throughout the whole hymn and what are the changes he implemented? The only thing we get about the situation is the brief history in the beginning of the text.

Akehnaten views Aten as a god that does not openly do good, but in secret. “How many are your deeds, Though hidden from sight, O Sole God  beside whom there is none. You made the earth as you wished, you alone, All peoples herds, and flocks;”. (lines 63-67) This can be described easily with the sun not always showing its effects, but is relied on in daily life.

The whole hymn is really just Akehnaten claiming is he is the only one who truly knows and appreciates Aten. “You are in my heart, There is no other who knows you, Only your son, Neferkheprure, Sole-one-of-Re, Whom you have taught your ways and your might.” (lines 106-110) Akehnaten even claims to be his son and knows his godly powers as well.

This creation story was very refreshing to me because it’s written in such a way where unknowns are acceptable. In a genre that has been dominated by religion, admitting that you don’t have all the answers is a rare thing. We can see this when the author asks the question “so who knows truly whence it has arisen” (line 24) when referring to creation. It’s pointed out that even the gods came later in creation (23). This is a very open-minded way of looking at things. Even as we get to a more original creator, the author still questions whether the creator actually fashioned it, or took part, and even whether he knows or does not know of it (26-28). Is this creation story meant to galvanize people around a certain way of belief?

I loved the dichotomy in this text. It reminded me on the yin and yang, and of the phrase “two sides to the same coin”. One verse that stuck out began with “in the beginning desire descended on it” (13), which was followed by “that which is, is kin to that which is not” (16). Could this be a reference to fear, the opposite of desire?

This creation story reminded me of the Bhagavad-Gita. There was a lot of introspection for a creation story. Many qualities of the mind were mentioned, such as wisdom, strength, impulse, and desire. Do you find there to be similar qualities between the two texts? Or is it just a predisposition to think so, since we just finished reading the Bhagavad-Gita and we know both texts are from the same region?

Is “The One” the first human or a God? Desire descended on “The One” so I have assumed it to be the first human. Who are “the Sages” in this text (15)? They seem to be an ever-present force, monitoring the creation of the world and life.

At what point in history do you think this text was written? It’s said “the gods themselves are later than creation” (23). Is this the dispelling of a polytheistic religion or did the culture always believe that the Gods weren’t the root of all creation?

I think we can learn a lot from this text. The way the subject is approached is very opened minded, or without attachment, and it’s possible to say “I don’t know” with complete confidence.

For centuries, humans, creatures and other worldly beings have been trying to decipher texts from Sumerian societies. Once texts have been analyzed, readers must try to understand what is going on in these stories. Life before the common era was substantially different from the life that everyone lives today. Many people would attribute this difference with the culture change that has happened over time.

In “The Rivals”, two young boys are fighting for the same girl. Now this is no normal love triangle. Nor is this a story with a predictable happy ending. One day while walking home, the three of them encounter a leopard. Now one would assume this would be the perfect time to show this girl who is the stronger out of the two by fighting the leopard. So as one of the boys throws a spear at the Leopard, the other boy joins in to try and be the hero. Unsurprisingly, these two nitwits run out of spears because somehow they completely missed the Leopard. Now these two then decide it would be a smart idea to go and get more spears. Long story short, one of the boys eventually ends up killing the leopard, while the girl ends up being “killed”. Finally, after a long battle with the leopard, they were able to kill it. However, who ends up with the girl? As we look back ,was the battle even worth it?

This tale of two boys fighting for one girl seemed very predictable at first. However, it ended up leaving me surprised. Somehow, the author basically let each boy kill the same leopard. Now how is this possible you ask? I do not know. However, one thing that I would like to know is which one of these boys is this girl going to end up with? In todays world, the author of this tale would have definitely made it so that everyone had a happy ending. Luckily for us, were talking about a tale written thousands of years ago. One that left a reader such as I, craving for more.

Through this story, I cannot say that I understand how they viewed god at the time. However, I believe that in the world they lived in, they never planned ahead. In today’s society people make plans that wont happen for decades from now. Instead of worrying about that, they should be worrying about tomorrow, because no one is guaranteed tomorrow, and that is exactly how these people who wrote this story felt. Also, I believe that they lived life very unrestricted. In today’s world putting death in a children’s book is ridiculed and deemed absurd. However, back then no one cared about any of those things. Now that is a society in which I would love to be apart of.

Now I have a lot of questions that I know will remain unanswered. I don’t have a time machine, so no, traveling back in time would not be possible. However, I do have two questions for the class and they correlate with one another. The first being, which boy is the manliest and gutsiest of the two, and who do you think the girl ended up with, and why do you think this? “Rivals” is a fantastic love story. One that shows does not involve love and revolves around action. Clearly, stories such as “the rival” need to be talked about in todays society.

This blog post serves as a “make up” for the 9/21 class we should have had in person. Doing this assignment counts as your being “present” for that class day, and it counts as your participation credit for that day (in other words, if you don’t do it it counts as an absence; once you do all steps, you have full participation credit for the day). See the three parts below.

Part 1 and 2: Post your blog by Friday (5pm), so that there are enough posts for people to comment on for the second part of the assignment.

Part 3: Post your comments on other classmates’ blogs by Sunday (5pm).

1. Write a blog post of about 350-500 words about one of the Creation Stories you read for 9/21, or about a group of creation stories (like the short Yoruba creation stories). In this blog post, you should try to answer one or more of the questions below (see alternate questions for writing about Genesis. Whatever questions you address, be sure to quote phrases/sentences from the text:

• What is this creation (or stories) about–what stands out to you about them, and why?
• What does this creation story (or stories) tell you about how that society viewed God, the cosmos (universe) and the  world?
• What questions do you have for us as a class about this story/stories?

If you are writing about the Genesis creation stories: note that many scholars have observed that Genesis recounts 2 different creation stories (Genesis Ch. 1 is the first; Genesis Ch. 2 and 3 is the second). If you write about Genesis, consider these questions instead/as well as:

• For the first Genesis creation story (chapter 1), what can you tell about how the community writing and reading this text viewed God, the cosmos, and the world? Specifically, what do you observe about God in Genesis 1: what kind of God is he, and how does he treat his creation? Use quotes/examples from the story itself.  
• For the second Genesis creation story (chapter 2-3): Compare this version to the first version: what differences do you notice between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2-3? How does the God in this story compare to the God of Genesis 1? Use quotes/examples from the story itself (and try to find specific places where God seems to act/speak differently from the God in Genesis 1)?

2.   Before posting, look to the right side of the screen where there’s a box labeled “categories.” Tag your post as “Creation Stories” so your post goes specifically to a place on the blog just for creation stories (you can find this place in the menu on the top of the page).

3.   Once other classmates have posted: Look at at least a few of your classmates’ posts: choose two on which to comment, one of which focused on the same story/stories you did, and one that focused on a different creation story/stories than you did (if this is possible). These comments only need be 100-200 words but they should be more substantial than just “good point!” Instead, you might:

• Address a question in your classmate’s post (especially by bringing up a passage from the text that helps answer that question).
• Provide more textual evidence for a claim/interpretation in your classmate’s post, to expand/elaborate on your classmate’s claim.
• Propose another interpretation for a passage your classmate brought up in their post, or propose another way to interpret the story.  
• Compare the creation story your classmate addressed to another creation story you read, or the creation story you posted about.
• A combination of the above suggestions.