Creation myth

A traditional narrative explaining how the world, humanity, or other fundamental features of existence came into being. Creation myths often establish a culture’s account of cosmic order and humanity’s place within it.

Cosmogony: An account or theory of the origin and development of the universe. Creation myths are traditional forms of cosmogony, grounded in a culture’s sacred stories.
Enuma Elish: An ancient Babylonian epic in which Marduk defeats Tiamat and forms the ordered world from her body. Its creation account ties cosmic order to divine conflict and Babylonian kingship.
Separation of heaven and earth: A cosmogonic motif in which sky and earth, once joined, are separated to create habitable space. Separating cosmic parents or realms is a common way myths make room for life.
Sacred narrative: A story treated as authoritative within a religious tradition and connected to sacred realities or practices. Creation myths often function as sacred narratives rather than merely imaginative accounts.
Chaos (cosmogony): A primordial state of disorder or undifferentiated potential in some accounts of cosmic beginnings. Many creation narratives begin with a state that creation transforms or orders.
Genesis creation narrative: The biblical account in Genesis 1–2 describing God’s creation of the world and humanity. These chapters offer influential accounts of creation through divine speech and human formation.
Cosmic battle: A mythic conflict between divine or cosmic forces that establishes or renews the world’s order. Some creation narratives turn a victory over primordial forces into the world’s formation.
Worldview: A system of beliefs and assumptions through which a person or community interprets reality. A creation story can express a community’s picture of reality and humanity’s place within it.
Creator deity: A divine being credited with bringing the universe or its fundamental features into existence. Some myths attribute creation to a god who acts intentionally.
Rigveda 10.129: A Vedic hymn, also called the Nasadiya Sukta, that meditates on the uncertain origin of existence. Its closing question leaves the beginning of the cosmos unresolved.

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