English: Creation Myths - Part 4
Storyboard Text
- Wait a minute, if Muspellheim is supposed to be the realm of fire, how did Odin create the moon with its sparks?
- Oh, well uh, he just used some of the ice from Niflheim and molded it into the moon's shape using sparks from Muspellheim. Heh.
- Ok, thank you, I understand now. I will continue with my story. After he defeated Kronos, Zeus married his sister Hera and had many children with her. He secretly had children with many other women too, soon the world was flooded with gods. Zeus also creates a second race of men, this time out of silver.
- I must say, your Zeus really loves women. Well, I'll interject with my tale for a while, with the help of his brothers, Odin created a man and a woman to inhabit Midgard. He gave them life, Ville intelligence, and Ve carved their ears, eyes, and mouth. Odin didn't create his humans out of gold or silver, he created them from two trunks that he found that were originally part of Ymir.
- Well, Zeus wasn't going to use any old wood any time soon to create men. To replace the silver men, who he found foolish and rude, he created a third race of bronze men. However, they were too warlike, aggressive, and killed each other too often so Zeus hid them away in the underworld. Then he created a race of heroes. Great, heroic men and women were born during this age and are the subjects of many of our other stories.
- Well, let me say this: there is nothing wrong with being too warlike and aggressive. Odin gave humans the task of looking after Midgard while he, his brothers, and the other gods resided in Asgard. Connecting to the other worlds through the Bifrost bridge, Odin and the gods were finally able to start their reign over humans.
- Your tale has a nice ending. In my tale, all of the men of the Heroic age eventually passed away. When a hero died, he was given a special place in the underworld, called the Blessed Isles, where it is always light and beautiful.
- That sounds sad yet peaceful. However, my story isn't over yet. Ymir's sisters were still upset over his death so they met at the foot of Yggdrasil, the world tree in the center of the earth. They started carving lines into the tree with all sorts of twists and turns. These lines represented human lives, starting with birth and ending with death. They also made a deep cut to ensure that humans could never be as powerful as the gods. Even Odin couldn't reverse the spells, as a result, we humans know death and suffering in this world.
- It's not all bad though. The end of the Heroic Age gave rise to the men of today. We are the iron race and are said to be the hardest of them all. Men of the iron age must toil all their lives, suffer, and die. However, iron men are the strongest of all and will survive the Olympian gods.
- Well, that's good to hear. Even though we know death and suffering in this world, brave warriors who die in the field of battle go to Valhalla where they can dine and fight with fellow heroes for the rest of eternity (until Ragnarok of course).
- Well, I am a tad disappointed that I couldn't convince you to convert but thank you for hearing me out when others wouldn't. I am glad to have learned about a new religion. Ymir, Yggdrasil, Odin, Niflheim, Ginnungagap... they all sound fantastical but in the end it's just another interpretation of the world's creation. As long as we remember that, we will do just fine as the iron race.
- Well Zeus, you haven't converted me to your beliefs and your creation tale. However, it was very entertaining and I have now learned about a new religion. Zeus, monster children, Golden Age, Silver Age, Gaia... they all sound very intriguing.
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