Myths of Creation and the End of the World

Ancient Greeks believed the world would never end, the Vikings had a clear apocalypse scenario, and for the Hindus the universe is an endless relay of creation, destruction, and rebirth. The book “Myths of World Creation and the End of the World” shows how different peoples’ legends—Scandinavian, Slavic, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Celtic, ancient Greek, and Egyptian—answer these existential questions. You’ll learn what the Hindu tale of the Great Flood looks like, what the Russian “Book of the Blue Stone” (“Голубиная книга”) says about the creation of the world, how a miller saved humanity from being devoured in the mouth of the lioness goddess Sekhmet, and how the cosmological myths of different peoples connect to the Big Bang theory. You’ll find beautiful tales of the Indian goddess of death, whose tears turn into severe diseases; about a hare grinding immortality medicine in a mortar for Asian gods; about the mysterious eternal Dao; and about the Egyptian mother of gods, Neith, who weaves the fabric of the world every day. What did creator-gods make the first people from? What four mercies did the Egyptian god Ra grant to people? What do the first human Purusha, the giant Imir, the serpent Shesh, and the serpent Yormungand have in common? Can one avoid the apocalypse? On these and other questions, you’ll get answers in an audiobook!