STORIES

THE NORSE CREATION MYTH

The Norse believed that at the beginning of time there was Niflheim which was an
icy region,
Muspell which was a fiery region and a large void called Ginnungagap.
Over time the fires and sparks of Muspell warmed the frozen vapours of Niflheim,
condensed them into water and they started to drip.
The drips collected in Ginnungagap and two gigantic beings were formed
-- Ymir a frost giant and a huge cow called Audumla.
Ymir drank Audumla's milk and grew bigger and stronger.
One night while he was asleep, Ymir sweated.
From the sweat from the soles of his feet a six-headed troll appeared.
A male and a female frost giant grew from the sweat of his armpits.
The cow was licking the salty ice and gradually a new creature came into being.
The first day hair appeared; on the second, a head; and on the third the body
of a new giant, called Buri. Buri's sons and grandsons became the gods, not giants.

Odin led all of his kin against Ymir and killed him.
He dragged Ymir's enormous body into Gunnungagap.
His flesh became the earth, his blood the sea, his bones the mountains,
his hair the trees and his teeth became stones.
Odin and the others discovered worms in the earth and turned them into
dwarves and dark elves. The gods also discovered light elves.
The blood (sea) drowned all of frost giants except two who started
a new race of giants from which came all warlocks, enchanters and witches.
Odin set Ymir's skull over earth as the sky.
He put the brains around the sky and called them clouds.
Sparks from Muspell formed stars. Ymir's eyebrows were turned into land called
Midgard.
The first two humans were created from trees -- a man from an ash, a woman from an
elm.
The gods then departed by the bridge to Asgard.
There were nine worlds: Niflheim (mist and dead), Muspell (fire),
Midgard (humans), Jotunheim (frost giants), Alfheim (light elves),
Nidavellir (dwarves), Svatalfheim (dark elves), Vanaheim (Vanir gods),
Asgard (Aesir).
Above all the worlds was a wondrous tree, Yggdrasil, the world tree.

THE GREEK CREATION MYTH

Chaos was the first thing to exist.

He is sometimes called the oldest of the gods, but is also described as a shapeless
void.
From him sprang Ge (or Gaia), Tartarus, Eros, Erebus, and Nyx (Night).
Ge brought forth Uranos, the sky and then the mountains and the sea.
She had intercourse with her son, Uranos, to produce the first divine races (the
Titans).
Uranos didn't like his offspring and forced them back into Ge.
Ge was enraged by this and she persuaded Chronos,
the youngest of her children, to castrate Uranos during the next intercourse
between
Ge and Uranos. Uranos died and Chronos became ruler of heaven. s.
Chronos feared his children and so after his wife/sister, Rhea, gave birth,
he ate the children.

DIRECT COMPARISON

In both mythologies there was a void at the beginning.

In the Norse stories Gunnungagap, the void, was the eventual source of life.
In the Greek creation myth, Chaos, a shapeless void,
was all there was at the beginning and from him sprang all other creations.
In both stories, the first gods revolted against their father or grandfather
and by overthrowing him became the ruler of the worlds.
In both, humanity was formed from nature rather than through descent from the gods.

It is interesting that there was a great deal of detail about the formation
of earth in the Norse myth and many more types of beings than just gods and humans.