Extra Reading - Crash Course Mythology (Creation and Destruction)

In the first video for Crash Course Mythology: Creation and Destruction, the guy talks about the relationship between humans and animals with respect to Creation. Obviously, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, humans are placed above animals by God. This is really interesting because it affected and continues to affect the way that societies with majority-Christian populations relate to nature. For example, here in the U.S. we have a population that's mostly claims Christianity of some kind and we have more policies introduced by religious politicians that harm the environment for human gain. Is it because "God gave Man dominion over the earth?" And other traditions, such as Native American creation stories, animals are equals and help humans. In some stories they lead them from an inner world through various doorways until they got to this world; in others, a young woman falls from the sky and lands on the backs of duck, then a turtle takes over and carries her and his back becomes the Earth. These creation stories make animals and nature essential to human survival, and it's totally consistent with the long-standing philosophy of Natural Democracy within the Native American community.

In the second video, he talks about the apocalypse. I think it's so interesting that humans have a sort of hive-mind when it comes to the shame and failure of our species. How is that so many different traditions around the world think that humans are garbage and must be destroyed by some wrathful deity's hand? And what does it say about us that even in an apocalypse, there have to be winners and losers? Anyway, we all know the deal with the Judeo-Christian apocalypse: fire, brimstone, face-melting. Lots of civilizations in the Mediterranean have these similar stories, for example, the Persian apocalypse is similar to Judaism and Christianity. In the Islamic stories, there is more natural disasters and a loss of morality among the people. Also, keeping with the Abrahamic tradition, there is an anti-Messiah, intent on ruling before Jesus and a heavenly army free everyone, rule, and leaves--then everything is terrible and destroyed, and then everyone is resurrected and Mohammad will return to Earth and measure everyone's sins. What's interesting is that the Islamic tradition gives everyone much more time to fix their mistakes--which is really incongruent with the intensity with which this religion is associated. Maybe we just have a one-dimensional view of Islam. 

The third and final video talks about Ragnarok, which is the Norse apocalypse and is the one that I was most looking forward to learning about. First, there will be three long winters in a row, and all the people will be hungry and turn against each other. When civilization implodes, almost everyone is dead, adn the living are basically animals, two mythical wolves Hati and Skul (spelling is questionable) will eat the sun and the moon, and the world will plunge into darkness. Then, earthquakes will come and they will break the chains that hold Loki to the rock (spoiler alert, the chains are actually his dead son's intestines--punishment for tricking everyone into killing Baldr) and both he and his giant demonic-wolf son Fenrir will be free. Then three roosters will crow, and the giants, dead of Hel, and warriors of Valhalla will awaken. Loki's other son, a giant demonic-snake will slither through the seas. Loki will take all his monster babies and the minions of Hel and challenge the Asir( "good" gods) at Asgard, with the rainbow bridge collapsing behind them. Heimdal warns the Asir, and Odin leads them and 800 noble dead warriors from Valhalla into battle.

I like the Norse apocalypse because it isn't like it's anything that everyone deserves, but just the way the world will end, whether humans are intrinsically good or bad. It doesn't matter what you do--the world will end with all the gods killing each other, Fenrir's defeat by a magic indestructible shoe, and the giant-king killing the last of the Asir and plunging every realm into fire and the earth sinks into the sea. But since all the world is water, there is new hope--not all of the gods die, and from the water a new earth forms. And the gods who survive make sure that the stories and a few artifacts from the old Norse pantheon survive. It's like we can't know if the apocalypse has already happened, for all we know we could be on our third or fourth world. Creation, destruction, and rebirth. Honestly, who doesn't love an apocalypse with a happy ending?

"The Punishment of Loki" by Louis Huard