You updated your password.

Enjoy this course and thousands of other programs with a Wondrium membership

Wondrium is the premier service for people who love to learn. It gives you hundreds of great college-level courses from The Great Courses and hundreds of high-quality documentaries and series made for lifelong learners like you.

Learn More
Start Your FREE Trial

Enjoy Anywhere!

Reset Password

Enter the email address you used to create your account. We will email you instructions on how to reset your password.

Forgot Your Email Address? Contact Us

Reset Your Password

SHOW
SHOW

Creation Stories of the Ancient World

Encounter the grandeur of ancient creation stories of the Mediterranean and explore the values, beliefs, and theologies of early civilizations.
Creation Stories of the Ancient World is rated 4.6 out of 5 by 5.
  • y_2023, m_3, d_21, h_22
  • bvseo_bulk, prod_bvrr, vn_bulk_3.0.34
  • cp_1, bvpage1
  • co_hasreviews, tv_1, tr_4
  • loc_en_CA, sid_20030, prod, sort_[SortEntry(order=SUBMISSION_TIME, direction=DESCENDING)]
  • clientName_teachco
  • bvseo_sdk, p_sdk, 3.2.1
  • CLOUD, getAggregateRating, 8.62ms
  • REVIEWS, PRODUCT
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Informative and thought-provoking Professor Lam covers five major sets of creation stories and uncovers common features among them. Putting the creation story in the Bible in the context of stories from neighboring peoples and close reading of Genesis sheds new light on the myths that are embedded in our culture. I would like to hear more from him.
Date published: 2023-02-15
Rated 5 out of 5 by from excellent This scholarly, literary approach is excellent. His passion for the subject is readily apparent and makes it engaging. More than 12 lectures are needed to get a wider swath of ancient creation stories, though.
Date published: 2023-02-01
Rated 4 out of 5 by from A study of one region in the ancient world First off, I really enjoyed this course. But it really is more about discussing some of the creation stories of the Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions. We hear nothing of the Americas, Asia, India, Northern Europe. And that is fine. My one major complaint is we don't get a lot of comparing and contrasting in the episodes. Each lecture discusses one myth and very little mention of the others. I would have liked a couple extra lectures at the end to solidify everything.
Date published: 2023-01-31
Rated 4 out of 5 by from Insight into Jewish and Christian Creation Stories Well, actually this course is about the creation stories of the eastern Mediterranean (not the whole ancient world), that is, the creation stories that interacted with Judaism and Christianity. It totally ignores Eastern Asia, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Europe, and the Americas. It is a short course, both in terms of number of lectures (12 instead of the more normal 24) and also length (20-25 minutes instead of the more normal 30 minutes per lecture). The course focuses on creation stories of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hattusa, Greece, and Israel (i.e., the Jewish and Christian creation stories). Dr. Lam outlines the similarities and differences and presumed influences of these stories. Much of the material is a duplication of material from other offerings by The Great Courses (TGC) although the Hittite material may not be covered elsewhere. Dr. Lam is a critical scholar, which means that he approaches the subject from a literary perspective, i.e., as a literary critic (hence the name) rather than as an authority for faith. Further, he treats all the texts (i.e., Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hittite, Greek, and Jewish/Christian) as equally valid or true. Dr. Lam teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I believe he is a colleague of Dr. Bart Ehrman, with whom he shares a theological outlook. However, I consider Dr. Lam less provocative while he presents essentially the same material. While Dr. Lam obviously adheres to and emphasizes his critical perspective, he does sometimes refer to Catholic and Evangelical perspectives and he does so respectfully. The course guide is above average by The Great Courses (TGC) standards. It is written in paragraph format. It contains several useful graphics. There are no appendices but there are suggestions for additional reading at the end of each lecture. I used the video version. Although there are some useful graphics in the video version, in general it can be used in audio-only mode, such as while jogging or commuting in a car, without significant loss of content. The course was published in 2023.
Date published: 2023-01-31
  • y_2023, m_3, d_21, h_22
  • bvseo_bulk, prod_bvrr, vn_bulk_3.0.34
  • cp_1, bvpage1
  • co_hasreviews, tv_1, tr_4
  • loc_en_CA, sid_20030, prod, sort_[SortEntry(order=SUBMISSION_TIME, direction=DESCENDING)]
  • clientName_teachco
  • bvseo_sdk, p_sdk, 3.2.1
  • CLOUD, getReviews, 6.33ms
  • REVIEWS, PRODUCT

Overview

Creation stories—which recount the origins of the universe, the earth, and humanity—show us how ancient cultures made sense of the human condition. In this course, you’ll explore great creation texts such as the Babylonian Creation Epic, the Egyptian Memphite Theology, the Hittite Kumarbi Cycle, the Greek Theogony of Hesiod, the two contrasting accounts of creation in the biblical Genesis, and more.

About

Joseph Lam
Joseph Lam

Creation stories tell us who we are, where we came from, and where we are going.

INSTITUTION

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Joseph Lam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago. He is the author of Patterns of Sin in the Hebrew Bible: Metaphor, Culture, and the Making of a Religious Concept, as well as a number of scholarly articles in the fields of Hebrew Bible and Ugaritic studies. He teaches ancient languages beyond Hebrew, such as Akkadian, Aramaic/Syriac, and Ugaritic.

By This Professor

Creation Stories of the Ancient World
854
Creation Stories of the Ancient World

Trailer

Creation Stories and Why They Matter

01: Creation Stories and Why They Matter

Begin by considering the nature of creation stories, as they encapsulate a culture’s self-understanding, showing how early societies made sense of the human condition. Look at the term “myth” as it will apply within the course’s inquiry. Examine three ancient Sumerian stories that have creation themes embedded in them, expressing conceptions of the cosmos and mankind’s place within it.

25 min
Reading Metaphor in Creation Stories

02: Reading Metaphor in Creation Stories

Metaphor and symbol are integral to creation stories, as they form a crucial part of the language of myth. Investigate the function of metaphor, as it constructs a similarity between two things and creates new meanings, and symbol, as it creates correlations of other kinds. Using examples from ancient stories, explore the metaphors of sexual procreation and fashioning in generating the world.

28 min
Mesopotamian Creation: Enuma elish

03: Mesopotamian Creation: Enuma elish

Enuma Elish, also called the Seven Tablets of Creation, is a masterpiece of Mesopotamian literature. Investigate the historical background and the cultural role of the epic. Study the narrative’s account of the creation of gods and humanity, rooted in the notion of bringing order to chaos. Look at the major themes revealed in the story, as they bear on the political context of ancient Babylon.

27 min
The Mesopotamian Flood: The Atrahasis Epic

04: The Mesopotamian Flood: The Atrahasis Epic

Examine key Mesopotamian texts referencing a catastrophic flood which decimates humanity. Focusing on the Atrahasis Epic, trace the story, recounting the motive and the means for the creation of humanity, fashioned from clay and the remains of a slaughtered god, and the reason the gods sent the disaster of the flood. Note the epic’s reflections on the interdependence of gods and humans.

25 min
Egyptian Gods of Creation

05: Egyptian Gods of Creation

Take account of funerary texts that contain allusions to the ancient Egyptian conceptions of creation. Learn about the gods who played important parts in the formation of the world, beginning with the Ogdoad and the Ennead, two groups of deities in different local traditions. Also encounter the gods Amun, Ptah, and Khnum, and note their distinct roles within the creation mythology.

24 min
Egyptian Approaches to Creation

06: Egyptian Approaches to Creation

Within ancient Egyptian culture, explore the means by which the gods created the world and humanity. Begin with non-anthropomorphic images of creation, such as the conception of a primeval mound emerging from a watery chaos, and the creation images of a lotus flower and a cosmic egg. Follow this with anthropomorphic images, such as a god spitting out other deities or willing them into existence.

23 min
The Storm God’s Supremacy in the Baal Cycle

07: The Storm God’s Supremacy in the Baal Cycle

This ancient Syrian text, though it lacks an overt description of creation, resonates with key themes of other creation stories of the ancient Near East. Study the narrative, centering on the storm god Baal, who opposes a sea god and the god of death, attaining supremacy through struggle. Grasp how Baal, patron deity of the city of Ugarit, sustains the natural world and its recurring cycles.

26 min
Hittite Creation in the Kumarbi Cycle

08: Hittite Creation in the Kumarbi Cycle

Here, encounter the Hurrians and Hittites, two lesser known but important peoples of the ancient Near East. Study two key passages from the fragmentary text of the Kumarbi Cycle, concerning the struggle for supremacy between two competing lineages of gods. Note the text’s reference to the “cutting apart” of the heavens and the earth, and to the origins of cosmic order by means of divine rule.

24 min
Greek Creation in Hesiod’s Theogony

09: Greek Creation in Hesiod’s Theogony

Hesiod’s epic poem is Greece’s oldest account of ultimate origins. Within the text, observe how the development of the cosmos is enacted through the genealogical evolution of the gods. Follow divine conflict surrounding succession, originating between the gods Ouranos and Kronos, culminating in permanent order under Zeus, and the separation between humans and gods.

23 min
Seven Days of Creation in Genesis

10: Seven Days of Creation in Genesis

This lecture examines the biblical creation story from Genesis 1. Grasp how the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem led to the vision of a god whose abode encompassed the entirety of the heavens and earth. Study the unique features of the text, and its conception of a single, supreme god, with human beings as the pinnacle of creation, endowed with a special status and responsibility.

27 min
The Garden of Eden in Genesis

11: The Garden of Eden in Genesis

The story of the Garden of Eden presents a contrasting account of creation from the seven-day creation story in Genesis 1. Study the differences between the two accounts and observe how the Eden story reflects the agrarian life of ancient Israelites. Note the different order of creation of living creatures between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, and what these differences suggest for interpreting the text.

23 min
Creation Stories and the Present

12: Creation Stories and the Present

Conclude with reflections on key themes that run through creation stories of various traditions. Among these, consider the ways in which different cultures conceived of the primordial condition of the universe before creation. Revisit the theme of the succession of kingship among the gods and grasp how these stories about the past served to express humanity’s purpose in the present.

25 min

This program is restricted from being viewed in your country. This is due to restrictions from the creator of the program.

Please choose another of our wide variety of programs to enjoy!