Creation Mythology: South America

Today we are going to explore the creation myths of South America.  South America is the fourth largest continent in the world and its mythology is diverse and vast.  Here we will look at the creation myths of Mesoamerica and some of the tribes which can be found throughout the region.

The Mayan civilization lasted from around 500BC to 1200AD.  The creation myth of the Mayans can be found in the ancient hieroglyphic Popol Vuh, meaning Book of Counsel, Book of the Community, or Book of the People.  The following myth tells of how Tepeu and Gucumatz created the world through conversation with one another.

 

Mayan Creation Myth by TheK40*

How Tepeu and Gucumatz Made the World

This is the account of how all was in suspense, all calm, in silence, all motionless, still, and the expanse of the sky was empty.
This is the first account, the first narrative.  There was neither man, nor animal, birds, fishes, crabs, trees, stones, caves, ravines, grasses, nor forests; there was only the sky.
The surface of the earth had not appeared.  There was only the calm sea and the great expanse of the sky.
There was nothing brought together, nothing which could make a noise, nor anything which might move, or tremble, or could make noise in the sky.
There was nothing standing; only the calm water, the placid sea, alone and tranquil.  Nothing existed.

Gucumatz by Ranubis

There was only immobility and silence in the darkness, in the night.  Only the Creator, the Maker, Tepeu, Gucumatz, the Forefathers, were in the water surrounded by light.  They were hidden under green and blue feathers, and were therefore called Gucumatz.  By nature they were great sages and great thinkers.  In this manner the sky existed and also the Heart of Heaven, which is the name of God and thus He is called.
Then came the word.  Tepeu and Gucumatz came together in the darkness, in the night, and Tepeu and Gucumatz talked together.  They talked then, discussing and deliberating; they agreed, they united their words and their thoughts.
Then while they meditated, it became clear to them that when dawn would break, man must appear.  Then they planned the creation, and the growth of the trees and the thickets and the birth of life and the creation of man.  Thus it was arranged in the darkness and in the night by the Heart of Heaven who is called Huracan.

Huracan: Heart of Sky by Jack Feldman

The first is called Caculha Huracin.  The second in Chipi-Caculha.  The third is Raxa-Caculha.  And these three are the Heart of Heaven.
Then Tepeu and Gucumatz came together; then they conferred about life and light, what they would do so that there would be light and dawn, who it would be who would provide food and sustenance.
Thus let it be done!  Let the emptiness be filled.  Let the water recede and make a void, let the earth appear and become solid; let it be done.  Thus they spoke.  Let there be light, let there be dawn in the sky and on the earth!  There shall be neither glory nor grandeur in our creation and formation until the human being is made, man is formed.  So they spoke.
Then the earth was created by them.  So it was, in truth, that they created the earth.  Earth!  they said, and instantly it was made.
Like the mist, like a cloud, and like a cloud of dust was the creation, when the mountains appeared from the water, and instantly the mountains grew.
Only by a miracle, only by magic art were the mountains and valleys formed; and instantly the groves of cypresses and pines put forth shoots together on the surface of the earth.


The Heart of Earth by belezr

And thus Gucumatz was filled with joy, and exclaimed: ‘Your coming has been fruitful, Heart of Heaven; and you, Huracan, and you, Chipi-Caculha, Raxa-Caculha!’ ‘Our work, our creation shall be finished,’ they answered.
First the earth was formed, the mountains and the valleys, the currents of water were divided, the rivulets were running freely between the hills, and the water was separated when the high mountains appeared.
Thus was the earth created, when it was formed by the Heart of Heaven, the Heart of Earth, as they are called who first made it fruitful, when the sky was in suspense, and the earth was submerged in the water.
So it was that they made perfect the work, when they did it after thinking and meditating upon it.

Several creation stories can be found in Aztec mythology, with some originating from early Mexica and others from other Mesoamericans.  The most well known, however, is the story of the Five Suns.  It tells of how the battles for supremacy between the brothers Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl brought about both the destruction of the first four suns and the creation of the fifth sun.



Ometeotl by rainbow-country-crew

The Creation of the World – The Five Suns

In the beginning there was Ometeotl, the Creator Pair, or the Lord and Lady of Duality.  The male and female aspects of Ometeotl coupled and from their union brought forth Texcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl. 

During the time of the First Sun, giants roamed the Earth, eating rocks and acorns, and Tezcatlipoca ruled supreme.  He took it upon himself the honor of carrying the Sun on its daily journey through the heavens, lighting the sky above and the Earth below.  With great pride, he daily led the Sun in its fiery, celestial path.
Quetzalcoatl was jealous of Tezcatlipoca and his great honor.  In a terrible fit of anger he climbed into the sky and gave Tezcatlipoca a mighty blow.  The blow stunned Tezcatlipoca, and he fell tumbling from the sky.  As he crashed to Earth, Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into his sacred animal spirit, the jaguar.  As the jaguar, he destroyed all living creatures on the Earth.  The time of the First Sun of the Earth came to an end, and darkness covered the Earth.  The Aztecs marked this day of the Earth’s first destruction with the name 4 Jaguar.

z9 Tezcatlipoca by SHiNiGAMi-Xiii*

Quetzalcoatl now reigned supreme.  It was his divine honor to lead the Sun on its daily journey to defeat the powers of darkness on the Earth.  The Earth existed again for a second time – the time of the Second Sun.  During this time, the Earth was populated with monkeys who existed on pine nuts.
Now, it was Tezcatlipoca’s turn to be jealous.  He was determined to regain his dominance over Quetzalcoatl.  It was Tezcatlipoca this time who rose into the sky and delivered a smashing blow to Quetzalcoatl.  Quetzalcoatl could not survive the blow and came roaring to Earth with such force that a great windstorm destroyed all living creatures.  For the second time, the age of the Sun had ended with the destruction of the Earth.  The Aztec called this day 4 Wind.

Quetzalcoatl by vandervals

The gods were angry at this destructive battle between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca.  They decided that another god should have the honor of carrying the Sun across the sky.  They chose the rain god Tlaloc.  Tlaloc ruled supreme during this third creation of the Earth.  His fall of nourishing waters brought back life to the Earth, covering it with rivers, lakes, and oceans.
This time, both Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca began to plot against Tlaloc.  Together they attached Tlaloc and caused a fierce rain of celestial fire to fall on the Earth.  The time of the Third Sun ended in the destruction of the Earth by scorching fire.  The Aztecs marked the end of this third age of the Sun with the name 4 Rain.
Once again, the gods intervened to recreate the Earth.  During this time of the Fourth Sun, Tlaloc’s sister, the god Chalchiuhtlicue, the Goddess of Water, fell to the Earth, the sky opened up

Tlaloc by Kamazotz

with a deluge of heavenly waters.  A great flood covered the Earth and destroyed it for a fourth time.  The Aztecs marked this day with the name 4 Water.
After fourth destruction of the Earth, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca felt remorse for their battles.  Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl looked down upon the darkened and flooded Earth and knew that their time of battle must come to an end if there was to be another Sun.  They abandoned their fierce fighting and together created the Earth for a fifth time.  The Fifth Sun, the sun of motion, is the sun of our present age.  According to this Aztec myth, the age of the Fifth Sun will one day end in a cataclysm of earthquakes.

The Inca established their capital at Cuzco, Peru in the 12^th century.  Their creation story tells of Viracocha, also spelled Huiracocha or Wirapoca, the creator deity who made the sun and moon on Lake Titicaca.

Viracocha and his son Inti by MaycuryDealor

Children of the Sun

Viracocha emerged into the primal dark from the sacred waters of Lake Titicaca.  He created a race of giants, but they angered him, so he drowned them and turned them to stone.  Next he called the sun, the moon, and the stars out of the Island of the Sun in the centre of the lake.  He picked up stones by the lakeside and shaped these into the first man and women, painting them with clothes, and giving each nation its own language, songs, and foods.  Viracocha and his sons travelled among the peoples, teaching them how to live, before walking away across the Pacific Ocean.

Among the Keres speaking Pueblo people of southwestern America, the original creator was Sus’sistinako, or Thinking Woman, the spider.  In some versions she creates the world from a discarded clot of blood and in others from her own thoughts.

Thinking Woman

The Pueblo's Spider Woman - Artist Unknown

At first there was only one being, a spider called Sus’sistinako, meaning ‘Thinking Woman’.  Sussistinako sent her thoughts outward into space, and used them to weave the fabric of the universe.  Beneath the Earth she placed Iatiku the Corn Mother, also known as ‘the breath of life’.  It was Iatiku who created all the elements that make up the world – even fun, in the shape of the clown Koshare, whom she shaped from rubbings of her skin in order to make people laugh.

Iatiku had two aspects: one who remained underground, and to whom the dead returned; and another who travelled up to the world, bringing the gift of life.  She had two daughters, to whom she gave baskets filled with seeds and images.  They were to use these to bring life into the world.
The first daughter was named Iatiku, after her mother, because they so closely resembled one another.  The second daughter was not given a name.
The two daughters travelled up to the Earth, and when they emerged, the world was still dark, so they decided to create light.  Singing a creation song, they created the sun from shells and red stone, then they travelled east, carried the sun up a high mountain, and dropped it over the other side.  The next morning the sun rose for the first time.


MOTHER CORN by TWitchhh

Iatiku and her sister continued to scatter the seeds and images from their baskets, and each thing came alive as it fell.  They made the moon, and then the stars, which were all in perfect groups until a little girl peeped into the bundle of stars and let them out, scattering them randomly across the sky. Iatiku noticed that her sister’s basket was more richly filled than her own, so she decided to name her sister ‘Nautsiti’, meaning ‘more everything in her basket’.  The two sisters then held a contest to see which of them should have precedence in the world.  Iatiku won because Thinking Woman sat on her shoulder in spider form and whispered to her, telling her what to do.  As the victor, Iatiku stayed to become the mother of the Indians, while Nautsiti went away, to become the mother of the whites.

The Huitoto or Uitoto Indians can be found deep in the Peruvian Amazon.  They tell the following ex nihilo myth of how Father Naimuena created the world from dreams.

Father Naimuena Creates the World

In the beginning, the word gave origin to the Father.  A phantasm, nothing else existed in the beginning; the Father touched an illusion, he grasped something mysterious.  Nothing existed.  Through the agency of a dream our Father Naimuena kept the mirage to his body, and he pondered long and thought deeply.

Phantasm by JoeyJazz

Nothing existed, not even a stick to support the vision: our Father attached the illusion to the thread of a dream and kept it by the aid of his breath.  He sounded to reach the bottom of the appearance, but there was nothing.  Nothing existed indeed. Then the Father again investigated the bottom of the mystery.  He tied the empty illusion to the dream thread and pressed the magical substance upon it.  Thus by the aid of his dream he held it like a wisp of raw cotton.
Then he seized the mirage bottom and stamped upon it repeatedly, sitting down at last on his dreamed earth.
The earth-phantasm was now his, and he spat out saliva repeatedly so that the forests might grow.  Then he lay down upon his earth and covered it with the roof of heaven.  As he was the owner of the earth he placed above it the blue and the white sky.
Thereupon Rafuema, ‘the man who has the narratives,’ sitting at the base of the heavens, pondered, and he created this story so that we might listen to it here upon the earth.

The Pima can be found in the deserts of southern Arizona.  They tell the following ex nihilo myth of Juhwertamahkai, the Doctor of the Earth, who creates the earth from perspiration and people from the shadow of his eyes.

The Story of the Creation

In the beginning there was no earth, no water – nothing.  There was only a Person, ‘Juh-wert-a-Mah-kai (The Doctor of the Earth).

He just floated, for there was no place for him to stand upon.  There was no sun, no light, and he just floated about in the darkness, which was Darkness itself.

hold on by butterflycollector

He wandered around in nowhere till he thought he had wandered enough.  Then he rubbed on his breast and rubbed out ‘moah-haht-tack’, that is perspiration, or greasy earth.  This he rubbed out on the palm of his hand and held out.  He tipped over three times, but the fourth time it staid straight in the middle of the air and there it remains now as the world.
The first bush he created was the greasewood bush.
And he made ants, little tiny ants, to live on that bush, on its gum which comes out of its stem.
But these little ants did not do any good, so he created white ants, and these worked and enlarged the earth; and they kept on increasing it, larger and larger, until at last it was big enough for himself to rest on.
Then he created a Person.  He made him out of his eye, out of the shadow of his eyes, to assist him, to be like him, and to help him in creating trees and human beings and everything that was to be on the earth.
The name of this being was ‘Noo-ee’ (the Buzzard).
Nooee was given all power, but he did not do the work he was created for.  He did not care to help Juhwertmahkai, but let him go on by himself.
And so the Doctor of the Earth himself created the mountains and everything that has seed and is good to eat.  For if he had created human beings first they would have had nothing to live on.
But after making Nooee and before making mountains and seed for food, Johwertamahkai made the sun.
In order to make the sun he first made water, and this he placed in a hollow vessel, like an earthen dish (‘hwas-hah-ah’) to harden into something like ice.  And this hardened ball he placed in the sky.  First he placed it in the North, but it did not work; then he placed it in the West, but it did not work; then he placed it in the South, but it did not work; then he placed it in the East and there it worked as he wanted it to.
And the moon he made in the same way and tried in the same places, with the same results.

Diamonds In The Sky by Mizth

But when he made the stars he took the water in his mouth and spurted it up into the sky.  But the first night his stars did not give light enough.  So he took the Doctor-stone (diamond), the ‘tone-dum-haw-the’, and smashed it up, and took the pieces and threw them into the sky to mix with the water in the stars, and then there was light enough.
And now Juhwertamahkai, rubbed again on his breast, and from the substance he obtained there made two little dolls, and these he laid on the earth.  And they were human beings, man and woman.
And now for a time the people increased till they filled the earth.  For the first parents were perfect, and there was no sickness and no death.  But when the earth was full, then there was nothing to eat, so they killed and ate each other.
But Juhwertamahkai did not like the way his people acted, to kill and eat each other, and so he let the sky fail to kill them.  But when the sky dropped he, himself, took a staff and broke a hole thru, thru which he and Nooee emerged and escaped, leaving behind them all the people dead.
And Juhwertamahkai, being now on the top of this fallen sky, again made a man and a woman, in the same way as before.  But this man and woman became grey when old and their children became grey still younger, and their children became grey younger still, and so on till the babies were grey in their cradles.
And Juhwertamahkai, who had made a new earth and sky, just as there had been before, did not like his people becoming grey in their cradles, so he let the sky fall on them again, and again made a hole and escaped, with Nooee, as before.
And Juhwertamahkai, on top of this second sky, again made a new heaven and a new earth, just as he had done before, and new people.
But these new people made a vice of smoking.  Before human beings had never smoked till they were old, but now they smoked younger, and each generation still younger, till the infants wanted to smoke in their cradles.

The Sky Is Falling by gamesandgigs

And Juhwertamahkai did not like this, and let the sky fall again, and created everything new again in the same way, and this time he created the earth as it is now.
But as first the whole slope of the world was westward, and tho there were peaks rising from this slope there were no true valleys, and all the water that fell ran  away and there was no water for the people to drink.  So Juhwertamahkai sent Nooee to fly around among the mountains, and over the earth, to cut valleys with his wings, so that the water could be caught and distributed and there might be enough for the people to drink.
Now the sun was male and the moon was female and they met once a month.  And the moon became a mother and went to a mountain called ‘Tahs-my-et-than Tow-ahk’ (sun striking mountain) and there was born her baby.  But she had duties to attend to, to turn around and give light, so she made a

Coyote by RichardatUK

place for the child by tramping down the weedy bushes and there left it.  And the child, having no milk, was nourished on the earth.
And this child was the coyote, and as he grew he went out to walk and in his walk came to the house of Juhwertamahkai and Nooee, where they lived.
And when he came there Juhwertamahkai knew him and called him ‘Toe-hahvs’, because he was laid on the weedy bushes of that name.
But now out of the North came another powerful personage, who has two names, ‘See-ur-huh’ and ‘Ee-ee-toy’.
Now Seeurhuh means older brother, and when this personage came to Juhwertamahkai, Nooee and Toehahvs he called them his younger brothers.  But they claimed to have been here first, and to be older than he, and there was a dispute between them.  But finally, because he insisted so strongly, and just to please him, they let him be called older brother.

The Sanema people live in the upper Caura region of Venezuela and tell this creation myth of Omao who creates people from wood.

Jaguar - Its Dinner Time by m3-k3

Omao Creates Man 

Once there lived Curare-woman and Original Jaguar.  Jaguar was very fond of meat and one day he caught Waipili the frog.  Jaguar made Curare-woman cut up Waipili and Jaguar ate the frog up.  But Curare-woman saved two tadpoles called Omao and Soawe and hid them in a pot. 

Curare-woman kept Omao and Soawe safe from Jaguar.  Omao and Soawe grew fast, but Original Jaguar was still a danger.  Then one day, by some clever tricks, Omao was able to fool Jaguar into climbing a tree, which, when released from the hold of a vine, threw Jaguar up into the air.  He fell to the ground and was killed.
Omao was very hungry because he did not know how to grow yuca.  Only Lalagi-gi, the cosmic anaconda, knew how to grow the plants.  Although Omao was very frightened of the giant anaconda, he wanted to learn how to grow yuca.  So he gave some meat to the snake and in return Lalagi-gi brought yuca cuttings, yams, maize, and other things.  If it had not been for Lalagi-gi, people would not have learned how to grow crops.
It was long, long ago when Omao created the Sanema ancestors.  He decided to use hardwood trees.  But Omao had great difficulty in finding them, so he asked his brother, Soawe, to help.  Soawe was lazy.  Instead of hardwood trees, he cut down softwood trees.  When Omao returned, he was very angry.  ‘I was going to make humans from the hardwood trees,’ he said.  ‘Then they could live

Yellow-knobbed Curassow by gracek

forever, just casting off their old skins.  I was going to make the anacondas from softwood trees, so they would be weak and die young.’  Omao made the Sanema from the softwood trees, which is why people are weak and do not live forever.  Then he made the anacondas from the tough bark of the hardwood trees, which is why anacondas shed their skins and live for a very long time.  Omao was still so angry that he left the world.  He went down the river, to the bottom of the sky.
It was night when the animal and Sanema ancestors appeared.  Sunrise did not come.  The great curassow bird cried out all night – and still dawn did not come.  The ancestors realized that it was the curassow bird that stopped the dawn, so they shot the bird with arrows.  The feathers of the dying bird fell and transformed into all the birds that now live in the forest.
And then the dawn came.

 

Useful Resources

Popol Vuh:The Sacred Book of the Ancient Quiche Maya by Delia Goez & Sylvanus G.Morley

The Oxford Companion to World Mythology by David Leeming
The Eagle on the Cactus: Traditional Stories from Mexico by Angel Vigil
DK Eyewitness Companions: Mythology by Philip Wilkinson & Neil Philip

The Creation Account of the Uitoto of Columbia, South America

Aw-aw-tam Indian Nights (Myths and Legends of the Pima_ by J. William Lloyd
Yanomamo Sanema Creation Story

Mythology and Legend of Natural Disasters - Part Four - The Great Flood

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.  The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.  They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.  The waters rose and covered the mountains to the depth of more than fifteen cubits.  Every living thing that moved on land perished - birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.  Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.  Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth.  Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
                    -  Genesis 17-24

Noah's Ark

The story of a Great Flood in mythology is a myth shared among many cultures aross the globe, but if you were to think of one example it would probably be Noah and the Great Flood or, perhaps, Noah's Ark.  There are, however, many others - from the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh to the Dreamtime Flood of Australia.  In many of these places, the Great Flood myth has its roots in real history, although the flood itself may not have been as great as it is portrayed.  Let's take a look at some of these flood myths from a variety of different cultures and see how similar they are to the most well known Noah and the Great Flood.

 The Great Flood

While Noah's Ark is the most well known story it is, by no means, the oldest.  The Great Flood, myth dates back to Sumerian times, with this particular myth going right the way back to the 7th century BC.  The story, in this case a poem, tells us of the creation of both animals and humans, along wth the five cities Eridu, Badtibira, Larak, Sippar, and Shuruppak.  It goes on to say that the gods had decreed there would be a flood which would wipe out humanity.  One of the gods, probably the water god Enki, decides that he will save mankind and tells Ziusundra (the Noah of this poem) to build a boat in order to save himself.

All the windstorms, exceedingly powerful, attacked as one,
The deluge raged over the surfaces of the earth.
After, for seven days and seven nights,
The deluge had raged in the land,
And the huge boat had been tossed about on the great waters,
Utu came forth, who sheds light on heaven and earth.
Ziusudra opened a window of the huge boat,
Ziusudra, the king,
Before Utu prostrated himself,
The king kills an ox, slaughters a sheep.

Unfortunately, large parts of the poem have been destroyed and much of it is missing.  However, it does make apparent the similarities between the ancient Sumerian myth and that of Noah's Ark.

The_Deluge by John Martin 1834

The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, however, is detailed and mostly complete, with striking similarities to the Genesis version.  I'll just give you a quote here, but the can read the complete version here http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/mba/mba15.htm.  In this tale, which was written in the 7th century BC, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh, who is searching for immortality, of how te god Ea, had warned him of the coming of the Great Flood and instructed him to build a boat to save himself and his family and his livelihood. 

     At the dawn of day I saw rising athwart the heavens a dark cloud, and in the midst of it Ramman thundered.  Nebo and Merodach went in front, speeding like emissaries over hills and plains.  The cables of the ship let loose.
     The Ninip, the tempest god, came night, and the storm broke in fury before him.  All the earth spirits leapt up with flaming torches and the whole land was aflare.  The thunder god swept over the heavens, blotting out the sunlight and bringing thick darkness.  Rain poured down the whole day long, and the earth was covered with water; the rivers were swollen; the land was in confusion; men stumbled about in the darkness, battling with the elements.  Brothers were unable to see brothers; no man could recognize his friends...  The spirits above looked down and beheld the rising flood and were afraid: they fled away, and in the heaven of Anu they crouched like to hounds in the protecting enclosures.
     In time Ishtar, the lady of the gods, cried out distressfully, saying: 'The elder race both perished and turned to clay because that I have consented to evil counsel in the assembly of the gods.  Alas!  I have allowed my people to be destroyed.  I gave being to man, but where is he?  Like the offspring of fish he cumbers the deep.'
     The earth spirits were weeping with Ishtar: the sat down cowering with tightened lips and spake not; they mourned in silence.
     Six days and six night went past, and the tempest raged over the waters which gradually covered the land.  But when the seventh day came, the wind fell, the whirling waters grew peaceful, and the sea retreated.  The storm was over and the rain of destruction had ceased.  I looked forth.  I called aloud over the waters.  But all mankind had perished and turned to clay.  Where fields had been I saw marshes only.

 Flood by Carlo Saraceni

In the Hindu mythology of India, contained within the Matsya Purana and Shatapatha Brahmana, we are told of Manu, who is washinig his hands in a river when a fish swims into his hands and begs him to save its life.  Manu puts the fish into a jar, which the fish soon outgrows.  So Manu puts the fish into a tank and, when it outgrows the tank, into a river and finally into the ocean.  At this point the fish warns Manu of the coming deluge and tells him to build a boat:

 Matsya Avatar, ca 1870

Along the ocean in that stately ship was borne the lord of men, and through
Its dancing, tumbling billows, and its roaring waters; and the bark,
Tossed to and fro by violent winds, reeled on the surface of the deep,
Staggering and trembling like a drunken woman.  Land was seen no more.
No far horizon, nor the space between; for everywhere around
Spead the wild waste of waters, reeking atmosphere, and boundless sky.
And now when all the world was deluged, nought appeared above the waves
But Manu and the seven sages, and the fish that drew the bark.
Unwearied, thus for years on years the fish propelled the ship across
The heaped-up waters, till at length it bore the vessel to the peak
Of Himavān; then softly smiling, thus the fish addressed the sage:
 'Haste, now, to bind thy ship to this high crag. Know me, the lord of all,
 The great Creator Brahmā, mightier than all might, omnipotent.

The whole version of the Hindu Great Flood can be found here.

In Ancient Greece, Poseidon was one of the three greatest deities, with the power to summon earthquakes and storms.  If he felt slighted or angry, Poseidon might even release a great flood, as occurs in the following myth:

 Poseidon

Poseidon and the Flood

     The gods vied for power over Greece's largest city and its surrounding area, known as Attica.  Athena and Poseidon were especially keen to be named patron deity of the city, and to decide which one of them would win the title, they declared that they would compete to provide the people there with the greatest gift.
     Poseidon went to the Acropolis (the hill overlooking Athens) and struck the ground with his trident, whereupon a spring of salt water began to flow.  Athena made a much more useful gift, the first  olive tree, planting it on the Acropolis.  But to make the final decision fair, Zeus called together all the gods to hear evidence, including testimony form Cecrops, king of Attica, who confirmed that Athena's tree was indeed the first olive tree ever seen on the Acropolis.  Athena won the day, and has been the goddess of Athens ever since.
     Poseidon was furious at the other gods' decision and brought down his trident on the Aegean Sea with an almighty crash.  A great wave rose up and cascaded over the plain of Eleusis where Athens stood.  Although flooded for a long time, the city finally recovered, and the Athenians could once more enjoy food, oil, and wood from Athen's olive trees.

There are a large number of Mesoamerican flood myths which have been recorded in written form or passed down through the generations orally.  The Aztec myth in particular has its similarities with Noah's Ark.

 The Deluge by Michelangelo 1508-09

Tata and Nena - An Aztec legend

During the era of the fourth sun, the Sun of Water, the people grew very wicked and stopped worshiping the gods.  The gods became very angry and the God of the rains, Tlaloc, decreed that there would be a flood which would destroy the world.  However, there was one devout couple which were deserving of life - Tata and Nena.  Tlaloc warned the couple of the coming deluge.  He instructed them to hollow out an enormous log and to hide inside it with two ears of corn for them to eat.
Tata and Nega did as they were instructed and, when the rains came, they hid inside the enormous hollow log.  When the rains subsided, Tata and Nena directed the log to dry land and here they caught a fish.  But Tlaloc was very angry with them.  He'd told them to eat only the ears of corn they'd taken with them.  So Tata and Nena were transformed into dogs.  The gods soon destroyed the world and brought in the era of the Fifth Sun.

 The Deluge by Francis Danby 1819-29

The planets altered their courses, the Earth fell to pieces, and the water in its bosom rushed upwards with violence and overflowed the earth.
            From China's Imperial Library

Chinese mythology relates how the Emperor of Heaven, Tien Ti, wanted to destroy humanity with a worldwide flood.  The text tells us that the god Yeu took pity on the downing men and sent a giant turtle to save them before turning the turtle into new land.
Another Chinese text tells us the following:

The pillars supporting the sky crumbled, and the chains from which the earth was suspended shivered to pieces.  Sun, moon, and stars poured down into the northwest, where the sky became low; rivers, seas, rushed down to the southeast, where the earth sank.  A great conflagration burst out.  Flood raged.

 Bonaventura Peeters - The Great Flood

Slovenia have a myth of how the laziness of the first people was the cause of a great flood which killed everyone but the watchman, Kranyatz.

The Great Flood of Slovenia

     The first humans enjoyed a life of paradisical ease in a valley where everything grew without the need for toil.  The valley was irrigated by seven rivers that flowed from an egg, and was surrounded by high mountains.  The people became very lazy and complacent: they could not even be bothered to pick the bread that grew on the trees, but instead set fire to the trees so that the bread fell into their hands.  The people decided to break the egg and each take as much water as they wanted.  The egg split with a roar like thunder and water poured from it, filling the valley, until there was nothing but an enormous lake.
     All the people died except Kranyatz, the watchman on guard on the highest mountain top.  Kurent stretched down and held out his walking stick - a vine - to save Kranyatz, who clung to its tendrils for nine years until the flood waters receded, nourishing himself in the meantime on the vine's grapes.

The Australian Aborigines also have a Great Flood legend.  This is one of my favourites and tells of a drought which preceded the Great Flood after the water had been swallowed by an enormous frog.

Frogs and Floods

A Legend of the Great Flood

    In the dream-time, a terrible drought swept across the land.  The leaves of the trees turned brown and fell from the branches, the flowers drooped their heads and died, and the green grass qithered as though the spirit from the barren mountain had breathed upon it with a breath of fire.  When the hot wind blew, the dead reeds rattled in the river bed, and the burning sands shimmered like a silver lagoon.
    All the water had left the rippling creeks, and deep, still water holes. In the clear blue sky the sun was a mass of molten gold; the clouds no longer drifted across the hills, and the only darkness that fell across the land was the shadow of night and death.
    After many had died of thirst, all the animals in the land met together in a great council to discover the cause of the drought. They travelled many miles. Some came from the bush, and others from the distant mountains.
    The sea-birds left their homes in the cliffs where the white surf thundered, and flew without resting many days and nights. When they all arrived at the chosen meeting place in Central Australia, they discovered that a frog of enormous size had swallowed all the water in the land, and thus caused the drought. After much serious discussion, it was decided that the only way to obtain the water again was to make the frog laugh. The question now arose as to which animal should begin the performance, and, after a heated argument, the pride of place was given to the Kookaburra.
    The animals then formed themselves into a huge circle with the frog in the centre. Red kangaroos, grey wallaroos, rock and swamp wallabies, kangaroo rats, bandicoots, native bears and ring-tailed possums all sat together. The emu and the native companion forgot their quarrel and the bell bird his chimes. Even a butcher bird looked pleasantly at a brown snake, and the porcupine forgot to bristle. A truce had been called in the war of the bush.
    Now, the Kookaburra, seated himself on the limb of a tree, and, with a wicked twinkle in his eye, looked straight at the big, bloated frog, ruffled his brown feathers, and began to laugh. At first, he made a low gurgling sound deep in his throat, as though he was smiling to himself, but gradually he raised his voice and laughed louder and louder until the bush re-echoed with the sound of his merriment. The other animals looked on with very serious faces, but the frog gave no sign. He just blinked his eyes and looked as stupid as only a frog can look.
    The Kookaburra continued to laugh until he nearly choked and fell off the tree, but all without success. The next competitor was a frill-lizard. It extended the frill around its throat, and, puffing out its jaws, capered up and down. But there was no humor in the frog; he did not even look at the lizard, and laughter was out of the question. It was then suggested that the dancing of the native companion might tickle the fancy of the frog. So the native companion danced until she was tired, but all her graceful and grotesque figures failed to arouse the interest of the frog.
    The position was very serious, and the council of animals was at its wits' end for a reasonable suggestion. In their anxiety to solve the difficulty, they all spoke at once, and the din was indescribable. Above the noise could be heard a frantic cry of distress. A carpet snake was endeavoring to swallow a porcupine. The bristles had stuck in his throat, and a kookaburra, who had a firm grip of his tail, was making an effort to fly away with him.
    Close by, two bandicoots were fighting over the possession of a sweet root, but, while they were busily engaged in scratching each other, a possum stole it. They then forgot their quarrel and chased the possum, who escaped danger by climbing a tree and swinging from a branch by his tail. In this peculiar position he ate the root at his leisure, much to the disgust of the bandicoots below.
    After peace and quiet had been restored, the question of the drought was again considered. A big eel, who lived in a deep water hole in the river, suggested that he should be given an opportunity of making the frog laugh. Many of the animals laughed at the idea, but, in despair, they agreed to give him a trial. The eel then began to wriggle in front of the frog. At first he wriggled slowly, then faster and faster until his head and tail met. Then he slowed down and wriggled like a snake with the shivers. After a few minutes, he changed his position, and flopped about like a well-bitten grub on an ant bed.
    The frog opened his sleepy eyes, his big body quivered, his face relaxed, and, at last, he burst into a laugh that sounded like rolling thunder. The water poured from his mouth in a flood. It filled the deepest rivers and covered the land. Only the highest mountain peaks were visible, like islands in the sea. Many men and animals were drowned.
    The pelican-who was a blackfellow at this time -sailed from island to island in a great canoe and rescued any blackfellow he saw. At last he came to an island on which there were many people. In their midst he saw a beautiful woman, and f ell in love with her. He rescued all the men on this island until the woman alone remained. Every time he made a journey she would ask him to take her with the men, but he would reply: "There are many in the canoe. I will carry you next time." He did this several times, and at last the woman guessed that he was going to take her to his camp. She then determined to escape from the pelican. While he was away, she wrapped a log in her possum rug, and placed it near the gunyah; then, as the flood was subsiding, she escaped to the bush. When he returned, he called to her, but, receiving no answer, he walked over to the possum rug and touched it with his foot. It, however, did not move. He then tore the rug away from what he supposed was a woman, but, when he found a log, he was very angry, and resolved to be revenged. He painted himself with white clay, and set out to look for the other blackfellows, with the intention of killing them. But the first pelican he met was so frightened by his strange appearance, that it struck him with a club and killed him. Since that time pelicans have been black and white in remembrance of the Great Flood.
    The flood gradually subsided, and the land was again clothed in the green garments of spring. Through the tall green reeds the voice of the night wind whispered soft music to the river. And, when the dawn came from the eastern sky, the birds sang a song of welcome to the new flood-a flood of golden sunlight.

For more legends from the Aborigines, this page is fantastic.


For more flood myths, this website is great.

That's it for today.  Tomorrow we will look at the Myths and Legends of Lost Locations.  Until next time.

 The Great Flood

Useful Resources

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+5:32-10:1
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/sum/sum09.htm#page_97
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Great_Flood
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/mitos_creacion/mitos_diluvio.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/hmvp/hmvp19.htm
http://www.bigorrin.org/archive33.htm
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic by W.J. Wilkins
Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines by W. J. Thomas
From the First Rising Sun: The Real First Part of Prehistory of the Cherokee People and Nation According to Oral Traditions, Legends and Myths by Charla Jean Morris
DK Eyewitness Companions: Mythology by Philip Wilkinson and Neil Philip