In the Beginning Was Chaos
Today, numerous theories, based in religion and science alike, exist about how the universe was created. The ancients also wondered how the universe was created, and their attempts at explaining this creation formed the basis of various myths. One idea was constant, however: The universe emerged from chaos.
It may seem as though nothing good could come from chaos, but it does make sense. Before you can recognize and appreciate order, you have to understand disorder. If chaos preceded creation, then creation is simply a process of imposing order upon disorder.
Begin your exploration of classical mythology's creation theories with Hesiod's Theogony and Ovid's Metamorphoses. These two works are the main sources that show how the ancients viewed creation.
Nothing But Chaos
Before there was Earth or sky or seas, all of the elements of the universe were one, and this oneness was called Chaos. Chaos was a shapeless void of confusion, but it held the seeds of an organized universe. Contained within Chaos the elements — earth, sky, sea — were jumbled together; no one element had an identity. Earth didn't have its shape, the sky didn't have air, and the sea was not watery.
The elements fought constantly until an unknown force put an end to the disorder. This force is not explicitly identified in the myths. Some consider it to be nature; others speak of it as a divine being or a god. Some myths leave out this force entirely, simply stating that the elements sprang from Chaos on their own. Regardless, the elements were separated — heaven from earth, sea from sky, heat from cold, and so on — and this separation imposed the order needed to create the universe.
Outlining the Elements
Once separated, the elements still needed shape and definition. According to one popular myth, an unnamed force (some call it the Creator) first gave shape to Earth. The Creator designated water to its appropriate places: marshes, rivers, oceans, brooks, lakes, and seas. He then raised the mountains, smoothed out the plains, and shoveled out the valleys, distributing forests, rocky terrain, and fertile fields.
Next came the sky. The Creator spread out the air like a blank canvas on which to paint a masterpiece. He added clouds, thunder, lightning, and winds. The stars, however, he drew from the confines of darkness.
After setting up the sky and Earth, the Creator added a few more things. This is when the fish came to the seas, the birds to the air, and beasts to land. Not all of the beasts were created at this time — humanity still did not exist.
