Myths of the Creation of Humankind: Comparative Mythology

Myths about the creation of humankind exist among different nations and cultures. In most of such myths, humankind shares the same parents – an idea which is apparently shared by many nations. There, however, exist certain differences, especially when it comes to how these parents come in being; who comes first: the man or the woman; or what the reason for their creation is. In order to attend to existing differences, the present study offers a comparative analysis of the myths of the creation of humankind found among Iranians, Semites, Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, and Manicheans.