Creation Stories of the Ancient World

By: Joseph Lam, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Joseph Lam

Creation stories, found within many ancient cultures, are traditional accounts of the origins of the universe, the earth, and humanity. Often embodied as epic poetry, and told through the acts of divine beings, creation stories illuminate the values, beliefs, and creeds of the earliest civilizations. As such, these stories show us how early cultures made sense of the human condition, in theological, philosophical, and political terms.

These 12 dynamic and thought-provoking lectures offer you a penetrating look at the origin stories of the great civilizations of the Mediterranean. With the richly layered commentary of Professor Lam, you’ll delve into the creation accounts of civilizations ranging from Mesopotamia across the breadth of the ancient Near East to Greece in the West, and encompassing traditions from Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, and ancient Israel. Within the course’s richly detailed inquiry, you’ll explore origin stories in traditions such as:

• Creation Accounts of Ancient Mesopotamia—Take the measure of the Babylonian Creation Epic, Enuma Elish, which portrays the genesis of the world and humanity through a nucleus of deities.

• The Egyptian Creation Traditions—Encounter the pantheon of Egyptian gods related to creation and explore the processes by which creation was said to be accomplished.

• The Hurro-Hittite Kumarbi Cycle—In this important text, witness how universal cosmic order is established through the struggle of two entangled lineages of deities;

• The Theogony of Hesiod—Delve into this great work of Greek epic poetry, portraying the development of the cosmos through generations of divine conflict; and

• The Judeo-Christian Genesis—Chart the contours of the seven days of creation in the biblical Genesis 1 and grasp the contrast between this account and the portrayal of creation in the Garden of Eden story.

In Creation Stories of the Ancient World, you’ll look deeply into an elemental feature of early civilizations.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 The Great Courses (P)2023 The Teaching Company, LLC

great survey of Ancient Creation stories

I really love listening to this lecture series. Dr. Joseph Lam does a great job highlighting these ancient myths and their similarities. I really enjoyed the accompanying PDF. As a lecture series, it's a bit dry if you're not interested in ancient mythology. This may not be the best first exposure to these myths, but it is certainly an excellent scholarly presentation and analysis of them.

Informative

Good start to learn about creation myths and the have the same themes, and sometimes the same stories. Good performance and theme.

Dry review of fertile crescent religions.

I was expecting more reading of the text but it was far more explanatory: there is an excess of comparisons between the religions and often it is assumed that you will know or be familiar with the information. This reminds me of a college course where the professor is really familiar with his material but it's hard to follow because of his expertise in the field. This is better for those already familiar with the stories and it is presented in such a way to be very dry.

It was fine.

Maybe im just not as into Mesopotamia as I thought i could be. Idk it was fine. Not my most fave.

Origin Stories of the Near East and Greece

The lectures covered the origin and creation stories stories of Mesopotamia, the Hittites, Egypt, the Bible, and Greece. The readings of the stories themselves are limited, and I'm not sure if that's because our knowledge of the stories themselves is limited, they really are that short, or just to fit in with the lectures, but it would've been nice to hear more of the stories. The lectures focused on aspects of the stories, such as their narrative structure, likely purpose, and meaning, and frequently included comparisons to similar ones from other religions discussed in the lectures. The delivery was fine, not dry and not scintillating, but clear. I learned some new stuff, which was nice, but but I wish the scope of the lectures was more than just this region. The title is misleading, which was a disappointment.