Greek Mythology VS Navajo Creation Mythology

Introduction

To people of Western cultures, the most familiar Mythology outside of the JudeoChristian culture is that of Greek Mythology. The Mythology of Greece as well as of Navajo stemmed from the human desire to explain natural events and the origin of the universe. The myths chronicle Zeus and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, who exacted control of the universe from their father, Cronus, and the Titans, a powerful race of giants.

Leeming (pp. 34-45) mentions Cronus himself had wrenched control from his own parents, Uranus (heaven) and Gaea (earth). Great epics of war and peace and proud heroes and courageous heroines, who represented the basic cultural values of the Greek people, were recorded. Men and women alternately worshipped and feared a ménage of gods and goddesses who traditionally resided on Mount Olympus, attributing failure and defeat to the wrath of the gods and attributing success and victory to the grace of the gods (Leeming, pp. 34-45).

Women offered great homage to Hera, the wife of Zeus and queen of the gods, whose name means “splendor of heaven.” Hera, the mother of some, but not all, of Zeus's many offspring, was implored by women who were about to give birth to numb the pain of labor and to favor them with healthy and beautiful infants. Because she had been betrayed by Zeus, Hera, who wore golden sandals and sat on a golden throne, deigned to destroy her husband and kill his consorts. Ironically, Hera was worshipped as the protector of marriage. Named Juno by the Romans, Hera is often depicted holding a peacock (Terell, pp. 67-77).

With regard to Navajo I will mention that the Navajo have a history of myths that continues to inspire them in daily life; weaving is one aspect of that inspiration. As McPerson noted, “The knowledge associated with it originated in the times of the Myths, when Spiderwoman taught the first Navajos this trade.” This paper discusses Greek Mythology VS Navajo Creation Mythology in a concise and comprehensive way.

Greek Mythology Vs Navajo Creation Mythology: A Discussion

In Navajo spider Woman instructed the Navajo women how to weave on a loom which Spider Man told them how to make. The crosspoles were made of sky and earth cords, the warp sticks of sun rays, the healds of rock crystal and sheet lightning. The batten was a sun halo, white shell made the comb. There were four spindles; one a stick of zigzag lightning with a whorl of cannel coal, one a stick of flash lightning with a whorl of turquoise; a third had a stick of sheet light ning with a whorl of abalone; a rain streamer formed the stick of the fourth, and its whorl was withe shell (Terell, pp. 67-77).

Stephen Jett noted that “despite modifications during the several centuries that the Navajo (Dine) have inhabited the Southwest, basic Navajo settlement practices derive from those of the Navajo Northern Canadian Athapaskan hunting and fishing forebears who migrated to the Southwest” (Terell, pp. 67-77). A distinctive feature ...