Today we are going to talk about the term cosmogony. It refers to the different myths that explain the origin of life in the world. The word cosmogony, according to the dictionary, could refer to the theory of science that focuses on the birth and evolution of the universe. However, the most common use that is given is to establish a series of mythical stories about it.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the cosmogony and what is said about the origin of the universe.
What is cosmogony
We know that the origin of the universe is quite complex and cannot be known 1000% for sure. There are many theories, the big bang being the most affected. The most common use for cosmogony is for medical accounts of the evolution and birth of the universe. Within it, myths and legends form stories in which the gods intertwine in different battles and struggles to give birth to the universe. This type of narration has been present in Sumerian and Egyptian mythologyto. This means that it has become quite important in history and has passed through many cultures.
There are several types of cosmogony and they have been developed by many types of cultures throughout history. In general, each of them has a common origin of the universe and it is chaos. Within the chaos there are elements that are grouped together and ordering thanks to the intervention of supernatural forces or divinities. Keep in mind that much of the cosmogony does not focus on science at all. Therefore, they should not be confused with astronomy.
It is a series of stories and mythical tales that refer to the theory of cinephilia action of the universe through battles and myths in which the gods faced each other resulting in the creation of the universe and the world.
Key features
The first of all is to know what the cosmogony studies. It can be said that the objective is to study the origin and evolution of galaxies and star clusters in order to determine the age of the universe. However, for this, it relies on a set of mythical, philosophical, religious and scientific theories about the origin of the universe. He tries to base part of his theories on science, but when it comes to relying on mythical stories as well, he has a bit of belief.
The term cosmogony has its emphasis on the theoretical understanding of the beginning of the world which, according to current knowledge and accepted theories, is closely related to the theory of the big bang. And it is that cosmology also study the current structure of the cosmos.
Let's see what are the main characteristics of the cosmogony:
- It contains a large number of myths that contradict each other. These myths are modified over the course of civilizations and today they are no longer the same as they were before.
- They have a lot of superstitions and assimilation mythical and divine characters with the origin of the universe.
- It had a very good acceptance within Egypt and they were widely used to understand and express the great amount of creative power that the divinities had.
- Through cosmogony we cannot go back to a moment of preexistence or of original chaos in which the world was not yet formed.
- Try to find a way to establish a reality through the perception of the universe, space and the origin of gods. Keep in mind that it tries to explain everything by mentioning goodbyes mixed with humanity and the natural elements that make it up.
- All religions have a cosmogony that can be identified with a process of creation or emanation.
- The word itself focuses on the study of the birth of the world.
- The first human civilizations that existed had a cosmogony that sought to explain terrestrial and space phenomena through myths. From this branch of "science" come a large number of myths about the origin and causes of various natural phenomena.
Cosmogony in Greek and Chinese culture
We know that each religion has a type of cosmogony. In the case of Greek culture, it was composed of a group of stories that had a large number of beliefs and myths of the Hellenic civilization regarding the origin of the universe and man. The appearance of the Theogony of Hesiod was the main source of inspiration for this mythology along with the poems of the Iliad and Odyssey.. For the Greeks, the beginning of the world was a great chaos within a space in which the earth, the underworld and the beginning originated. The earth was the chamber for the teeth, the underworld was below the earth and the principle is what fostered the interaction between the different components of matter.
Out of all chaos arises night and darkness. When he walked together, light and day were created. This is how they try to tell the creation of the world through myths.
On the other hand, we have the Cosmogony of Chinese culture. The conception that was had in China exposed a theory of Kai t'ien which was a treatise that was written around the fourth century BC This theory ensured that the earth were completely flat and both were separated by a distance of 80.000 li (one li is the equivalent of half a kilometer). Furthermore, this theory ensured that the sun had a diameter of 1.250 li and was moving circularly in the sky.
We also have a Christian cosmogony in which we have the origin of the world in Genesis, being the first book of the Bible. Here's how the God Yahve began to create the world in the beginning. Creation is a process that takes place by the separation of the earth from the heavens, the earth from the waters, and the light from darkness. This means that the world is created by the separation of the components starting from a totally primal chaos.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about cosmogony and its studies.