Gods and Men Myths and Legends from the World's Religions

by Bailey, John; McLeish, Kenneth; Spearman, David; Collard, Derek; Keeping, Charles; Roy, Jeroo

• ISBN13: 9780192741455
• ISBN10: 0192741454
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-10-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Throughout history people have tried to explain the mysteries of life and death through stories, and this collection brings together tales from many different cultures. Gods and Men centers on creation myths, the conflict between good and evil, and on legends of heroes, prophets, and holy men. The stories are taken from around the world, and there are fascinating comparisons between tales from an array of sources, including Greek, Norse, African, Hebrew, Indian, Chinese, and American Indian.

Table of Contents

Creation Myths
Narreau the Elder (Polynesia)	p. 8
The Rainbow Snake (Australia)	p. 12
Fire Children (West Africa)	p. 16
Sand Children (Madagascar)	p. 20
Ra and Sekhmet (Egypt)	p. 23
Coyote the Trickster (North America)	p. 27
Hurakan and Gucumatz (Guatemala)	p. 32
Marduk (Sumeria)	p. 34
Odin (Scandinavia)	p. 39
Manu and Shatarupa (India)	p. 45
Good and Evil
The Six Seeds (Greece)	p. 50
The Garden of Eden (Israel)	p. 54
Ahura Mazda and Ahriman (Iran)	p. 58
Krishna and the Serpent (India)	p. 60
One Honest Man (China)	p. 64
Tseng and the Holy Man (China)	p. 69
Prometheus (Greece)	p. 74
Utnapishtim and the Flood (Sumeria)	p. 85
Noah's Ship (Israel)	p. 89
Manu and the Fish (India)	p. 91
The Yellow Emperor and the Great Flood (China)	p. 94
Heroes and Prophets
David and Goliath (Israel)	p. 100
Beowulf (Scandinavia/England)	p. 104
St. George and the Dragon (Turkey/England)	p. 112
The Quest for the Holy Grail (Europe)	p. 114
Rama and Sita (India)	p. 122
Moses and the Burning Bush (Israel)	p. 128
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal (Israel)	p. 131
The Night Journey (Arabia)	p. 136
Guru Gobind Rai and the Formation of the Khalsa (India)	p. 139
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