GREEK’S CREATION MYTH

GAEA CREATION MYTH

The existence of the universe from Chaos

Gaea – Creation Myth

The Reign of Cronus

• The beginning of everything was Chaos (Air) – the shapeless

nothingness, the void.
• Out of the void, the primordial gods Night and Erebus were
born
• Night (Nyx) – endless/ unfathomable darkness
• Erebus – the unfathomable depth where death dwells
• Out of nowhere, Love was born bringing the start of order.
• Love created Light and Day. With the existence of these two,
Gaea appeared.
• Gaea (Earth, the personification of Earth) alone gave birth
to Uranus, her oldest son.
• Uranus became Gaea’s mate covering her on all sides. Together
they produced the three cyclopes, the hecatoncheires, and the
twelve Titans.
• Uranus hated his children that he pushed each of them back
into Gaea’s womb.
• This angered Gaea and she plotted against Uranus. She made a
sickle and asked her children to oust Uranus from power. Among
her children, only Cronus was bold enough to do the task.
• Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with
Gaea at night. Cronus grabbed his father and castrated him.
From his spilt blood impregnated Gaea and came the Giants,
Ash Tree Nymphs, and Erinyes. From the sea foam where his
genitals fell came Aphrodite.
• Cronus freed his brothers and sisters.
• Cronus became the next ruler.

The Reign of Zeus

• Alarmed by a prophecy and a fearing rebellion, he imprisoned

the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus.
• He married his sister Rhea and they had many offspring.

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• The prophecy that he would be overthrown by a son made him a
brutal father by swallowing each of his children except Zeus,
who was saved by his mother Rhea.
• Rhea tricked Cronus. She wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes
and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it.
• Zeus grew into a handsome youth on Crete, where he was hidden
by his mother.
• The prophecy fulfilled when Zeus overthrown his father Cronus.
Prior to this, Metis helped Rhea and Zeus by preparing a drink
for Cronus to make him vomit up the other five children.
• Cronus was yet to be defeated.
• Cronus and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and
Oceanus, fought to retain their power. The battle between the
gods and the titans that lasted for ten years is known as
Titanomachy.
• However, Zeus was cunning.
• Zeus went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the
Hecatoncheires. They became his new allies so as Prometheus
and they helped him in battle.
• Zeus succeeded. He also married his sister Hera.
• However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea angry
that her children had been imprisoned gave birth to a last
offspring, Typhoeus (the fire-breathing dragon). Typhoeus was
so fearsome that most of the gods fled. However, Zeus faced
the monster and flinging his lightning bolts was able to kill
it.

The creation of human

• It was time for men to be created.

• Zeus returned the favor to Prometheus and Epimetheus. The
gods delegated Prometheus and Epimetheus the creation of men.
• Prometheus means forethought (wiser even the gods; Epimetheus
means scatterbrain.)
• Before making men, Epimetheus gave all the best gifts to
animals, strength, and swiftness and courage and shrewd
cunning, fur and feathers and wings and shells and the like-
UNTIL NO GOOD was left for men.
• Prometheus, took the creation of men instead and thought out
a way to MAKE MANKIND SUPERIOR.
• Prometheus fashioned them in a nobler shape than the animals;
upright like the gods.

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• Prometheus went to heaven, to the sun, where he lit a torch
and brought down fire, a protection to men far better than
anything else.
• Through the ages, only men were upon the earth; there were no
women. Zeus, created these later, in his anger at Prometheus
for caring so much for men.
• They called the lady “Pandora”.
• From her comes the first race of women.

Cyclopes
Arges (bright, strong)
Brontes (thunderer)
Steropes (lightener, pale)

Hecatoncheires (hundred-handed and fifty-headed creature)

Briareus, Cottus, Gyges

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Norse Mythology
YGGRDRASIL
The existence of human beings from Ginnungagap

At the beginning of time, nothing existed. The earth, the gentle

oceans lapping up against its shores, man and animal had not yet been
created. Only a great Ginnungagap “yawning abyss” was present in the
void of nothingness. Out of the abyss, a land of eternal mist,
darkness, and terrible cold was formed to the North; to all beings,
this land was known as Niflheim. In the midst of the Dark Land surged
a fountain known as Hvergelmir, from which spread the freezing glacial
waters throughout the void. To the South lay the land of Fire,
Muspelheim; an infernal region of unbearable, unsatiable heat and
flames. From there poured rivers of fire whose waters contained a
bitter poison which, little by little, gathered and became a solid
mass. From the ice flowing from the North, this mass of venom was
covered in a thick layer of frost. With the heat blowing from the
lands of Fire, the frost began to melt, and the giant Ymir was born
from poison and ice.

Ymir became the father of all giants. On the night of his creation,
he fell asleep near the lands of the South and became completely
bathed in sweat: from under his left arm were born man and woman,
both giants like him. At the same time, the block of ice from which
he was born gave forth the great cow Audumla, the wet-nurse of the
giants. Ymir refreshed himself from her udders at the beginning of
every day, which flowed with life-giving milk. Audumla began to lick
the salt from the ice to nourish herself, and the heat of her tongue
and breath yielded first the hair, then the head, and finally the
entire body of a being whose name was Buri. Buri had a son whose name
was Bor, who went on to marry Ymir's daughter, Bestla. With her, he
fathered the three gods Odin, Vili and Ve.

The three sons of the Giants' race at once began to rebel against
their creators, which ended in the annihilation of the Giants. They
first killed the aged Ymir. So much blood flowed from his shattered
body that the abyss was filled with it. All of the other Giants
drowned in the blood, save Beregelmir and his wife, who managed to
launch a small boat and escape; it is from them that a new race of
giants issued.

After the death of Ymir, the sons of Bor raised his body from the
depths of the sea of blood and created earth with it, which became
known as Midgard or the 'Middle Abode', for it was situated halfway

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between Niflheim and Muspelheim. The flesh of Ymir became the land
on which we live, and his blood became the boundless ocean. From his
bones, the gods created the mountains; from his hair, they created
the trees. They took the skull of Ymir and raised it up on four
pillars of bone and made it into the Vault of the Heavens, in which
they kept the sparks of fire that escaped from Muspelheim. These
sparks became the sun, moon and the countless stars in the night sky,
their course throughout the sky was regulated and kept constant,
creating night and day; summer and winter. With the sun in the sky,
it threw its golden rays across the barren earth, and the first blades
of green grass appeared. Soon other gods came to join Odin, Vili and
Ve. They seemed to appear out of the abyss, having no father or
mother. Together the gods created their dwelling place, which became
known as Asgard 'The Dwelling of the Aesir (the sky gods)', in which
each of them has a grand mansion. This land was created above Midgard,
so that the gods could keep watch over the world that they were
creating. To get back and forth between Midgard and Asgard they
created the great Rainbow Bridge known as Bifröst, which was guarded
by Heimdall the (shining god and whitest skinned of the gods who
dwelt at the entry to Asgard), the god of Bifröst. As the gods
gathered, they deliberated on the manner in which the earth might
best be peopled. In the rotting corpse of Ymir, grubs were beginning
to form. The gods changed all of the grubs into the dwarves, giving
them human form and imbuing them with reason. Because the dwarves
were born from the flesh of Ymir, the gods decided that they shall
continue to live as they had since their birth, hidden from the light
of the sun in the flesh of their creator. Soon the light of the sun
became deadly to them, turning them into stone at the slightest
exposure. There were no women among the dwarves; hence they were not
able to have children. Therefore, the gods gave the dwarves two
princes, who had the ability to mold new dwarves out of the stones
of the earth. Thus, the race of dwarves endlessly continued.

Men were created from the vegetable world by the gods Odin, Hoenir
and Lodur. One day the three gods were travelling across the barren
earth and came across two trees with lifeless twisted trunks. Odin
shaped each of the trees into a man and

a woman, and gave each of them breath. Hoenir (Vili) gave them a
soul and the ability to reason. Lodur (Ve) gave them warmth and the
fresh colours of life. The man was called Ask and his wife was Embla,
and they proceeded to create the race of man.

The land of Niflheim (or Niflhel) became the land where the dead
would go after their time on earth had elapsed. It was known as a
land of eternal sleet and frost. The goddess Hel (goddess of the
dead) became the ruler of this domain, and her faithful hound, Garm

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(a fierce dog who watched over the entrance to the underworld),
guarded the entrance to prevent the dead from ever leaving and the
living from entering.

Out of the chaos of the abyss rose the three Norns, goddesses of
Fate. Their names were Urd (Past), Verdandi (Present), and Skuld
(Future). Urd appeared in the form of a shrivelled old hag (a witch
or ugly old woman), while Verdandi was a woman in her prime (in the
best, most successful, most productive stage). Skuld was a beautiful
young maiden. Together the three Norns cared for the Life-Tree,
Yggdrasil until the day of Ragnarok when it is destined to die.

After the creation of the different level, or planes of existence,

the great ash tree Yggdrasil began to grow and connect all of the
levels. Its first root form in the land of Niflheim, from this root
bubbled the spring of Hvergelmir, the source of the primitive rivers.
The second root of the great tree extended into the land of the
giants, covered with frost and ice. This is where the fountain Mimir
flowed. This spring was a source of great wisdom from which Odin
desired to drink, however the price demanded for a few draughts was
the loss of one of his eyes. The third root extended all the way up
into the heavens, and issued the spring Urd. This is where the Norns
resided, drawing water from this well at the beginning of each day
and sprinkling it on the roots of Yggdrasil so that it would not
wither away.

In the highest branches of the tree sat a golden cock, which kept a
constant vigilance of the horizon to warn the gods whenever their
ancient enemies, the Giants, were preparing to attack them. Under
Yggdrasil, the horn of the god Heimdall was hidden, whose sound would
announce the final battle of the Aesir against all whom wished to
cause their downfall. Near the trunk of the tree was a place of
eternal peace, where the god would meet daily to render justice. In
its branches the goat Heidrun browsed; she gave Odin's warriors the
milk with which they were nourished.

There, existed demons that would constantly strive to destroy

Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life. A cunning monster, the serpent dragon
Nidhögg, sat at the base of the third root and gnawed at it
ceaselessly. Four stags (red deer) wandered at the base of the tree
and would nibble off all of the young green shoots, preventing further
growth of the tree. Thankfully, due to the careful attention given
by the Norns, the tree was able to flourish.

At the time of the creation of the world, it was foretold that it

would not be eternal. In the Day of the End, Ragnarok, the earth
would be torn asunder in a mighty battle between the gods of the

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Aesir and the Giants. Great battles of might and magic would be
fought, reducing all life to ashes. Yggdrasil would fall, sending the
layers of the world crashing down. The hound Garm, guarding the
entrance to Niflheim would flee in terror, and the dead will escape,
rising again to the earth as plagues and disease to fight alongside
the gods. In the end of the battle, everything would be destroyed;
the gods, giants, men and animals would cease to exist.

9 REALMS
• Asgard: The realm of the Aesir gods, known as the sky gods.
Asgard is depicted as a celestial realm, where grand halls and
palaces house the gods and their allies.

• Midgard: Also known as "Middle Earth," Midgard is the realm of

humans. It is situated between Niflheim and Muspelheim and is
represented as the world inhabited by mortals.

• Vanaheim: The realm of the Vanir gods, associated with

fertility, prosperity, and nature. It is often depicted as a
lush and vibrant land.

• Jotunheim: The realm of the Jotnar, or giants. Jotunheim is

characterized by harsh landscapes and extreme weather
conditions. Giants and other monstrous beings reside here.
• Alfheim: The realm of the Elves, beings known for their beauty
and magical abilities. Alfheim is often depicted as a realm of
light and enchantment.

• Nidavellir: Another realm associated with the Dwarves,

particularly known as the land where the greatest forges and
workshops are located. It is often considered a subset of
Svartalfheim.

• Niflheim: The realm of ice and mist, characterized by freezing

temperatures and darkness. Niflheim is associated with death and
is one of the primordial realms in Norse cosmology.

• Muspelheim: The realm of fire and heat, inhabited by fire giants

and other fiery beings. Muspelheim is considered one of the
primordial realms, opposite to Niflheim, and is associated with
chaos and destruction.

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 • Helheim: The realm of the dead, ruled by the goddess Hel, who
is often depicted as half alive and half dead. Helheim is
distinct from Valhalla, the hall of the honored dead in Asgard,
and is instead associated with those who die of sickness or old
age. In Helheim, the souls of the deceased experience a gloomy
existence, with some sources describing it as a cold and misty
underworld. It is a realm of darkness and decay, where the souls
of the dishonorable dead reside after death.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Ginnungagap - The primordial void from which the cosmos was created
in Norse mythology. It represents the state of non-being before the
universe's creation.

Ymir - The first frost giant and progenitor of the giants in Norse
mythology. Ymir is killed by Odin and his brothers, Vili and Ve, and
his body is used to create the world.

Audumla - The primeval cow created from the melting ice in

Ginnungagap. Audumla nourishes Ymir with her milk and is associated
with the creation of the cosmos.

Buri - The first god in Norse mythology, created from the ice by
Audumla. He is the ancestor of the Aesir gods, including Odin.

Aesir - The principal gods in Norse mythology, residing in Asgard.

They include Odin, Thor, and Loki, among others.

Bifröst - The rainbow bridge that connects Midgard to Asgard. It is

guarded by Heimdall, the watchman of the gods.

Ask and Embla - The first humans in Norse mythology, created by

Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur from two trees found by the gods.

Hel - The goddess of the dead and ruler of Helheim, the realm of the
dead in Norse mythology.

Norns - Female beings who control the destiny of gods and humans in
Norse mythology. They live at the base of Yggdrasil and are associated
with fate.

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Yggdrasil - The World Tree in Norse mythology, representing the cosmos
and connecting the nine worlds. It is nourished by the Norns and is
threatened by various creatures, including Nidhögg the serpent.

Nidhögg - A serpent dragon that gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil in

Norse mythology. It symbolizes destruction and chaos, posing a threat
to the stability of the cosmos.

Garm - A monstrous hound that guards the entrance to Helheim, the

realm of the dead. It is foretold to play a significant role during
Ragnarok, the end of the world.

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Shinto Mythology
IZANAMI & IZANAGI
The creation story begins with two divine beings, Izanagi (the Male Who
Invites) and Izanami (the Female Who Invites). They were given the task of
creating the land and ruling the universe by the divine couple, Izanagi-
no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto.

The myth describes how Izanagi and Izanami stood on the Floating Bridge of
Heaven (Ama-no-ukihashi) and stirred the chaotic ocean below with a jeweled
spear called Ame-no-nuboko. As they lifted the spear from the water, the
salty brine that dripped from its tip formed the first island, Onogoro-
jima, in the Japanese archipelago.

Upon this island, Izanagi and Izanami descended to begin their work of
creation. They circled the heavenly pillar, representing the center of the
world, in opposite directions. When they met on the other side, Izanami
greeted Izanagi with the first spoken words, marking the beginning of
language and communication.

The divine couple then proceeded to perform a marriage ceremony around a

heavenly pillar. However, Izanami, being the first to speak, was considered
impure according to Shinto customs. This led to the birth of deformed or
incomplete offspring, including the island of Kyushu, the island of Shikoku,
the island of Honshu, and other islands, rocks, and mountains.

Distressed by the deformities of their children, Izanagi and Izanami

consulted the heavenly deities, who explained that Izanami should have
spoken first. In an attempt to rectify their mistake, they repeated the
marriage ritual, this time with Izanagi initiating the conversation. From
this union, they gave birth to numerous gods, including the gods of the
wind, sea, mountains, rivers, and agriculture.

Tragically, Izanami died giving birth to the fire god, Kagutsuchi, due to
severe burns. Distraught and grieving, Izanagi journeyed to the underworld,
Yomi-no-kuni, to retrieve his beloved wife. However, upon seeing Izanami's
decayed form in the darkness, Izanagi fled in terror, sealing the entrance
to the underworld with a giant boulder.

In his purification rituals following this traumatic experience, Izanagi

gave birth to three important deities: Amaterasu (the sun goddess),
Tsukuyomi (the moon god), and Susanoo (the storm god). Amaterasu, in
particular, emerged from Izanagi's left eye, symbolizing her radiant nature.

The creation myth of Shintoism illustrates the birth of the Japanese islands
and the establishment of the divine order, with Izanagi and Izanami as the
progenitors of the world and its gods.

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Shinto Mythology
AMATERASU
Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and of the universe, was reigning in heaven
when she sent her brother and husband, the god of the moon, down to the
reed plains to serve the goddess of food. As soon as the goddess saw him,
she turned toward the land and spit boiled rice from her mouth. Next, she
turned toward the sea and spit all kinds of fish from her mouth. Finally,
she turned toward the mountains and spit a variety of fur-coated animals
from her mouth. She then prepared all of these as food and placed them upon
one hundred tables for the moon god to eat.

When the moon god saw what she had done, he was furious. “How dare you feed
me with food that you have spit from your mouth!" he exclaimed, “You have
made the food filthy and disgusting!" He drew his sword and killed the
goddess. Then he returned to Amaterasu and told her of his deed.

To his surprise, Amaterasu exclaimed, "You are an evil god! I can no longer
stand the sight of your face. Take yourself from my presence, and see to
it that we do not meet face to face again!" So, the sun and the moon lived
apart from one another, separated by day and by night.

Amaterasu sent her messenger, the cloud spirit, down to the goddess of
food. He found that the goddess was indeed dead. However, he also found
that the ox and the horse had issued forth from her head, grain had grown
from her forehead, silkworms had come forth from her eyebrows, cereal had
emerged from her eyes, rice had grown from her stomach, and wheat and beans
had grown from her abdomen. The cloud spirit collected all of these and
returned to Amaterasu with them.

The goddess of the sun was delighted with the variety of foods. “You have
given me great cause for rejoicing!" she exclaimed to her messenger. "Human
beings will be able to eat these foods and survive." Amaterasu extracted
the seeds from the various grains and beans and planted them in the dry
fields. She took the rice seed and planted it in the water fields. She then
appointed a heavenly village chief and let him supervise the sowing of
these seeds. The first harvest that autumn was a pleasure to behold.

Meanwhile, Amaterasu placed the silkworms in her mouth and collected

silken thread from them. Thus, the sun goddess initiated the art of
raising silkworms. Not long thereafter, Izanagi and Izanami gave
their son Susano-o-no-Mikoto the Netherland to rule and banished him
there. Before he took his place in the Netherland, he decided to
visit his shining sister. He was such a violent god that the mountains
and hills groaned aloud and the sea frothed in tempestuous tumult as
he made his way up to heaven.

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When she saw him coming, Amaterasu thought, "Surely my wicked brother
is coming to visit me with no good purpose in mind. He must want my
kingdom, the plain of heaven. Yet our parents assigned a particular
realm to each of us. Susano-o-noMikoto should be satisfied with the
kingdom they have given him. I had better prepare for the worst!”

The goddess bound up her hair in knots and tied her skirts into
trousers as if she were a male. She placed two quivers upon her back,
one containing one thousand arrows and one containing five hundred.
At her side she placed three long swords. In one hand, she carried
her bow upright in shooting position, with an arrow ready on the
bowstring; in her other hand, she firmly grasped one of her swords.
When the two gods came face to face, Amaterasu felt confident that
her appearance would intimidate her brother. "Why have you come to
me?" she calmly asked him. "You look as if you are expecting trouble!"
Susano-o-no-Mikoto replied. "Certainly, you should have no fear of
me. I have never had a black heart, although our parents dislike me
and have condemned me to rule the Netherland. I simply wanted to see
you before I left the world of light. I do not intend to stay long."

Amaterasu, desiring to trust her brother, set aside her weapons. In

an attempt to demonstrate his good intentions, Susanoo presented his
sword to the goddess. However, Amaterasu broke Susanoo’s sword into
three pieces, which then transformed into three female deities. In
response, Susanoo utilized the goddess's precious jewels to create
five male deities. Following the competition, Susanoo asserted his
victory, having created more human beings. Nevertheless, Amaterasu
contested his claim, asserting ownership of the five individuals
created using her jewels. Thus, the men fashioned from Susanoo’s
sword rightfully belonged to him.

Susanoo was outraged by his sister’s interpretation and began to

trash her domains. Susano-o-no-Mikoto became possessed by jealous
anger. When the rice seeds were sown in the spring, he removed the
divisions between the fields, filled up the channels, and destroyed
the troughs and pipes. Amaterasu, wishing to believe the best of her
brother, remained calm and tolerant.

In the autumn, when the grain was mature, Susano-o-no-Mikoto freed

the heavenly colts and caused them to lie down in the middle of the
rice fields. Again, Amaterasu remained calm and tolerant.

Then Susano-o-no-Mikoto spoiled the harvest feast of first-fruits by

defiling the purity of the palace with disgusting filth. Again,
Amaterasu remained calm and tolerant.

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Finally, while Amaterasu sat weaving cloth for the clothing of the
gods in her sacred weaving hall, her evil brother silently removed
some roof tiles in order to create a hole in the ceiling. Then he
threw a colt of heaven into the room.

Amaterasu was so startled that she pricked herself with her shuttle.
This time the sun goddess could not forgive Susano-o-no-Mikoto. In
great rage, she left the palace and entered the rock cave of heaven.

She locked the door and remained there in isolation. Now that her
brilliance no longer illuminated heaven and earth, day became as
black as night.

The universe was forced to exist in total, continuous darkness.

Without the sun, plants could not grow. People everywhere stopped
their activities, watching and waiting to see how long they would
have to be in darkness. All of the gods gathered along the banks of
the Peaceful River of Heaven and discussed how to placate Amaterasu's
wrath.

They placed a statue of the sun goddess outside the rock cave and
offered prayers to it. They also made many special offerings —
including fine cloth, rich jewels, combs, and a mirror—which they
hung upon a sakaki tree—and goddesses danced and chanted by the door.

Amaterasu heard the music and said to herself, "I hear both beautiful
prayers of supplication addressed to me and the sounds of music and
dance. Why are the gods so happy when my seclusion in this rock cave
has brought constant darkness to the central land of fertile reed
plains?" Her curiosity overcame her anger, and she opened the door a
crack to look outside.

Finally, the spirit (kami) of merriment, Ama-no-Uzume, placed a large

bronze mirror on a tree, facing Amaterasu's cave. Uzume clothed
herself in flowers and leaves, overturned a washtub, and began to
dance on it, drumming the tub with her feet. Finally, Uzume shed the
leaves and flowers and danced naked. All the male gods roared with
laughter, and Amaterasu became curious. When she peeped outside from
her long stay in the dark, a ray of light called “dawn” escaped and
Amaterasu was dazzled by her own reflection in the mirror.

This was just what the gods had hoped Amaterasu would do. Rejoicing
in the return of the sun's brilliant rays, they took Amaterasu by the
hand, had her among them, and convinced her to rejoin them.

The god Ameno-Tajikarawo pulled her from the cave and it was sealed
with a holy shirukume rope.

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The gods punished Susano-o-no-Mikoto by demanding from him 1,000
tables of offerings. They also plucked out his hair and the nails on
his fingers and toes.

Finally, they said to him, "Your behavior has been intolerably rude
and improper. From this time forth, you are banished from heaven and
from the central reed plains as well. Go forth with all speed to the
Netherland. We have had enough of your wicked ways!"

So, Susano-o-no-Mikoto left heaven forever and began his journey to

the Netherland.

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Chinese Mythology
The Dragon and the Egg
In ancient times, the universe was an immense egg devoid of anything
else. Within this egg, chaos reigned as the opposing forces of Yin
and Yang clashed. Amidst this chaos, the colossal Pan Gu emerged,
sleeping and developing within the egg for 18,000 years. When he
finally awoke, he stretched, causing the egg to crack open and release
the elements of the universe. The lighter elements ascended to form
the heavens, while the heavier ones descended to create the earth.

Fearing the reintegration of heaven and earth, Pan Gu resolved to

keep them apart. He grew in stature for another 18,000 years, until
the heavens were 30,000 miles above the earth. Eventually, realizing
the stability of his creation, Pan Gu passed away. With his death,
his body transformed into various natural features: his limbs became
the mountains and four directions, his blood formed the rivers, and
his breath became the winds.

However, despite the beauty of the newly formed world, it remained

devoid of life. Sensing a profound loneliness, the goddess Nu Wa,
with a human head and a snake's body, ventured between heaven and
earth. Overwhelmed by the beauty of the stars and life on land, Nu
Wa also felt a sense of incompleteness. Reflecting on her own
uniqueness, she resolved to create beings like herself.

Using mud from a pond, Nu Wa fashioned the first human. After

breathing life into it, she felt joy as the human danced and
celebrated its existence. Nu Wa continued to create more humans by
hand and through a vine, eventually populating the entire world.
Realizing the impermanence of her creations, Nu Wa divided them into
male and female to ensure their reproduction.

Many years later, Pan Gu's fears materialized as disasters befell the
earth. The heavens collapsed, causing floods and fires, while wild
beasts preyed on humanity. Nu Wa intervened, driving back the beasts
and repairing the sky with stones and a giant turtle's legs. Exhausted
by her efforts, Nu Wa passed away, leaving behind a world adorned
with her features.

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