Cycles of Entropy

In Greek, Norse, and Hebrew myth, we can see examples of both ex nihilo creation and creation from Chaos. In Hebrew myth, God has and will always exist. God created both the world and life from himself with no outside substance. In both Norse and Greek myth, the world was created by material already in existence when ‘the creator’ came into being. Norse myth begins with two distinct lands with a chasm between them forming the first creators. Here in Norse myth we also see an example of the World Parent myth when the body of that first sentient being is formed into the worlds. The Greek cosmos arose from a different preexisting material; Chaos.

While different in many aspects, I believe that Greek, Norse, and Hebrew myth all share an overarching theme. In all three, there is not simply movement from disorder to order, but also a broader cycle of entropy and order. In all three myths we see this trend not just once, but over and over again. Greek myth shows Chaos generating order with its offspring. Later we, again, see a move from disorder to order when Zeus sends a flood to punish man who has become unruly. Another example of this tendency toward orde,r in Greek myth, can be seen in the Persephone story. The natural order of things has once more gone awry and the gods must work restore that natural order. In Norse myth, the same cycles can be seen. First with the creation of the world from the body of Ymir and with Heimdall’s creation of social classes bringing order to human society. In Hebrew myth we see a similar cycle to that of Greek myth with the creation of the world and subsequent punishment via flood. Perhaps ancient civilizations realized this as a natural scientific phenomenon that we see play out allegorically. Alternatively, as humans we sometimes (or most of the time) have the tendency to see preexisting cultures and cultural ideas as bad or less evolved(read more chaotic.) Therefore, the cycle of entropy and order that we see my be new myths enveloping the old ones.