COMPARE AND CONTRAST

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Abstract
The Hesiod myth is considered to come from Greece while the Hindu myth is believed to have its origin from India. The two myths are considered to be similar in many ways, however; there are significant differences between them. It is, therefore, more likely to encounter comparison mythology in numerous different literary works. In this paper, the mythology of Hesiod and Hindu are compared and contrasted in terms of the creation myth and nature and role of gods/goddess. The Hesiod second creation myth is compared and contrasted against the Rig Veda creation myth that is believed to be Indian. The nature of gods in Homer’s Iliad is also compared to the gods in Hindu myth, precisely the fish in the Flood myth. The paper is segmented into three distinct parts whereby the introduction orients the reader to the paper’s content, the main body which is divided into creation myth and the gods/goddess, and finally conclusion that summarizes the work.
Introduction
Comparative mythology can be said to be the direct comparison of different myths from distinct cultural setups in an attempt to bring on board the shared themes and the characteristics of such myths. Myths are traditional stories that mainly talks about the history or people or give out explanation of the specific phenomenon in the society. Different cultures have different myths which define the background of such cultures. The Hesiod myth is much different from the so-called Hindu myth through the two geographically distanced literary works might pose some similarities.

The paper’s objective is, therefore, to compare and contrast the Hesiod myth and the Hindu myth as far as the Creation myth and the nature and role of gods are concerned.
Creation myth
According to Hesiod’s second creation myth, it is the gods that make humans. However, in the process human making, metals are used, and gold is the one that is used to make the best human beings followed by silver, brass in the order as the current man was made from iron hence evil and wickedness in the world today. The Hesiod’s myth on creation seems to be different from the Creation myth in Rig Veda as the former asserts that human beings were made by gods while the former believes that universe and everything in it came from nowhere.
The main concern in the Rig Veda creation myth is how the universe just came from nowhere into existence. There is an insoluble paradox revealed in this myth as people are concerned on how something came out if nothing. Rig Veda myth seems to suggest that a beginning of universe existed when there was nothing.
It is therefore evident that the current scientists are much worried about the puzzle that this paradox brings hence are better of that than their ancestors by looking at this dilemma in two different eras. Therefore, Rig Veda creation hymn asserts that as much as the ancestors might seem to be intellectually inferior to modern, the current generation has more facts but cannot just know the much that ancestors knew.
The two myths from different cultures can be said to be solving the main question that surrounds the origin of the universe and everything in it. The myths, therefore, try to the best way possible to trace the origin of life forms. However the Hesiod creation myth goes further to explain the origin of wickedness among human beings.
The gods/goddess
It is believed that when one hears of the word gods, the first thing that rings in a person’s mind is divine order when thinks about justice as well as harmony. However, the poem Iliad presents to the audience a different image of gods as opposed to what kind of picture gods are painted in the Flood. In Iliad, gods play a major role in too much bloodlust that is seen to be marred across the larger percentage of the literary work. Within Iliad, gods can be said to be taking active parts in the feasting scenes (Macleod 30). For instances, some gods actually practice the act of eating.
During the offering of sacrifices and pouring of libations, one can easily learn that these immortal beings “eat” smoke from the burnt sacrifices as well as “drinking” wine offered to them. The sacrifices include the animal fats that are burnt to produce smoke. Wine is poured on the ground and acts as libations. It is also vital to note that gods in Iliad are immortal and does not eat mortal stuff. Similarly, gods in the Flood does not also eat or drink immortal stuff just like those in the Iliad.
However, it is clear that gods in the Flood can request to be taken care of. The fish which symbolize god in the Manu’s myth, the Flood just appeared to Manu when he was washing his face in the bowl. The fish then ordered a man to take care of it with a promise that it reveals to Manu about the future flood (Leeming 40). This is quite different from the Greek’s gods who did not take part in the future prophecies. It is also vital to note that gods in both myths proved to be helpful to human beings who truly and diligently went in the gods’ ways.
Conclusion
In general, the Hesiod second creation myth suggests that human beings were made by gods from metals which diminish in quality as generations change while the Rig Veda myth asserts that universe came from nowhere and from nothing. The gods in both Hesiod myth and Hindu myth are immortals and do not eat or drink the mortal stuff. However, it is seen from the Iliad that gods were offered burned animal fats that they “ate” the smoke and “drunk” wine sprinkled on the ground. On the contrary, the Hindu myth in the Manu Flood does not show at any point when the gods eat or drink either mortal or immortal stuff. Lastly, from both myths, it is evident that gods played a critical role in helping people.

Work cited
Leeming, David Adams. The world of myth. Oxford University Press, USA, 1992.
Macleod, Colin, ed. Homer: Iliad. Cambridge University Press, 1982.