Supernatural Disasters in Myths and Legends



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Other cultures explain earthquakes in a variety of ways. In Mongolia and China they said the Earth was on the back of a frog and earthquakes were caused by the frog moving. In Mexico they thought earthquakes were caused by El Diablo who would tear open the ground to make a shortcut to visit the earth. In Peru they said earthquakes were the footsteps of a god counting the people on the earth. The people would run outside and shout “I’m here.” This myth not only explains the cause of the earthquake but teaches practical knowledge about leaving buildings when there is an earthquake.

At least as common in myth and legend as earthquakes were stories of floods. Atlantis was an Egyptian legend written down by Plato. In reality though, this legend had been written down and referred to by many other cultures long before Plato. He wrote of a large Atlantic island or continent that was inhabited by an extremely advanced civilization. It is also widely known that in this legend the island of Atlantis sank beneath the ocean. Plato wrote: “Zeus, the god of gods, who rules according to law, and is able to see into such things, perceiving that an honorable race was in a woeful plight, and wanting to inflict punishment on them, that they might be chastened and improve, collected all the gods into their most holy habitation, which, being placed in the centre of the world, beholds all created things. And when he had called them together, he spake as follows…” although the rest of the text is absent, it is assumed that here is the place where Zeus would have commanded the gods to destroy the island of Atlantis. The destruction started with a volcanic eruption, which lead to huge earthquakes. Both of these things did incredible damage, but it was the tsunamis, which were caused by the massive earthquakes, that ultimately destroyed the island city by sinking it beneath the water. Here, the natural disasters are being portrayed as being acts of the Greek gods, and are obviously done in wrath.
Many of the floods in historical accounts or myths refer to a great flood, such as the flood in the old testament of the bible, which covered the whole world and drowned all but a few people. In Siberia they tell a story of a flood covering the world in very early history. A few people survived on rafts of tree trunks and used stones on straps as anchors. In Samaria there is a myth about a flood that covered the world for 7 days and nights when the gods chose to destroy the human race. The god Enil warned Ziusudra and told him to make a boat and carry animals upon it. Then rains came and wind. As reward for saving the animals Ziusudra was given eternal life. In China there is a myth about a great flood that was caused by a crab trying to gain revenge on a kite that had pecked a hole in his skull. He made “the waters reach the sky”. The flood lasted 7 days and nights. A brother and a sister survived in a huge chest with pairs of many animals. When the flood abated they had eaten all the rice but a black ant brought them two grains of rice and the whole plain grew rice. In Lithuania there is a myth about a great flood sent by the god Pramzimas to destroy humans because the world was full of war and injustice. He sent wind and water (Wandu and Wejas) to destroy the world. He looked down after 20 days and nights and threw down shells from the nuts he was eating. One landed on the tallest mountain and the people there survived the flood in a boat made of the nutshell. After the flood the people went in many directions but one aging couple stayed in the place the boat had landed. Pramzimas told them to “jump over the bones of the earth nine times”. Nine other couples sprang up. They are the ancestors of the nine tribes in Lithuania.
The stories of beliefs from around the world tell us about natural disasters from the perspective of the people and the culture. Not only do they tell us that natural disasters, similar to today, have occurred throughout history but they show us that people in the past, like people today, tried to explain the world around them to the best of their abilities. People throughout history tried to come to terms with the destruction and loss of life caused by natural disasters. Even with today’s technology we are unable to prevent disasters from occurring. We are nearly as powerless against these disasters as the people in the myths and the people who told them. Natural disasters play the same role in our lives causing immense destruction.

References:


Ions, Veronica. Indian Mythology.

1968 The Hamlyn publishing group limited.


Elli, Elli “The Story of Atlantis” Visions of Time.

http://ca.msnusers.com/visionsoftime/atlantis.msnw (April 26, 2003)
Unknown. “Earthquake Myths and Folklore” Earthquake Myths and Folklore.

http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/public/myths.shtml (Last modified: Sep 18, 2001)
Isaak, Mark. “Flood Stories from Around the World” The Talk. Origins Archive.

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html (April 27, 2003)
Gill, N.S. “Mythology and Ancient Gods and Goddesses” Ancient/Classical History Guide. http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_myth_index.htm (April 24, 2003)
Shiloh, Tamar. “Etna: The stuff of myths” Etna: The stuff of myths.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1460293.stm (April 28, 2003)
Hamby, Vickie. “Ancient Hawaii” Ancient Hawaii, and the myths of Pele and Maui.

http://www.create.org/myth/11myth.htm (April 26, 2003)

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