Great Flood Myths

[monsnoleedra]

Of all the myths that surround mankind none seem as global in affect / effect as that of the great flood. While many have heard of Noah's Ark and its association to the flood mythology, many have not heard of the many myths found around the world about it. Yet it is not so much the myth I wish to discuss as the possible causes of such an event.

Many people once speculated that the great flood originated from two possible scenarios. In one the atmosphere of the Earth was heavy with moisture and some event caused the moisture to fall to the surface and resulted in the flood. To most scientists this is ruled out, as the very pressure of such an atmosphere would crush anything upon the earth surface. Many reference the surface of Venus as an example.

The second popular theory was that there was a vast pool of water located beneath the plates and that some event triggered massive eruptions of water to the surface. This theory has also pretty much been non-accepted by the scientific community.

A new theory being presented is that of a comet or other space body impacting upon the Earth in the Indian Ocean. It is presented that such an occurrence would create a tidal wave of mythic proportion which combined with moisture content sent into the atmosphere would create tidal surges and weather patterns that would submerge most land. The sheer cyclic nature of storm patterns and tidal surge would last for days giving the appearance of the land being totally submerged. Not widely accepted at this point in time, though it does somewhat support legends found in the America’s of the great flood in Indian lore.

One accepted theory for some facets derived from localized flooding. In this theory it is assumed that some flood of historical impact occurred in the Fertile Crescent of ancient Iran / Iraq. It is known that severe floods did occur that completely submerged cities and entire regions. The epic of Gilgamesh relates such a tale and is believed to be related to the story of Noah's Ark if not the inspiration for the tale.

Another theory is that of the ancient memory passed down through the generations. The most popular form of this one is the rising of the Mediterrian Sea at the end of the Ice Age. As sea level rose, the water carved a passage into the lower Black Sea and eventually collapsed into the area creating the current Black Sea. Scientifically, this one is somewhat provable by the finding of several ancient shorelines deep in the current body of water. Additionally the finding of an ancient fresh water layer beneath the current salt-water layer showed the ancient fresh Water Lake that existed prior to the deluge

It might even be possible that all the flood stories are events unique to the area of occurrence. Catastrophic events which occurred about the same geologic time across the face of the planet, that through association have became associated with a series of ancient memory events.

But my question is "What do you think and what theory do you find most logical and supportive

[talamh]

There are also flood stories that are part of some North American First Nations ancestors' stories. Recently geologists have found evidence to indicate that there was a great body of fresh water held by rock formations in what is now Canada's north... and that some geological upheaval created a rift in that barrier and the water poured down over the lands that are now the middle part of the continent creating a flood. So "mythology" can have a possible reality. News flash!

[omar]

According to the archaeoligists there was two floods. One caused by the melting of the polar ice caps, the other from the earth shifting on its axes.

[Cunae]

Flood traditions are most common in Asian cultures and North Native Americans. They occur in Africa but not nearly as often as on other continents.

Native stories describe a new sky replacing an old one. Words like "the sky fell and the land was not" are common. The waters came together and all things drowned. Great Spirit, the Sacred One, dries the land and reveals grass once again. Humans may have been saved to observe the event or created again from it. Every tribe has it's version. Their amazing simplicity is their beauty.

The other end of the spectrum could be Ovid's account in Metamorphoses, the poem beginning with Creation and moving through paradise, the fall of man, the curse of sin and into the flood. It's one of my favorites!

As a believer in the Christian flood tradition, I believe all of them tell of one event when the earth was flood entirely or mostly, changing climate and animal populations forever. This is what caused layering of soil, the appearance of certain fossils in strange places, and destruction of the dinosaurs, etc.

This, of course, is merely my faith's "tradition".

[ninurta2008]

Flood traditions are most common in Asian cultures and North Native Americans. They occur in Africa but not nearly as often as on other continents.

Native stories describe a new sky replacing an old one. Words like "the sky fell and the land was not" are common. The waters came together and all things drowned. Great Spirit, the Sacred One, dries the land and reveals grass once again. Humans may have been saved to observe the event or created again from it. Every tribe has it's version. Their amazing simplicity is their beauty.

The other end of the spectrum could be Ovid's account in Metamorphoses, the poem beginning with Creation and moving through paradise, the fall of man, the curse of sin and into the flood. It's one of my favorites!

As a believer in the Christian flood tradition, I believe all of them tell of one event when the earth was flood entirely or mostly, changing climate and animal populations forever. This is what caused layering of soil, the appearance of certain fossils in strange places, and destruction of the dinosaurs, etc.

This, of course, is merely my faith's "tradition".

I believe in the same story the christians do for the flood, some dude took 2 of every animal onto an arch with his family and his sons wives and waited out the flood. though my myth has to do with people being many in number and being so loud outside the homes of the gods (temples). And the many gods part is different.

I think the myths in cases like the great flood could be someone evidence, because of where they are distributed.

[Thunder]

As a believer in the Christian flood tradition, I believe all of them tell of one event when the earth was flood entirely or mostly, changing climate and animal populations forever. This is what caused layering of soil, the appearance of certain fossils in strange places, and destruction of the dinosaurs, etc.

This, of course, is merely my faith's "tradition".

As you say, this is merely tradition. From a scientific point of view it is far more likely that there were separate and unrelated local floods of significant proportion that occured around the world over a period of time. These local floods would have been significant enought to wipe out (or nearly wipe out) local populations. Many cultures at that time were unaware of each other's existence, particularly across oceans so it is understandable that each would overestimate the destruction. These floods could even have been hundreds of years apart.

[ninurta2008]

The moon also plays a role, because of what it does to the water level in certain areas, it caused the water level in the Persian Gulf to be much lower than it is today, probably as low as it was during the ice age but I dont know that much.

I believe there was many great floods caused by melting glacial ice. but the ark stories were probably to explain that, when they because flooded earth myths, how there is still life after the flood. It seems an obvious enough answer, people got on boats. even though we know the whole earth wasn't flooded.

Also, when glaciers melt, they hold lakes on them, and often times when a glacier splits or breaks, that water would be released so fast and so volumously, that it would seem like the earth was flooded.

[C. Iulia Regilia]

The moon also plays a role, because of what it does to the water level in certain areas, it caused the water level in the Persian Gulf to be much lower than it is today, probably as low as it was during the ice age but I dont know that much.

I believe there was many great floods caused by melting glacial ice. but the ark stories were probably to explain that, when they because flooded earth myths, how there is still life after the flood. It seems an obvious enough answer, people got on boats. even though we know the whole earth wasn't flooded.

Also, when glaciers melt, they hold lakes on them, and often times when a glacier splits or breaks, that water would be released so fast and so volumously, that it would seem like the earth was flooded.

I agree, akhi. The melting of the icecaps probably explains many of the flood stories. The current melting of the icecaps (if we don't act to stop it) is supposed to take several low-lying areas including most of the state of Florida and probably the Netherlands. So the idea of something like that happening in the last ice age and the gods warning certain people and telling them how to survive the loss of their homelands is pretty predictable, especially in low lying areas.