Creation Myth

One of the few homworks I did finish last night was English. My assignment was to write the first draft of my own, made up, creation myth. Mine is a Greek myth on how wind was created. I thought you (pretty much nonexistent) guys might want to read it.

Faster Than the Wind

Long ago, there was no wind and no weather. Humans lived without pleasant summer breezes or sweet, light rainfalls, but they also lived without violent gales and hurricanes, so it balanced itself out.

            At this time in history, there was much peace. Humans loved one another. Monsters and gods didn’t exactly get along, but they didn’t hate each other either.

            But with the great peace came a time of great boredom for the gods as well. Ares and Athena, who often enjoyed watching humans war, now had to settle for watching small spats. Besides the occasional love letter or meeting notice from Zeus, Hermes had nothing to deliver. Zeus had no need for his lightning- Poseidon had no need for his trident- Even Hades was relatively peaceable. Everyone’s life was boring and quiet. Maybe a little too boring and quiet, like the calm before a storm (which, of course, didn’t exist yet, but we’ll get to that).

Several gods sensed the unrest and boredom and they reported it to Zeus, who agreed. He told Hermes to assemble a godly meeting, and Hermes, happy to have something to do, zipped around and had everyone there in less than half an hour. The gods all had their own opinions.

“Even watching humans in love gets boring when you do it every day,” whined Aphrodite, examining her fingernails as if even the lively meeting bored her.

“I don’t run enough,” complained Hermes. “I’m getting flabby.”

Ares nodded. “My muscles are shrinking!” he boomed.

“Hera, Artemis, and I have decided that we need something to strengthen our minds,” dictated Athena.

“Children! Be quiet so I can think!” commanded Zeus, who, sure enough, stopped to think.

“What if we had a race?” a small voice suggested. All heads turned to the corner where Hestia sat tending the flames. Most had forgotten she had been there. She looked up and turned around, the warm flame still reflected in her eyes even though it was behind her. “It requires minimal organization, can be done every day by anyone who wants to, and will keep Ares and Hermes in shape. We could add a scavenger hunt portion if the ladies really want to put their minds to the test.”

Everyone agreed it was a fabulous idea, and the next day the first race was set up. Gods, demigods, and even monsters lined up at the starting point. All bad blood was erased for the race. Contestants used chariots, horseback, or simply their own two feet.

The rules were simple: You started from Mt. Olympus. You ran all the way around the world back to Mt. Olympus, and on your way you collected four things: a robin’s egg, an acorn the size of a drachma, a snowball (still unmelted at the finish line), and a single wool sock, stolen from a human (clears up where all your socks went, huh?). The first to reach the peak of Mt. Olympus was the winner. Playing dirty was encouraged.

The arrow fired, and the race began.

As the gods ran, something strange began to happen. The gods ran so fast, they left a fierce gush of air in their wake. The faster they ran, the faster the air blew, and humans noticed. As a matter of fact, one demigod named Gale ran so fast, they named a type of wind after him.

Humans in winter or autumn places felt the strange air more than humans in spring or summer areas because of the scavenger hunt. It asked for one thing you’d find in warm areas, and three things you’d find in colder areas.

The winner of the first race was Hermes, with his winged sandals. Ares was the second-place winner, with his chariot and violent nature, and third place went to Medusa, who just turned anyone in her way into stone.

It went on like this for a while, the races pleasing everyone. But then one day, there was a tie. Athena and Poseidon reached the peak of Mt. Olympus at exactly the same time. So Zeus declared there must be a face off, a tiebreaker. Everyone set up for the battle on Crete, and it began.

First, Athena and Poseidon spun around and around each other. They span so fast, that in their wake, a swirling vortex of air was created and spiraled off into the distance, later to be called a tornado.

Then they met, head on, their clashing swords sending sparks through the sky, their thundering footsteps to be heard throughout the world. Their quick swords created random and violent winds. The humans below, on Crete, cowered in their homes. Although small godly arguments had created small storms, they had never experienced anything of this magnitude. The very sky shook with battle. They continued to circle each other, but more slowly. In the place just above where their swords met, no sparks flew, and there was total calm. It is here where Zeus sat, watching, the eye of the storm. This form of tiebreaker would become known as a hurricane.

Finally, Poseidon unleashed a monstrous wave on Athena, drenching the entire island. Athena, fast as lightning, created a magical wall which sent the wave tumbling back down onto Poseidon. Not knowing his own strength, he was knocked off his feet and when the water cleared, he was crying. Athena had won.

So from that day forth, there was wind all the time, especially in winter and autumn. Every once in a while, there was a face-off in the sky, like a tornado or a hurricane, and in the end, the tears of whoever lost poured down as rain. There was also a rivalry between Athena and Poseidon ever since, but that, my friends, is a different story. 

The End

If you actually exist, my fans, please leave comments and tell me how you liked it. :)