Macranthropy is an allegorical concept where the universe is portrayed as a giant human body, with various cosmic elements represented as body parts. This concept has historical roots in several ancient civilizations.
Macranthropy is an allegorical concept where the universe is portrayed as a giant human body, with various cosmic elements represented as body parts. This concept has historical roots in several ancient civilizations.
In Mesopotamian culture, macranthropy is exemplified in a hymn to Ninurta, where the god is depicted as a cosmic man. [1] This hymn, believed to have originated from Kassite Nippur, portrays Ninurta in grand proportions, with major gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon represented as parts of his body, his clothing, and his weaponry. [1] This imagery suggests that the hymn not only served as a religious text but also as a creative expression of the era's cosmological views. [1] It is also thought that the Ninurta depicted in the hymn was a representation of a cult statue of the god. [1] The discovery of a new manuscript from the Sippar Library has enabled a near-complete restoration of this text, shedding more light on Mesopotamian interpretations of macranthropy. [1]
In Ancient India, the concept of macranthropy is embodied in the mahant-ātman or "vast self" of the Early and Middle Upaniṣads, a non-individualized spirit that originates and permeates the universe. [2] This vast ātman enters all beings as their life force, a notion preceding the mahān (ātmā) of Sāṃkhya philosophy. [2] Rooted in Middle Vedic texts, the mahant-puruṣa, or "vast person," represents an older concept, contrasting with the minuscule puruṣa within humans, often symbolized as a tiny figure in the pupil or a thumb-sized being in the heart. [2] This anthropomorphic puruṣa, differing from the ātman, is seen as a "person within the person." [2] Sometimes identified with the Puruṣa of Ṛgveda 10.90, [2] from whose body the universe is formed, the vast puruṣa's imagery largely stems from this hymn. [3] The Brāhmaṇa texts often explore the identity between the human soul-person and the solar puruṣa, reflecting deep micro-macrocosmic speculations. [2]
Pangu, a central figure in Chinese mythology, is a primordial being who played a key role in the creation of the world. This myth, first recorded by Xu Zheng during the Three Kingdoms period, narrates how Pangu emerged from a cosmic egg, balancing the principles of yin and yang, and separated heaven and earth. [4] Over 18,000 years, Pangu grew, lifting the sky and thickening the earth each day. Upon his death, his body transformed into various elements of the natural world, such as mountains, rivers, wind, and the Sun and Moon. [5]
Ymir, a primeval giant and the progenitor of all jötnar (giants), [6] is central to the Norse creation myth. After his demise at the hands of Odin and his brothers, Ymir's body is used to create the world. [7] The body of Ymir is seen as constituting primal matter. [8] His flesh forms the earth, his blood becomes the seas, his bones turn into mountains, his hair transforms into trees, and his skull constitutes the sky. [9] His eyebrows are even said to create Midgard, the realm of humans. [9] This vivid portrayal of the world emerging from the body of a giant captures the essence of macranthropy, linking human form with cosmic creation in a deeply symbolic manner. [8]
In Nordic mythology, Asgard is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir gods, often associated with gold imagery. Many of the best-known Nordic gods are Æsir or live in Asgard such as Odin, Thor, Loki, and Baldr.
A creator deity or creator god is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions separate a secondary creator from a primary transcendent being, identified as a primary creator.
The Upanishads are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hinduism. They are the most recent addition to the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness, and ontological knowledge. Earlier parts of the Vedas dealt with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.
In Norse mythology, Ymir, also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, and in the poetry of skalds. Taken together, several stanzas from four poems collected in the Poetic Edda refer to Ymir as a primeval being who was born from Eitr, yeasty venom that dripped from the icy rivers called the Élivágar, and lived in the grassless void of Ginnungagap. Ymir gave birth to a male and female from his armpits, and his legs together begat a six-headed being. The grandsons of Búri, the gods Odin, Vili and Vé, fashioned the Earth from his flesh, from his blood the ocean, from his bones the mountains, from his hair the trees, from his brains the clouds, from his skull the heavens, and from his eyebrows the middle realm in which mankind lives, Midgard. In addition, one stanza relates that the dwarfs were given life by the gods from Ymir's flesh and blood.
In Norse mythology, Auðumbla is a primeval cow. The primordial frost jötunn Ymir fed from her milk, and over the course of three days she licked away the salty rime rocks and revealed Búri, grandfather of the gods and brothers Odin, Vili and Vé. The creature is solely attested in the Prose Edda, composed in the 13th century by Icelander Snorri Sturluson. Scholars identify her as stemming from a very early stratum of Germanic mythology, and ultimately belonging to larger complex of primordial bovines or cow-associated goddesses.
Prajapati is a Vedic deity of Hinduism.
Purusha is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.
The Shatapatha Brahmana is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. Described as the most complete, systematic, and important of the Brahmanas, it contains detailed explanations of Vedic sacrificial rituals, symbolism, and mythology.
The Maitrayaniya Upanishad is an ancient Sanskrit text that is embedded inside the Yajurveda. It is also known as the Maitri Upanishad, and is listed as number 24 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads.
Norse cosmology is the account of the universe and its laws by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology, such as notions of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthropogeny, and eschatology. Like other aspects of Norse mythology, these concepts are primarily recorded in the Poetic Edda, a collection of poems compiled in the 13th century, and the Prose Edda, authored by Icelander Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, who drew from earlier traditional sources. Together these sources depict an image of Nine Worlds around a cosmic tree, Yggdrasil.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the Brihadaranyaka Upanisad is tenth in the Muktikā or "canon of 108 Upanishads".
In Norse mythology, Brimir is possibly another name for the jötunn Ymir and also a name of a hall for the souls of the virtuous following the end-time conflict of Ragnarök.
Hindu cosmology is the description of the universe and its states of matter, cycles within time, physical structure, and effects on living entities according to Hindu texts. Hindu cosmology is also intertwined with the idea of a creator who allows the world to exist and take shape.
In Norse mythology, Mótsognir, also found as Móðsognir, "he who drinks in courage", is the ruler of the dwarves. In Völuspà 10, he is identified as mæztr um orðinn dverga allra, "lord of all the dwarves". According to Snorri Sturluson in Gylfaginning 14, which seeks to explain this verse, "the dwarfs had taken shape first and acquired life in the flesh of Ymir and were then maggots, but by decision of the gods they became conscious with intelligence and had the shape of men though they live in the earth and in rocks. Modsognir was a dwarf and the second was Durinn."
Chinese creation myths are symbolic narratives about the origins of the universe, earth, and life. Myths in China vary from culture to culture. In Chinese mythology, the term "cosmogonic myth" or "origin myth" is more accurate than "creation myth", since very few stories involve a creator deity or divine will. Chinese creation myths fundamentally differ from monotheistic traditions with one authorized version, such as the Judeo-Christian Genesis creation narrative: Chinese classics record numerous and contradictory origin myths. Traditionally, the world was created on Chinese New Year and the animals, people, and many deities were created during its 15 days.
In Jungian theory, the Cosmic Man is an archetypal figure that appears in creation myths of a wide variety of mythology. Generally, he is described as helpful or positive, and serves as a seed for the creation of the world. After death, parts of his body became physical parts of the universe. He also represents the oneness of human existence, or the universe.
In Hinduism, Brahman connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the immaterial, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth, consciousness and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a metaphysical concept refers to the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists.
The Mahanarayana Upanishad, also BrihannarayanaUpanishad, is an ancient Sanskrit text, and is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. The text is classified as a Vaishnava Upanishad.
The Ekakshara Upanishad, also titled Ekaksharopanishad, is a minor Upanishadic text of Hinduism written in Sanskrit language. It is attached to the Krishna Yajurveda, and is a Samanya (general) Upanishad.
Agni is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In the classical cosmology of the Indian religions, Agni as fire is one of the five inert impermanent elements (pañcabhūtá) along with space (ākāśa), water (ap), air (vāyu) and earth (pṛthvī), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (Prakṛti).