Origin of gods in Mythologies

How did the earliest gods, their myths and religions take shape in the ancient world? How were they conceptualized? Let us try to see from their lens. Obviously, monotheism was a concept which developed much later, after societies developed philosophy. Most of the ancient faiths were polytheistic. These gods, goddesses or deities can be classified into two main types: Gods of Nature and Gods of Culture.

Gods of Nature:

When the early humans saw around themselves, they saw two main things – earth and sky. These were the basic gods – the earth mother & sky father.

What they saw in the sky became another set of gods. The clouds that thunder and provide rain, the moon and the stars.

Then came the dawn – followed by the sun. They became another set of gods.

On earth, they saw vegetation, animals, roads, hunt, rivers, and fire. A deity was assigned to each of these elements.

Nature has different forms – peaceful and wrathful. Fire gives heat and light, but can also burn. Rain provides water for drinking and farming, but can also cause floods. Hence, these deities were imagined as both benevolent and malevolent depending on their situation.

Gods of Culture:

As culture and societies developed, hierarchy and professions were devised. These hierarchies and professions were also attributed to the gods. In most cultures, the thunder wielding god was considered the most powerful. Hence, in most cultures, the thundering god was made the king.

There came god of oath and friendship, god of smithery, of wealth, of justice, of knowledge, of power, of war, of food and wine, of lust and love, of diseases, of medicines, and death. Each deity became the personifications of the concepts they represented, and also a source of prayers for protection and gain.

In time, some gods of nature and culture were fused into one. Sometimes, they were merged into historical figures, and sometimes, their whole identity evolved into something completely different. In the Shatapatha Brahmana, the fish that spoke with Manu was an incarnation of Prajapati who came to be known as Brahma by the time of Mahabharata. But later, it became to be known as an avatara of Vishnu by the time of Bhagavata Purana. 

In the times before light pollution, humans could clearly see the milky-way galaxy after sunset. The Greek imagined it as the milk of Hera, and hence the name. The Hindus imagined it to be the celestial form of the river goddess Ganga, hence the name Akash-Ganga. For the ancient Mesopotamians, it was the tail of the dragon form of goddess Tiamat. Every culture weaved its myths, and hence mythical literature developed.

So, next time you are chilling in the countryside while enjoying nature, you too can look around for inspirations and create your own set of gods and mythologies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. MacBeath, Alastair (1999). Tiamat's Brood: An Investigation into the Dragons of Ancient Mesopotamia. Dragon's Head. p. 41.
2. http://srimadbhagavatam.org/canto5/chapter23.html
3. https://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/sky-gods.html
4. Varadpande, Manohar Laxman (2009). Mythology of Vishnu and His Incarnations. Gyan Publishing House. p. 53-55, 127.