Creation of life from clay

Khnum (right) is a creater god who forms humans and gods out of clay. Here Isis (left) gives life.

The "creation of life from clay" is a miraculous birth theme and scientific study that appears in mythology, literature, and modern theory.

Religion and folklore

According to Qur'an 23:12,^[1] God created man from clay.
In Jewish folklore, a golem (Hebrew: גולם) is an animated anthropomorphic being that is created entirely from inanimate matter usually clay or mud.
In Sumerian mythology, the gods Enki or Enlil create a servant of the gods, humankind, out of clay and blood (see Enki and the Making of Man). In another Sumerian story, both Enki and Ninmah create humans from the clay of the Abzu, the fresh water of the underground. They take turns in creating and decreeing the fate of the humans.^[2]
According to Egyptian mythology, the god Khnum creates human children from clay before placing them into their mother's womb.^[3]^[4]
In Greek mythology, according to Pseudo-Apollodorus,^[5] Prometheus molded men out of water and earth. In the vicinity of the town of Panopeus, last remnants of the clay used were allegedly still present in historical times; two cart-sized rocks with smell resembling that of a human body.^[6]^[7] Myths about Prometheus were inspred by Near Eastern Myths about Enki.^[8]
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu is created by the goddess Aruru out of clay to be a partner for Gilgamesh, "mighty in strength".
According to Chinese mythology, (see Chu Ci and Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era), Nüwa molded figures from the yellow earth, giving them life and the ability to bear children.^[9]
In the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish, the goddess Ninhursag created humans from clay.
According to Hindu mythology, the mother of Ganesh — Parvati — made Ganesh from clay and turned the clay into flesh and blood.
According to some Laotian folk religion, there are stories of humans created from mud or clay.
In Hawaiian tradition, the first man was composed of muddy water and his female counterpart was taken from his side parts (story may be partially or entirely christianized).^[10]
The Yoruba culture holds that the god Obatala likewise created the human race from clay.
According to Genesis 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul".
The Māori people believe that Tāne Mahuta, god of the forest, created the first woman out of clay and breathed life into her.
According to Inca mythology the creator god Viracocha formed humans from clay on his second attempt at creating living creatures.^[11]
In Norse culture humans are made from sand in tree trunks.^[12]
In the Korean Seng-gut narrative, humans are created from red clay.
According to the beliefs of some Indigenous Americans, the Earth-maker formed the figure of many men and women, which he dried in the sun and into which he breathed life.^[13]

In science

The role of clay minerals in abiogenesis was suggested in a 2013 paper titled Clay Minerals and the Origin of Life.^[14]

In fiction

The superheroine Wonder Woman was sculpted from clay by her mother Hippolyta and given life by the Greek gods.^[15]^[16]^[17]

References

^ ^[23:12–15]
^ The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
^ Encyclopedia Britannica
^ Leeming, D. A. (2008). The Oxford illustrated companion to world mythology. New York: Tess Press.
^ Bibliotheca 1.7.1
^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 4. 4
^ Dougherty, C. (2006). Prometheus. Abingdon: Routledge.
^ West, S. (1994). Prometheus Orientalized. Museum Helveticum, 51(3), 129-149.
^ Handbook of Chinese Mythology, by Lihui Yang et al., Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 170–172.
^ Abraham Fornander; Thomas Thrum (1920). Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore. Bishop Museum Press. p. 335.
^ Steele, P. R., & Allen, C. J. (2004). Handbook of inca mythology. In Handbook of Inca mythology (pp. 53-54). Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
^ Hultgård, Anders (2006). "The Askr and Embla Myth in a Comparative Perspective". In Andrén, Anders; Jennbert, Kristina; Raudvere, Catharina (editors).Old Norse Religion in Long-term Perspectives. Nordic Academic Press. ISBN 91-89116-81-X
^ Almost Ancestors: The First Californians by Theodora Kroeber and Robert F. Heizer
^ Brack, A. (2013-01-01), Bergaya, Faïza; Lagaly, Gerhard (eds.), "Chapter 10.4 - Clay Minerals and the Origin of Life", Developments in Clay Science, Handbook of Clay Science, vol. 5, Elsevier, pp. 507–521, retrieved 2019-08-19
^ Wonder Woman: The Complete History by Les Daniels, published by Chronicle in 2000, ISBN 0811829138
^ The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore, published by Knopf in 2015, ISBN 0804173400
^ The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes by Michael L. Fleischer, published in 1976, ISBN 9780020800804

Bellows, Henry Adams (Trans.) (1936). The Poetic Edda. Princeton University Press. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
Leeming, D. A. (2008). The Oxford illustrated companion to world mythology. New York: Tess Press.
Byock, Jesse (Trans.) (2006). The Prose Edda. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044755-5
Davidson, H. R. Ellis (1975). Scandinavian Mythology. Paul Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-03637-5
Dronke, Ursula (Trans.) (1997). The Poetic Edda: Volume II: Mythological Poems. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-811181-9
Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). The Poetic Edda. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 0-19-283946-2
Lindow, John (2001). Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515382-0
Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34520-2
Puhvel, Jaan (1989 [1987]). Comparative Mythology. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-3938-6
Schach, Paul (1985). "Some Thoughts on Völuspá" as collected in Glendinning, R. J. Bessason, Heraldur (Editors). Edda: a Collection of Essays. University of Manitoba Press. ISBN 0-88755-616-7
Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1
Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans.) (1907). The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson. Norrœna Society.
Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans.) (1866). Edda Sæmundar Hinns Frôða: The Edda of Sæmund the Learned. Part I. London: Trübner & Co.
Steele, P. R., & Allen, C. J. (2004). Handbook of Inca mythology. In Handbook of Inca mythology (pp. 53-54). Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.

[1] [23:12–15]

[2] The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

[3] Encyclopedia Britannica

[4] Leeming, D. A. (2008). The Oxford illustrated companion to world mythology. New York: Tess Press.

[5] Bibliotheca 1.7.1

[6] Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 4. 4

[7] Dougherty, C. (2006). Prometheus. Abingdon: Routledge.

[8] West, S. (1994). Prometheus Orientalized. Museum Helveticum, 51(3), 129-149.

[9] Handbook of Chinese Mythology, by Lihui Yang et al., Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 170–172.

[10] Abraham Fornander; Thomas Thrum (1920). Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore. Bishop Museum Press. p. 335.

[11] Steele, P. R., & Allen, C. J. (2004). Handbook of inca mythology. In Handbook of Inca mythology (pp. 53-54). Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.

[12] Hultgård, Anders (2006). "The Askr and Embla Myth in a Comparative Perspective". In Andrén, Anders; Jennbert, Kristina; Raudvere, Catharina (editors).Old Norse Religion in Long-term Perspectives. Nordic Academic Press. ISBN 91-89116-81-X

[13] Almost Ancestors: The First Californians by Theodora Kroeber and Robert F. Heizer

[14] Brack, A. (2013-01-01), Bergaya, Faïza; Lagaly, Gerhard (eds.), "Chapter 10.4 - Clay Minerals and the Origin of Life", Developments in Clay Science, Handbook of Clay Science, vol. 5, Elsevier, pp. 507–521, retrieved 2019-08-19

[15] Wonder Woman: The Complete History by Les Daniels, published by Chronicle in 2000, ISBN 0811829138

[16] The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore, published by Knopf in 2015, ISBN 0804173400

[17] The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes by Michael L. Fleischer, published in 1976, ISBN 9780020800804

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Religion and folklore

In science

In fiction

References

Further reading