Origins, After/Otherworld & Codes Of Living Essay

Literature has been a useful way of understanding many aspects about the world and even the essence of the existence of mankind. The connection of literature with humanity can be evidently seen in different historical accounts of stories that have become famous internationally. These literary works may have been mythological, fantasy, religious or even non-fictional, but despite all of this. Finding greater realizations about man can be deeply understood within the confines of these stories. There can be similarities and differences that might appear at the stories. But sometimes, readers would find it surprising when he or she realizes the connections. To further understand man’s origins, understanding literature is one form of assistance. The contents within stories across the centuries of literature define and display messages about the possible origins of man. The following paragraphs showcase two examples of literary examples of the accounts of the creation of man. Genesis Then God said, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. † So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, â€Å"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. † (Genesis: 1: 26-28). Genesis, the initial part of the bible discusses the creation of everything. The book of Genesis made clear the importance of man and the explanation of how man came to be and how man should live. It stated clearly the purpose of man, to rule over the fish and the sea and the birds and every living creature. This account clearly states the importance of man and man’s role on earth. Greek Mythology’s Creation of Man â€Å"By now all was ready for the appearance of mankind. Even the places the good and bad should go to after death had been arranged. It was time for me to be created. There is more than one account of how that came to pass. Some say it was delegated by the gods to Prometheus, the Titan who had sided with Zeus in the war with the Titans, and to his brother, Epimetheus. Before making men he gave all the best gifts to the animals, strength and swiftness and courage and shrewd cunning, fur and feathers and wings and shells and the like – until no good was left for men, no protective covering and no quality to make them a match for the beasts. Prometheus, then, took over the task of creation and thought out a way to make mankind superior. He fashioned them in a nobler shape than the animals, upright like the gods; and then he went to heaven, to the sun. where he lit a torch and brought down fire, a protection to men far better than anything else, whether fur or feathers or strength or swiftness† (Hamilton, p. 71, 1942). The Creation of Man in Mythological description has been plenty. The above paragraph is just one account of man’s mythological creation. However, despite the various accounts, one common theme occurs, and that is man is created by the inspiration of the image of the gods. Death is inevitable.  One question that would come to mind to those who wonder about the afterlife is how does it look like? Is there such truth regarding life after death? These questions attract attention and interest. There are many literary accounts about the afterlife. Understanding them can help give a rather broad description or even just possible options of what the afterlife might really look like. Dante’s Divine Comedy This series shows the three phases of the afterlife according to Dante. Used in a 1st person point of view story-telling, Dante discusses the different places after a man dies. These places attributes to how man lived on earth. The places are the effect of life’s justice. The three places that were tackled are Hell, Purgatory and Paradise which is Heaven. Hell was described to have 9 circles, while Purgatory has 7 terraces, and then the 9 spheres of Heaven. Despite the religious transcription of the Divine Comedy, there are no other literary work that has become more influential about the afterlife than this work by Dante. It almost clearly describes the possibility of the afterlife. Greek Mythology Greek Mythology has been the product of classical literary work. Despite its mythological sense, there has been a good comparison with regards to the afterlife. Greek Mythology consists of the Heavens which is ruled by Zeus, the Waters which lorded over by Poseidon, and the Underworld which is under the control of Hades. The Underworld is the place for the dead. It’s description is a place of shadows and spirits. Most Greek Myths took place in the Underworld. Being considered as a place where the mortals live on after death, the concept of the afterlife is clear in this Greek Mythological place. There are many aspects of how man should live life. The Bible suggests a lot of stories that assists man in living the right kind of way. There are so many inspiring stories that advises how man should roam the earth and in the end reach the common goal of life. There are two striking accounts about the struggles in life but in the end achieving a positive result. The following literary accounts showcase stories about the remarkable aspect of life. These two stories display an interesting and enlightening statement about life.