Myth Writing 101: How the First Human Was Born
When the world was first made, each god and goddess created beings to populate the planet. Poseidon created fish to live in the oceans and horses to live on the plains. Uranus created the birds to fly in the sky. Pan made sheep to populate the green grassy fields. Everyone was satisfied with what they made. Everyone except for Zeus.
Zeus, the head of the gods, sat in his private throne room pondering about what to contribute to the planet. He tried to conjure other beings that could live in the sky, but they all were terrible ideas. Then he realized that since he was the king of the gods, why not make a creature in his own image?
Zeus got right to work. He began to think about what his being should have that others do not possess. Zeus created the skeleton, which he based off of himself. He added a heart, two lungs, two eyes, a stomach, and other necessary organs before placing muscle and tan skin over the whole creature. After placing brown hair and other small details on this new being, Zeus wrapped a white robe around the creature and fastened the robe with a golden belt. Zeus was satisfied.
After staring at his new creation for a few moments, Zeus felt that the creature was not alive. It was an empty being. He was unsure about what to add to make it livelier. Lost in thoughts, Zeus left the room, leaving the creature standing in the middle of the floor.
Athena entered the throne room in search of the king of gods. The being she saw standing all alone fascinated her. As Athena touched its skin, she realized how hollow it felt. Noticing the creature had a brain; Athena filled it with thoughts and the ability to think. The creature blinked and looked at Athena. Its mind was curious and wanted to learn. Athena smiled and taught the creature how to craft and weave beautiful things. As the being showed her a porcelain vase, Athena nodded and proceeded to leave the room. She couldn't wait to see Zeus's reaction to what she had done.
A few moments later, Artemis in the form of Agrotora walked into the throne room seeking Zeus's advice. Like Athena, Artemis was interested in the creature that was surrounded by various crafts and tapestries. Impressed by Zeus's work, Artemis taught the creature how to hunt with a bow and arrow as well as with a knife. She also taught it to give thanks every time it kills an animal as well as to kill only if necessary. Satisfied that the creature has learned some of her wisdom, Artemis exited the room.
Morpheus was the last to enter Zeus's throne room at the time. As the others before him did, he was astonished how diverse the creature before him was. Morpheus studied the creature intently, and eventually concluded that it was unable to learn on its own. So he taught the being how to dream. The creature learned how to imagine new things and how to formulate fascinating ideas. Seeing the creature is now complete Morpheus left it alone in the room.
When Zeus returned, he was at first furious that other gods and goddesses tampered with his creation. His expression quickly turned into surprise when his creation spoke for the first time and explained what had happened. While still annoyed at the others, he was nonetheless impressed by his creation. Zeus gave the creature the gender male and named him Adam. The young man was finally allowed to pass onto the new world. Zeus watched in happiness as his first creature, which he would eventually call a human, was born.