Narrating the Beginnings

The present book is a compilation of studies on narratives of mythical origins in different cultures written by outstanding specialists. It aims to provide a broad view on creation-myths from different times and areas of the world with a particular focus on how these texts contributed to the conception of the past as “universal history”, as a common origin of mankind or as the great opening, the theatrum mundi. On the other hand, the purpose of this book is to study the phenomenon from a typological point of view, analyzing the specific characteristics of this particular type of texts, rather than finding influences between the different cultures in the genesis of these narratives.

Prof. Dr. Alberto Bernabé Pajares is Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid.Dr. Raquel Martín Hernández is Lecturer at the Faculty of Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid.