Cosmogony and Dualism in Norse and Romanian Mythology Cover Image

Cosmogonie și dualism în spațiul nordic și românesc
Cosmogony and Dualism in Norse and Romanian Mythology

Author(s): Raluca Boboc
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore, Comparative Studies of Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Philology, History of Religion
Published by: Editura Universităţii din Bucureşti
Keywords: cosmogony; dualism; gnosis; Edda; primordial waters;

Summary/Abstract: As long as they share no common grounds either in terms of historical filiations or of typological similitudes, all comparisons between Scandinavian cosmogonic mythology and the Romanian myth of the cosmogonic plunge seem to be an impossible adventure. But following the two cosmogonic myths’ dual dimensioning on multiple levels, one may reach a point where the mythological material allows comparison: viewing the two myths not as inherited doctrines or as ideosincrasies of motives, but as manifestations of a common thinking process. The challenge of my article is to approach the comparative mapping of these two cosmogonic systems, apparently impossible to reconcile, by applying Ioan Petru Culianu’s tool of studying gnosticism, based on its definition as a mental instrument. Attempts will be also made at establishing possible connections between the two approached cosmogonic systems and gnosticism.

  • Issue Year: LVI/2020
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 51-63
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Romanian