The Role of Divine Punishment

 

Shaw, Joshua. "The Deluge towards Its Close." 1813, The MET

Universal themes, archetypes, and symbols assist in a myth’s ability to transcend time, place, and cultures. Of these many themes is the concept of divine punishment, in which a supernatural force or deity punishes a person, or group of people, for their perceived transgressions and actions. Whitin mythology, divine punishment often manifests within apocalyptic myths and flood myths as catastrophic events brought about by the gods to renew and cleanse the world after humanity’s failures. By examining the Sumerian flood myth “Tablet XI: The Story of the Flood,” the Ojibwe flood myth “Waynaboozhoo and the Great Flood,” and the Aztec’s apocalyptic myth “The Five Worlds and Their Suns,” divine punishment can be seen as a central theme, highlighting the way these cultures interpret their relationship with the divine and the cultural significance of these myths to their people. 

Each of these myths features a catastrophic event, or as in the case of the Aztec’s myth multiple events, which are brought about as a punishment for humanity’s perceived failures to purify or reset the world. For example, within the Sumerian “Tablet XI: The Story of the Flood,” as seen through the Academy of Ancient Texts, the Sumerian gods, most specifically Enlil, were displeased with how overcrowded and loud humanity had made the world, so they determined to flood the world to remove them (para 3). This myth highlights the beliefs of the Sumerian people, who worshiped many gods and felt they were at their complete mercy, serving a cautionary tale to warn the Sumerians of the risks inherent in not obeying the gods, as well as the understanding of cosmic creation, and their need to maintain harmony with their gods. 

For the Ojibwe, in their myth “Waynaboozhoo and the Great Flood,” which can be seen through the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, their creator was unhappy with humanity. Believing that they were full of evil and that they lacked respect even in each other, and to purify the earth, he sent forth a great flood (para 1). Waynaboozhoo is the only human survivor, having created a raft to save himself and animals from the rising flood. He crafts a new world with the help of the animals, most notably the coot, Aajigade, who sacrifices itself to retrieve a speck of mud, and the snapping turtle Mikinaak, who offered up its back as the foundation of the new world. Not only does this myth explain the cultural significance of these animals, but it highlights how they believe the world was created and establishes the values and practices that are significant to their culture, like the sacred connection between man and animal. 

The Aztec’s myth “The Five Worlds and Their Suns,” featured within World Mythology: Myth, Metaphor, and Mystery by Andy Gurevich, contains 4 catastrophic events, with the possibility of a 5th, and each event is brought about as an act of divine retribution or punishment for the actions of humanity, each one destroying the world before the gods create a new one. In the first world, the “Sun of the Earth,” humanity was improper, and the gods sent forth jaguars to “feast upon their flesh,” destroying them and their world. In the second world, the “Sun of Air,” humanity “acted without wisdom” and hurricane winds destroyed the earth, and every human was transformed into apes. In the third world, the “Sun of the rain of Fire,” humanity lacked respect and reverence for the gods, and they and their world were destroyed by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. While in the 4th world, the “Sun of Water,” humanity’s greed drove the gods to flood the world, drowning it and turning all of the existing humanity into fish, except for one man and woman, who were given the chance to survive within a “might tree.” But even those two humans failed to listen to their gods and ate of the newly created fish when they were commanded to only consume corncobs, and the gods punished them by removing “part of their heads” and transforming them into dogs. 

The Aztec’s myth is an excellent example of how these myths are interpretations and significant parts of their culture, not only does it explain their beliefs, how they understand the creation of the world and their place in it, but how they should interact with their gods. One of the biggest examples of this is the role of human sacrifice within their culture. As this myth explains that the earth was created from the body of a “monstrous goddess,” with many mouths who ate everything she encountered, when their creator gods ripped her apart to create the earth and heavens. They explain that the goddess is often unhappy, in constant “thirst for human blood,” and if that thirst is unquenched, she will make the earth uninhabitable for humanity.

           

 

Works Cited:

 

Gurevich, A. (2021, March 1). World mythology: myths, metaphor, and mystery . World Mythology. https://mhcc.pressbooks.pub/worldmythology/

Carnahan, W. (n.d.). The epic of gilgamesh. Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XI. http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. (n.d.). Waynaboozhoo and the Great Flood. Native American legends-waynaboozhoo and the Great Flood. https://www.uwosh.edu/coehs/cmagproject/ethnomath/legend/legend9.htm

Artwork Cited: 

Shaw, Joshua. "The Deluge towards Its Close." 1813, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/12569

Post Edited: May 5, 2025 - for grammar and clarity; added image