Creation Stories of the Ancient World Audiobook By Joseph Lam, The Great Courses cover art

Creation Stories of the Ancient World

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Creation Stories of the Ancient World

By: Joseph Lam, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Joseph Lam
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $9.95

Buy for $9.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Creation stories, found within many ancient cultures, are traditional accounts of the origins of the universe, the earth, and humanity. Often embodied as epic poetry, and told through the acts of divine beings, creation stories illuminate the values, beliefs, and creeds of the earliest civilizations. As such, these stories show us how early cultures made sense of the human condition, in theological, philosophical, and political terms.

These 12 dynamic and thought-provoking lectures offer you a penetrating look at the origin stories of the great civilizations of the Mediterranean. With the richly layered commentary of Professor Lam, you’ll delve into the creation accounts of civilizations ranging from Mesopotamia across the breadth of the ancient Near East to Greece in the West, and encompassing traditions from Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, and ancient Israel. Within the course’s richly detailed inquiry, you’ll explore origin stories in traditions such as:

• Creation Accounts of Ancient Mesopotamia—Take the measure of the Babylonian Creation Epic, Enuma Elish, which portrays the genesis of the world and humanity through a nucleus of deities.

• The Egyptian Creation Traditions—Encounter the pantheon of Egyptian gods related to creation and explore the processes by which creation was said to be accomplished.

• The Hurro-Hittite Kumarbi Cycle—In this important text, witness how universal cosmic order is established through the struggle of two entangled lineages of deities;

• The Theogony of Hesiod—Delve into this great work of Greek epic poetry, portraying the development of the cosmos through generations of divine conflict; and

• The Judeo-Christian Genesis—Chart the contours of the seven days of creation in the biblical Genesis 1 and grasp the contrast between this account and the portrayal of creation in the Garden of Eden story.

In Creation Stories of the Ancient World, you’ll look deeply into an elemental feature of early civilizations.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 The Great Courses (P)2023 The Teaching Company, LLC
Ancient Middle East Ancient History Greece Mesopotamia

Listeners also enjoyed...

Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet Audiobook By John McWhorter, The Great Courses cover art
Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet By: John McWhorter, and others
A Pastime of Their Own Audiobook By Louis Moore, The Great Courses cover art
A Pastime of Their Own By: Louis Moore, and others
The Power of Storytelling with Ari Shapiro Audiobook By Ari Shapiro, The Great Courses cover art
The Power of Storytelling with Ari Shapiro By: Ari Shapiro, and others
Banned Books, Burned Books: Forbidden Literary Works Audiobook By Maureen Corrigan, The Great Courses cover art
Banned Books, Burned Books: Forbidden Literary Works By: Maureen Corrigan, and others
Hannibal: The Military Genius Who Almost Conquered Rome Audiobook By Eve MacDonald, The Great Courses cover art
Hannibal: The Military Genius Who Almost Conquered Rome By: Eve MacDonald, and others
Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World Audiobook By Prince Ea, The Great Courses cover art
Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World By: Prince Ea, and others
The Real History of Dracula Audiobook By Sara Cleto, Brittany Warman, The Great Courses cover art
The Real History of Dracula By: Sara Cleto, and others
Secrets of the Occult Audiobook By Richard B. Spence, The Great Courses cover art
Secrets of the Occult By: Richard B. Spence, and others
Storytelling and the Human Condition Audiobook By Alexandra Hudson, The Great Courses cover art
Storytelling and the Human Condition By: Alexandra Hudson, and others
Tibet: History, Culture, and Religion Audiobook By Constance Kassor, The Great Courses cover art
Tibet: History, Culture, and Religion By: Constance Kassor, and others
Understanding Cognitive Biases Audiobook By Alexander B. Swan, The Great Courses cover art
Understanding Cognitive Biases By: Alexander B. Swan, and others
Propaganda and Persuasion Audiobook By Dannagal G. Young, The Great Courses cover art
Propaganda and Persuasion By: Dannagal G. Young, and others
The Power of Mind over Body Audiobook By Jo Marchant, The Great Courses cover art
The Power of Mind over Body By: Jo Marchant, and others
Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces Audiobook By Noah Charney, The Great Courses cover art
Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces By: Noah Charney, and others
Epigenetics: How Environment Changes Your Biology Audiobook By Charlotte Mykura, The Great Courses cover art
Epigenetics: How Environment Changes Your Biology By: Charlotte Mykura, and others
The Power of Thought Experiments Audiobook By Daniel Breyer, The Great Courses cover art
The Power of Thought Experiments By: Daniel Breyer, and others
Assessing America’s National Security Threats Audiobook By H. R. McMaster, The Great Courses cover art
Assessing America’s National Security Threats By: H. R. McMaster, and others
Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds Audiobook By Milton Muldrow Jr., The Great Courses cover art
Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds By: Milton Muldrow Jr., and others
Creativity and Your Brain Audiobook By Indre Viskontas, The Great Courses cover art
Creativity and Your Brain By: Indre Viskontas, and others
The History of the United States Navy Audiobook By Craig L. Symonds, The Great Courses cover art
The History of the United States Navy By: Craig L. Symonds, and others

People who viewed this also viewed...

Early Humans: Ice, Stone, and Survival Audiobook By Suzanne Pilaar Birch, The Great Courses cover art
Early Humans: Ice, Stone, and Survival By: Suzanne Pilaar Birch, and others
Ancient Mesopotamia Audiobook By The Great Courses cover art
Ancient Mesopotamia By: The Great Courses
Hannibal: The Military Genius Who Almost Conquered Rome Audiobook By Eve MacDonald, The Great Courses cover art
Hannibal: The Military Genius Who Almost Conquered Rome By: Eve MacDonald, and others
England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest Audiobook By Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses cover art
England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet Audiobook By John McWhorter, The Great Courses cover art
Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet By: John McWhorter, and others
God Against the Gods Audiobook By Robert Garland, The Great Courses cover art
God Against the Gods By: Robert Garland, and others
Communism in Power Audiobook By Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses cover art
Communism in Power By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, and others
Crimes of the Century Audiobook By Richard B. Spence, The Great Courses cover art
Crimes of the Century By: Richard B. Spence, and others
The Black Death: New Lessons from Recent Research Audiobook By Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses cover art
The Black Death: New Lessons from Recent Research By: Dorsey Armstrong, and others
Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces Audiobook By Noah Charney, The Great Courses cover art
Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces By: Noah Charney, and others
Sex in the Middle Ages Audiobook By Jennifer McNabb, The Great Courses cover art
Sex in the Middle Ages By: Jennifer McNabb, and others
Shocking Psychological Studies and the Lessons They Teach Audiobook By Thad Polk, The Great Courses cover art
Shocking Psychological Studies and the Lessons They Teach By: Thad Polk, and others
The Rise of Communism: From Marx to Lenin Audiobook By Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses cover art
The Rise of Communism: From Marx to Lenin By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, and others
Survival Mentality: The Psychology of Staying Alive Audiobook By Nancy Zarse, The Great Courses cover art
Survival Mentality: The Psychology of Staying Alive By: Nancy Zarse, and others
The Foundations of Western Civilization Audiobook By Thomas F. X. Noble, The Great Courses cover art
The Foundations of Western Civilization By: Thomas F. X. Noble, and others
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World Audiobook By Robert Garland, The Great Courses cover art
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World By: Robert Garland, and others
The Dead Sea Scrolls Audiobook By Gary A. Rendsburg, The Great Courses cover art
The Dead Sea Scrolls By: Gary A. Rendsburg, and others
Introduction to the Qur’an Audiobook By Martyn Oliver, The Great Courses cover art
Introduction to the Qur’an By: Martyn Oliver, and others
Most relevant  
I was expecting more reading of the text but it was far more explanatory: there is an excess of comparisons between the religions and often it is assumed that you will know or be familiar with the information. This reminds me of a college course where the professor is really familiar with his material but it's hard to follow because of his expertise in the field. This is better for those already familiar with the stories and it is presented in such a way to be very dry.

Dry review of fertile crescent religions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Good start to learn about creation myths and the have the same themes, and sometimes the same stories. Good performance and theme.

Informative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I really love listening to this lecture series. Dr. Joseph Lam does a great job highlighting these ancient myths and their similarities. I really enjoyed the accompanying PDF. As a lecture series, it's a bit dry if you're not interested in ancient mythology. This may not be the best first exposure to these myths, but it is certainly an excellent scholarly presentation and analysis of them.

great survey of Ancient Creation stories

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Maybe im just not as into Mesopotamia as I thought i could be. Idk it was fine. Not my most fave.

It was fine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The lectures covered the origin and creation stories stories of Mesopotamia, the Hittites, Egypt, the Bible, and Greece. The readings of the stories themselves are limited, and I'm not sure if that's because our knowledge of the stories themselves is limited, they really are that short, or just to fit in with the lectures, but it would've been nice to hear more of the stories. The lectures focused on aspects of the stories, such as their narrative structure, likely purpose, and meaning, and frequently included comparisons to similar ones from other religions discussed in the lectures. The delivery was fine, not dry and not scintillating, but clear. I learned some new stuff, which was nice, but but I wish the scope of the lectures was more than just this region. The title is misleading, which was a disappointment.

Origin Stories of the Near East and Greece

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

introductory matters, survey of creation narratives, compare and contrast between them - was all superb!

Flawless in Every Way

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Enjoyed the lectures but wish there had been inclusion if other regions of the world.
o

Enjoyable but wish it was not just Near East

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The part about the Bible being distinct from other mid East creation stories was worth the listen alone. Brilliant. The rest I think was good but you have to be interested in the topic. Also the origins of Greek myths was brilliant.

Very interesting comparisons between regional stories

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Couldn’t get through it.Audio was horrible.also jumped right into the complex stuff straight away.could have eased into it for the lesser informed.

Horrible audio

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.