Lir is:
inhuman;
the storm that sinks ships;
the dark depths where men drown;
the waves that throw them onto rocks;
Ocean;
the Son of Chaos;
represented by a kraken.
The Biblical God:
separated the waters to create the world;
undid creation at the Flood;
calms a storm;
walks on water;
will make a new creation where the sea is no more.
Thus, in both pagan and Biblical mythology, the sea represents that primordial chaos that preexisted the cosmos and that still threatens cosmic order.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I think it would be more accurate to say the Bible "dedivinizes" the sea. Teaching instead that the sea is not a god of any kind and is itself under the power of the true God and Creator. For Our Lord to walk on the water and calm storms plainly indicates the ocean is a natural subject to God's power. Not exactly something Ysan devotees of Lir would agree with!
Sean
Sean,
The Bible moves in that direction but starts from myth. Genesis has the water there before creation.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I agree, I should have included that in my comment, that Genesis includes mythological elements that the ancient Jews adopted and then modified from their pagan neighbors.
Sean
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