Life, Death, and Water Mythology





“In India, the sacred River Ganges embodies the water of life for Hindus. Legend has it that the Ganges is the river that flows beyond its earthly bounds to Moksa, the realm of Nirvana.” (Water Myths, Mysteries and Symbolism)




“The Greek philosopher Plato first mentioned Atlantis as an island that once existed. He stated this island was a naval power that had conquered parts of Western Europe and Africa. Some 9,000 years before Plato’s time a natural disaster caused Atlantis to sink into the sea. It is thought to have been located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and America. Throughout the centuries the theory of Atlantis was mostly rejected, and often parodied…It was thought they possessed aircraft and ships powered by some form of energy crystal. Modern theory sometimes states that some modern Islands are parts of Atlantis that rose from the ocean.” (Water Mythology)

“A flood myth or deluge myth is a mythical or religious story of a great flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution. It is a theme widespread among many cultures, though it is perhaps best known in modern times through the biblical and Quranic account of Noah’s Ark, the Hindu puranic story of Manu, through Deucalion in Greek mythology or Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeval waters found in some creation myths since the flood waters are seen to cleanse humanity in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero who strives to ensure this rebirth.” (Flood Myth)


Bäckahästen: “It was often described as a majestic white horse that would appear near rivers, particularly during foggy weather. Anyone who climbed onto its back would not be able to get off again. The horse would then jump into the river, drowning the rider. The brook horse could also be harnessed and made to plough, either because it was trying to trick a person or because the person had tricked the horse into it.” (Neck/Water Spirit)


There are some examples. Share more in comments if you like. Now how would this work on a space ship? Would part of interplanetary travel preparation include storage of water from the Ganges? Would a holy person need to travel on a ship to bless the water? Would purification systems be installed on the ship (obviously) to recycle the water not only for standard usage but also for homeopathic treatments? Would certain asteroid belts take the place of the Styx? Would a planet missing from the night sky be considered a new Atlantis? Would inhabitants of new-to-us oceanic worlds carry a mystique promoting space folklore that depicts them as undines or selkies as travel stories sift back to Earth?
Toss around some ideas with me. If you’ve read treatments of any of these ideas or others that fit, mention the work in comments below. Oh and if you caught the movie, don’t spoil the ending. Unfortunately, I won’t be seeing it for a while.
For additional reading you can check out Wikipedia’s Water and Religion and Water Diety pages. As always, play with the links above. There is so much more on each topic to explore. Where Wiki is linked, check out the links list at the bottom of the articles. If you read something exciting, come back and leave me a comment, share!