Throughout history, man has searched for an explanation of our origins and why we are here. Many creation myths are attempts by our ancestors in this direction. I discovered in reading many of these creation myths that there was also an attempt to explain why human existence is imperfect. The following essay will compare and contrast four creation myths and their explanation of how man's imperfection came to be. The first creation myth I will begin with is of Hebrew origin and comes from the Old Testament book of Genesis, specifically chapters one through three. Chapters one and two focus on Jehovah's (God's) creation of the heavens, the earth, and all living things. After man (Adam) was created, Jehovah gave him one command: “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden; but ye shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: for in the day that ye eat thereof ye shall surely die (The Revival Study Bible, Genesis 2:16-17). Jehovah then creates a companion for the man, the woman (Eve). Throughout this story of creation, the reader gets the impression that creation itself is perfect, that is: after creation, God declares that everything is good, man has a friendship close with its creator, the man and the woman were naked and had no shame. Unfortunately, this perfection ended when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They then felt shame, blamed others rather than themselves, and hid from God. Because of their disobedience, God punished them according to His law. Adam, Eve, and their descendants after them were condemned to a life of pain, suffering, and death. The second creation myth that I will examine in this essay is of Greek origin and is known as the Five Ages of Man. This myth begins with...... middle of paper ......ction to begin with. So I assumed that suffering and imperfection were there from the beginning. A common thread that connects most of these myths is the transformation of a seemingly perfect creation into imperfection. This devolution of life from a utopian to a dystopian existence varies from myth to myth, but every myth has it. I believe that creation myths contain these explanations because of a psychological desire that all human beings possess. I believe people want to know why there is pain and suffering in the world just as much as they want to know the origin of life. These two things are essentially inexplicable. Works Cited Sproul, Barbara C.. Primordial Myths: Creation Myths Around the World. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. Print.The Revival Study Bible. Ed. William Pratney, Steve Hill, Tamara S. Winslow. Singapore: Genesis, 2010. Print.