By comparison, The land and climate in which the Norsemen lived was much harsher than that of the Greeks. Life was difficult compared to the gentler climate of Greece and its more abundant sources of food. With a milder climate, agriculture was not as tenuous, from one year to the next, as it would have been in northern Scandinavia. It would seem that the Norse myths reflect this harshness, with characters and tales that embody this arduous life. There are not the same nuances about music and many of the arts in the Norse legends, as people would have had a lot less leisure time to develop these pursuits, being consumed with sustenance (15).
When observing Mesopotamian geographical location, the differences between them and the Scandinavians are readily apparent. Unpredictable weather scarcely affected life, and the forces of nature could be held in check, so the gods were usually compliant and democratic, taking their decisions by discussion in an assembly. Less predictable elements tended to be associated with sea and with mountains, both of which lie outside the boundaries of Mesopotamia (8, xv). Tiamat was that less predictable element that chaos and she is sometimes referred to as the salt water or the sea.
The parallels and differences in the creation myths of these cultures are many. Whether it is something as common as the creating of all things from a fallen foe, or something as obscure as a cow discovering the first god, to something that occurs in everyday mortal life such as quarrelling and warring upon others. The gods depicted in these myths are a reflection of humanity. Zeus pettiness in not wishing to share fire, Odins generosity in granting life to logs on the sea shore, or Marduks brutality in the slaying and dismembering of his fallen foe Tiamat. To help us understand ourselves, man created these myths. As time went on different cultures would come in contact with one another. These cultures would share their myths with one another. This was a way for travelers to learn more about people with which they ve had little contact as well as to get a feeling for the type of environment in which these people developed. Such parallels demonstrate that human beings everywhere have much in common; the primitive and the modern are not all that different as we might think. In reading these myths, the gaps between cultures narrow to reveal what is constant and universal in human experience (1, xiv).