Egyptian Big Bang

The Egyptians had more than one version of their creation myth, but one stand out. In one ancient Egyptian creation myth, the world and all of creation came into existence through nothing other than an act of masturbation. It starts sort of like the Bible but with a little extra detail that will probably never show up in a middle school curriculum: In the beginning, the story says, there was nothing, until the first god, Atum, was created. Atum was both genders, with a “female part” in his hand. He created the first gods and then declared to the universe, in graphic detail, exactly how he did it. “I had union with my hand,” Atum announced. “I poured seed into my own mouth, and I sent forth from myself issue [meaning he spat out his seed] in the form of the gods Shu and Tefnut.” And so, the universe began. Thus, the first act of creation was performed. This myth laid the groundwork for what would be a uniquely strange culture in the way of sex, and it would actually be present in other sex rituals that people would perform.