Watcha Watchin?

[voice]

The Abrahamic ones for sure do, many think it's basis is the destruction of Knonsos when Crete erupted this caused massive tidal waves all over the eastern med. And I'm sure given the evidence in the Pacific of multiple destructive tsunamis over the last few thousand years it's no wonder stories of flooding become woven into mythology.

[perrykneeham]

I guess it's an easy catch-all.

[perrykneeham]

You might have thought that volcanoes would feature more often. Krakatoa, Vesuvius and any number of massively destructive (and indeed constructive) eruptions in both the Pacific and the Med.

[flatandy]

Well, there are two genuine Massive Floods that happened around when early religions were forming, depending on how you look at it.

There's the slow incremental rise in sea levels following the end of the ice age.

And there were a bunch of rapid floods, also following the end of the ice age, where various ice or land dams got breached. For example, a lot of the Black Sea was dry before a chunk of the Bosphorus overtopped, I believe. And I think a bunch of North Sea stuff got flooded rapidly when an ice dam breached in the English channel. It's entirely reasonable for ancient civlisations to have included different flood myths that came out of the back end of the ice age.

[flatandy]

Jan 10, 2024 18:28:29 GMT perrykneeham said:

You might have thought that volcanoes would feature more often. Krakatoa, Vesuvius and any number of massively destructive (and indeed constructive) eruptions in both the Pacific and the Med.

The Klamath Indians have a bunch of stories that appear to derive from the massive eruption of Mount Mazama (which collapsed to create what is now Crater Lake) about 7,000 years ago. I'm sure there are many other similar ones.

[mids]

I think the Black Sea flood hypothesis is regarded as a bit "out there". Not out of the question but a bit Horizon-ish.

[flatandy]

Is it? It might be. There are definitely other instances of ice dams breaking or barriers overtopping leading to big floods, though.

[voice]

The Altai flood is another candidate for a lot of these myths it's estimated it caused catastrophic flooding from the Caspian to the Med.

As for volcanoes, I'm sure they influenced the imagery of hell as well as times when the sun was blacked out.

[voice]

And I seam to remember reading of a huge ice damn in what is now Canada when it gave out raising the Atlantic sea level so much it cut off the UK from the continent and helped fill the med.

[mids]

Good.

[mids]

Although I think the joining bit and Doggerland disappeared gradually.

[marechal]

Agree that religion can be easily dismissed and at the same time people should be free to believe whatever they like if they aren't imposing their beliefs on others (especially by legal means).

The biggest positive of religion may be the belief that there is something greater than yourself.
The biggest negative is that it instantly divides people (either you are saved or you are damned). Not so much with eastern religions of course.

There may have been a time when organized religion was a net positive in controlling the masses, but you'd think we'd have evolved beyond that by now.

[mids]

Religion seems to suit some people and not others. I know plenty of very smart people who are religious.

[marechal]

A Million Miles Away, about a Mexican migrant worker who became an astronaut (based on a true story).

Good movie, well made.

[mids]

A Catholic?

[marechal]

Yeah, 5 kids as I recall.

[happyhammerhead]

But you may have more?

[marechal]

I have fewer.

[Repat Van]

Saltburn.

Holy hell - a fantastic film but rather disturbing. Gives me The Talented Mr Riply vibes.

[mids]

That's exactly what I thought. Quite good.