Myths of the Origins of Language and Writing

In Greek mythology, Hermes was the god of language, writing, and communication.

Thoth was the Egyptian god of writing, wisdom, and magic, and he was credited with inventing hieroglyphics.

Nisaba was the Sumerian goddess of writing, scribes, and wisdom.

Cangjie is a legendary figure in Chinese mythology credited with creating the Chinese writing system.

Itzamna was the Mayan god of creation, wisdom, and language.

The Tower of Babel is a biblical story that explains the diversity of languages as a result of God's punishment for human pride.

The Coyote and the Raven is a Native American myth that tells the story of how language was lost and then regained through the trickery of the coyote and the wisdom of the raven.

Bunjil is an ancestral being in the mythology of the Australian Aborigines who is credited with creating the world and giving humans the gift of language.

Nimrod was the biblical king who is said to have ordered the construction of the Tower of Babel.

Papyrus was the material on which hieroglyphics were first written in ancient Egypt.

Uruk is the Sumerian city where the earliest known written records, known as cuneiform tablets, were found.

Huangdi is the legendary emperor in Chinese mythology who is credited with introducing writing to China.

The Ceiba Tree is the tree from which humans were created according to the Mayan creation myth.

Proto-Semitic is the language that is believed to have been spoken by Adam and Eve before the confusion of tongues, according to some interpretations of the Hebrew Bible.

The Creation of the World is a Native American myth that tells the story of how the different languages were created.