Paper short abstract:

Several cosmological narratives in the ancient world present creation as the separation of dry land from a primeval watery chaos. In antiquity tsunamis were represented in cosmological terms as a conflict between two cosmic elements, the Earth and the Waters, and as a relapse into primeval chaos

Paper long abstract:

Tsunamis had a huge impact upon symbolic systems in ancient Mediterranean societies. It is possible to identify a model with which the tsunami was represented and managed in cosmological terms throughout the ancient world and specifically in the Biblical and Classical traditions. In my paper I will try to show that the tsunami was understood within a cosmological model characterized by the idea that since creation the universe was governed by the harmony between the cosmic elements, and specifically governed by the harmony between the Earth and the Waters. This equilibrium finds its focal point in the space of the seashore, perceived as a cosmic boundary between the Sea and the Earth. But in this cosmological model the equilibrium between the elements is thought of as essentially unstable: the relationship between the Sea and the Earth is conceived as full of underlying tension, so the threat of a conflict is always present. In cosmological terms the tsunami is then understood as a breakdown of the harmony between the elements and consequently as a product of the discord between them, as a case of 'discordia elementorum'. Once triggered, the tsunami is perceived as a transgression of the cosmic boundaries established during creation, and as a relapse into primeval chaos. This way of understanding the tsunami provided a framework to manage religious and apotropaic responses against the threat of an invasion of the sea that can be identified in different scenarios of the ancient world