ABSTRACT
Creativity is a characteristic of living beings, an everyday challenge, and a mysterious gift. A more profound understanding of creativity would seem to be necessary to encourage it by way of, say, counselling, coaching, and psychotherapy. Mythologies of Creation in ancient civilizations are an excellent source of information on the culture-historical roots of modern creativity concepts. The biblical image of creativity differs from that of the Egyptians in a number of essential ways that have a direct bearing on modern notions of what Creation means. A revealing source of enlightenment on the creative personality and the creative process is the life and work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The virtues of the creative personality frequently go hand in hand with searing personal crises that demand to be respected as such. Thus, there can never be a uniform recipe for how best to encourage creativity.
