Abstract
The study analyzes the representations of evil in the Romanian popular imagination based on cosmogonic myths. We found that the legends about the beginning of the world contain a series of archaic reflections with mythical substratum, in which, along with Fârtate, who represents the principle of good, the mythical character Nefârtate, bearer of the principle of evil, plays an important role in the whole process of creating the universe. Through these cosmogonic myths, we are given some „exemplary models” of how the whole universe should be and how it should be perceived. The way in which this universe is con- stituted in the mythical vision indicates the attitude of the archaic man towards the principle of evil. Along the way, the contributions in the research and interpretation of the Romanian cosmogonic myths of some interpreters and hermeneutics are highlighted, which could offer us some models for our investigation.