Deucalion

Deucalion, son of Prometheus, married Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, whom the gods had fashioned as the first woman. Deucalion ruled the area around Phthia. When Zeus decided to destroy the race of bronze, Deucalion followed Prometheus's advice and built a chest.

Rain continued to fall until the waves covered the earth, leaving only the summit of Mount Parnassus above the flood. Deucalion and Pyrrha stood there as the sole survivors. Zeus had spared them because their lives had been pure and virtuous. He ordered the winds to return to their cave and the rain to stop. Poseidon then blew his conch shell, and the waters withdrew. Deucalion and Pyrrha followed the receding waves down the mountain.

They asked how the earth could be peopled again. They were told that the Earth was the mother of all, and that stones could be understood as her bones. Deucalion and Pyrrha cast stones behind them as they descended. The stones thrown by Deucalion became men. Those thrown by Pyrrha became women. In this way, the earth was peopled for a second time with a blameless race.

Deucalion and Pyrrha then became the parents of Hellen, Amphictyon, and Protogeneia in the principal genealogical tradition. Hellen was later said to have three sons, Doros, Xouthos, and Aiolos, by the nymph Orseis. From them came the names of the Dorians, Ionians, Achaeans, and Aeolians through their descendants. The genealogical account also says that Protogeneia later bore Aethlios to Zeus, while Amphictyon became king of Attica after Cranaos.

The rain continued until the waves covered the earth, leaving only the summit of Mount Parnassus above the flood. Zeus had chosen to destroy the wicked race of men, but he spared Deucalion, son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. Their lives had remained pure. Deucalion had built a chest on the advice of Prometheus, and the couple survived within it as the waters rose. When Zeus ordered the winds to withdraw and the rain to cease, Poseidon recalled the waves with a blast from his conch shell. Deucalion and Pyrrha then followed the water down the mountain.

After the flood, the chest came to rest on Mount Parnassus. Other accounts place their refuge on Mount Aetna, Mount Athos, or Mount Othrys in Thessaly. A dove sent by Deucalion was said to have reassured him that the waters were falling. When they disembarked, they sacrificed to Father Zeus, the preserver of fugitives. They then went to the shrine of Themis beside the river Cephissus. Seaweed covered its roof, and its altar was cold. They prayed for mankind to be renewed.

Zeus heard them and sent Hermes to say that their request would be granted. Themis then appeared and told them to shroud their heads and throw the bones of their mother behind them. Deucalion and Pyrrha understood that she meant Mother Earth, and that the stones beside the river were her bones. They covered their heads and cast stones over their shoulders as they descended. The stones thrown by Deucalion became men. Those thrown by Pyrrha became women. Some accounts say that twelve men and twelve women arose, and that their descendants settled new islands and mainland regions.

Deucalion and Pyrrha later had a son named Hellen. His sons Aeolus and Dorus, and his grandsons Ion and Achaeus, were said to have become the ancestors of the Aeolian, Dorian, Ionian, and Achaian peoples. Another account says that Deucalion and Pyrrha took refuge in an ark, which drifted for many days before coming to rest on Mount Parnassus. This version was described as less popular than the account of the chest and the flood survivors.

Zeus sent a flood to destroy the race of bronze after deciding to eliminate it. In the Athenian tradition, Deucalion came to Athens after the flood and established the early worship, or temple, of Olympian Zeus there. The flood was also linked to Zeus’s anger at the impious sons of Lycaon, who had served him a meal containing the flesh of their brother Nyctimus. Zeus overturned their table and changed all of them except Nyctimus into wolves.

Prometheus advised his son Deucalion to build a chest. Deucalion ruled the area around Phthia and had married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. They entered the chest as the rain continued to fall. The waters covered the earth, leaving only the summit of Mount Parnassus above the flood. Some accounts place their refuge on Mount Aetna, Mount Athos, or Mount Othrys in Thessaly. A dove reassured Deucalion by returning from an exploratory flight.

After the waters subsided, Deucalion and Pyrrha disembarked safely. They offered a sacrifice to Father Zeus, the preserver of fugitives, then went to the shrine of Themis beside the river Cephissus. Seaweed covered its roof, and its altar was cold. They asked that mankind be renewed. Zeus heard them and sent Hermes to promise that their request would be granted. Themis then told them to shroud their heads and throw their mother’s bones behind them. They understood their mother as Mother Earth, and her bones as the rocks beside the river. They threw the stones over their shoulders. Those cast by Deucalion became men, and those cast by Pyrrha became women.

After this renewal of humankind, Deucalion came to Athens and established the early worship or temple of Olympian Zeus. The flood therefore did not end all human life, since Deucalion and Pyrrha survived and a new generation arose from the stones.