Descendants of Deucalion
The lineage descending from Deucalion and Pyrrha, the survivors of Zeus's great flood who repopulated Greece
The Meaning of Descendants of Deucalion
The descendants of Deucalion represent the foundational family tree of the entire Greek heroic world. When Zeus sent a great flood to destroy humanity, only the pious Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha survived by building an ark on the advice of Prometheus, Deucalion's father. After the waters receded, they repopulated the earth by throwing stones over their shoulders, which became men and women. Their natural-born son Hellen became the ancestor of all Hellenes, the Greek people. Hellen's sons Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus became the progenitors of the three great Greek tribal divisions: the Dorians, Ionians and Achaeans, and Aeolians respectively. Through these three branches, virtually every Greek hero, king, and mythological figure traces descent back to Deucalion and Pyrrha, making them the mythological equivalent of a second Adam and Eve for the Greek world.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Greeks divided their entire nation into three tribes — Dorian, Ionian, and Aeolian — all tracing back to Deucalion's grandsons
Explore Further
Descendants of Aeolus
💭 conceptDynasty, lineage
The vast family tree stemming from Aeolus son of Hellen, encompassing many of Greece's greatest heroic houses
Hellen
🗡 heroancestry
Son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, ancestor of all Greek peoples, whose name gave the Greeks their own name for themselves: Hellenes.
Deucalion's Flood
💭 conceptflood, renewal
The Greek deluge myth in which Zeus destroyed corrupt humanity with a great flood, sparing only the pious Deucalion and Pyrrha who repopulated the earth with stones.
Trojan Royal Family
💭 conceptDynasty, Troy
The ruling dynasty of Troy descended from Dardanus through Tros, Ilus, and Laomedon to Priam and his fifty sons
Return of the Heraclidae
💭 conceptinvasion, legacy
The mythological return of Heracles' descendants to the Peloponnese, used by the Dorian Greeks to justify their conquest of Mycenaean territories.
House of Cadmus
💭 conceptDynasty, Thebes
The royal dynasty of Thebes founded by the Phoenician prince Cadmus who sowed the dragon's teeth
Theogony
💭 conceptLiterature
Hesiod's epic poem describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods
Heraclids
💭 conceptDynasty, conquest
The descendants of Heracles who claimed the Peloponnese and established the Dorian kingdoms of Sparta, Argos, and Messenia
Danaid Lineage
💭 conceptDynasty, Argos
The royal lineage descending from Danaus and his fifty daughters, central to the mythology of Argos
Titans & Primordials
💭 conceptCosmic ancestry, divine succession
The elder gods who came before the Olympians — the Primordials who emerged from Chaos at the dawn of existence, and the Titans who ruled the cosmos until Zeus overthrew them.
Deucalion
🗡 herosurvival
Son of Prometheus who survived Zeus's great flood by building an ark on his father's advice, then repopulated the earth.
Theban Cycle
💭 conceptepic, dynasty
The cycle of myths surrounding the cursed royal house of Thebes, from Cadmus's founding through Oedipus's tragedy to the war of the Seven and their sons.