Deucalion (Flood)
heroSon of Prometheus who survived Zeus's great flood by building an ark on his father's advice, then repopulated the earth.
The Myth
Zeus drowned the entire human race — and only two people survived, floating in a wooden chest for nine days. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha were the only righteous mortals. Prometheus warned his son of the coming flood. They built a chest (larnax) and floated for nine days until landing on Mount Parnassus (or Othrys). An oracle told them to throw the bones of their mother behind them. Pyrrha was horrified until Deucalion realized it meant stones — the bones of Gaia, mother Earth. Stones thrown by Deucalion became men; stones thrown by Pyrrha became women. The flood myth parallels Gilgamesh, Noah, and Manu — suggesting a shared cultural memory of catastrophic flooding across ancient civilizations.
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Symbols
Fun Fact
The Greek flood myth independently parallels Mesopotamian, Hebrew, and Hindu flood stories — suggesting a shared prehistoric memory.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Pyrrha
heroWife of Deucalion and daughter of Epimetheus who survived the great flood and helped repopulate the...
Deucalion
heroDeucalion survived Zeus's flood and repopulated the earth by throwing stones.
Hellen
heroSon of Deucalion and Pyrrha, ancestor of all Greek peoples, whose name gave the Greeks their own...
Prometheus (Culture Hero)
heroPrometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, for which Zeus chained him to a rock...
Mount Parnassus
placeMount Parnassus was the mountain above Delphi sacred to Apollo and the Muses — the symbolic home of...
Prometheus
titanThe Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, earning eternal punishment....
Prometheus (Punishment)
titanTitan who stole fire from the gods for humanity and was chained to a mountain where an eagle ate...
Prometheus (Titan)
titanPrometheus the Titan was the creator and champion of humanity whose gift of fire sparked...
Prometheus Bound (Myth)
conceptThe punishment of Prometheus, chained to a rock in the Caucasus where an eagle devoured his...
Helle
heroDaughter of Athamas who fell from the golden ram into the strait that bears her name — the...
Idomeneus
heroIdomeneus was the king of Crete who led eighty ships to Troy and was among the fiercest fighters —...
Lycaon
heroLycaon was the king of Arcadia who tested Zeus by serving him human flesh at a banquet — and was...