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{{short description|Greek mythological figure}} {{Other uses|Deucalion (mythology)|Deucalion (disambiguation)}} [[File:Deucalion.jpg|thumb|Deucalion from ''[[Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum]]'']] In [[Greek mythology]], '''Deucalion''' ({{IPAc-en|dj|uː|ˈ|k|eɪ|l|i|ən}}; {{langx|grc|[[wikt:Δευκαλίων#Ancient Greek|Δευκαλίων]]}}) was the son of [[Prometheus]]; ancient sources name his mother as [[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]], [[Hesione (Oceanid)|Hesione]], or [[Pronoia (mythology)|Pronoia]].<ref>The [[scholia]] to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 names Clymene as the commonly identified mother, along with Hesione (citing [[Acusilaus]], ''FGrH'' 2 F 34) and possibly Pronoia.</ref><ref name="Pronoia">A [[Scholia|scholium]] to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (=''[[Catalogue of Women|Catalogue]]'' fr. 4) reports that Hesiod called Deucalion's mother "Pryneie" or "Prynoe", corrupt forms which [[Karl Wilhelm Dindorf|Dindorf]] believed to conceal Pronoea's name. The emendation is considered to have "undeniable merit" by A. Casanova (1979) ''La famiglia di Pandora: analisi filologica dei miti di Pandora e Prometeo nella tradizione esiodea''. Florence, p. 145.</ref> He is closely connected with a [[flood myth]] in Greek mythology. == Etymology == According to [[folk etymology]], Deucalion's name comes from {{lang|grc|δεῦκος}}, ''deukos'', a variant of {{lang|grc|γλεῦκος}}, ''gleucos'', i.e. "sweet new wine, must, sweetness"<ref name=LSJ>{{LSJ|deu{{=}}kos|δεῦκος|ref}}</ref><ref name=LSJ1>{{LSJ|gleu{{=}}kos|γλεῦκος|ref}}</ref> and from {{lang|grc|ἁλιεύς}}, ''haliéus'', i.e. "sailor, seaman, fisher".<ref name=LSJ2>{{LSJ|a(lieu/s|ἁλιεύς|ref}}</ref> His wife [[Pyrrha]]'s name derives from the adjective {{lang|grc|πυρρός}}, -ά, -όν, ''pyrrhós, -á, -ón'', i.e. "flame-colored, orange".<ref name=LSJ3> {{LSJ|purro/s|πυρρός|ref}} </ref> == Family == Of Deucalion's birth, the ''[[Argonautica]]''<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]], 3.1404-1408</ref> (from the 3rd century BC) stated: {{blockquote|text=There [in [[Achaea]], i.e. Greece] is a land encircled by lofty mountains, rich in sheep and in pasture, where [[Prometheus]], son of [[Iapetus]], begat goodly Deucalion, who first founded cities and reared temples to the immortal gods, and first ruled over men. This land the neighbours who dwell around call ''Haemonia'' [i.e. [[Thessaly]]].}} According to ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'',<ref name=":1">[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.7.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%20:book=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 1.7.2]</ref> Deucalion and Pyrrha had at least two children, [[Hellen]]<ref>[[Thucydides]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Thuc.+1.3.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200:book=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 1.3.2]; Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.7.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%20:book=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 1.7.2] where some account states that Hellen’s father is instead Zeus</ref> and [[Protogeneia|Protogenea]],<ref>[[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]], fr. 3F23; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#155 155]</ref> and possibly a third, [[Amphictyon]].<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.14.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%20:book=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 3.14.6] where in some traditions, he was called an [[Autochthon (ancient Greece)|autochthonous]] (son of the soil); [[Pseudo-Scymnus|Pseudo-Scymnos]], ''Circuit de la terre'' [https://topostext.org/work/130#587 587 ff.]</ref> Another account, adds a daughter [[Melanthea]] to the list of the couple’s progeny.<ref>Hesiod, ''Catalogue of Women'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-catalogue_women/2018/pb_LCL503.47.xml fr. 5 Most, pp. 46, 47] [= fr. 4 Merkelbach-West, p. 5 = Scholia on [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' 10.2 (Dindorf, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_l6oNAAAAQAAJ/page/n45/mode/2up?view=theater p. 444])]</ref> This daughter, also called [[Melantho]], became the mother of [[Delphus]] by [[Poseidon]].<ref>[[Tzetzes]] ad [[Lycophron]], [https://topostext.org/work/860#207 208] [[iarchive:isaakioukaiiann00mlgoog/page/n556/mode/1up|(Gk. text)]]</ref>{{AI-generated source|date=November 2024}} Deucalion’s and Pyrrha’s children are apparently named in one of the oldest texts, ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'', include daughters [[Pandora of Thessaly|Pandora]] and [[Thyia of Thessaly|Thyia]], and at least one son, Hellen.<ref>Hes. ''Catalogue'' fr. 2, 5 and 7; cf. M.L. West (1985) ''The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women''. Oxford, pp. 50–2, who posits that a third daughter, Protogeneia, who was named at (e.g.) Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=3503A1B6D4134062D00965BD225DDB77?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D3 5.1.3], was also present in the ''Catalogue''.</ref> Their descendants were said to have dwelt and ruled in Thessaly.<ref>Hesiod, ''[[Catalogue of Women|Ehoiai]]'' fr. 5 as cited in [[Scholia]]st on Apollonius Rhodius, 4.265–426</ref> One source mentioned three sons of Deucalion and his wife: [[Orestheus]], [[Marathonius|Marathonios]] and [[Pronous (mythology)|Pronous]] (father of Hellen).<ref name=":2">[[Hecataeus of Miletus|Hecateus]], fr. 1F13 ([[Timothy Gantz|Gantz]], [[iarchive:earlygreekmythgu0001gant/page/167/mode/1up|p. 167]])</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gantz|first=Timothy|title=Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Ancient Sources|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|year=1993|isbn=0-8018-4410-X|location=London|pages=167}}</ref> Lastly, Deucalion sired a son, no mention of the mother, [[Candybus]] who gave his name to the town of [[Kandyba|Candyba]] in [[Lycia]].<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v. [https://topostext.org/work/241#K354.4 ''Kandyba (Κάνδυβα)'']</ref> {{chart top|'''Genealogy'''<ref>Grimal, [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofclas0000grim/page/530/mode/2up?view=theater p. 531]; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA702 p. 702].</ref>|collapsed=yes}} {{chart/start}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | IAP |y| CLY | IAP = [[Iapetus]] | CLY=[[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]] }} {{chart| | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.|}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | PRO | | EPI |y| PAN | PRO=[[Prometheus]] | CLY=[[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]] | EPI=[[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]] | PAN=[[Pandora]]}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|'|}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | DEU |y| PYR | DEU='''DEUCALION''' | PYR=[[Pyrrha]]}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | |,|-|'| | | }} {{chart| | | | | | | | | HEL |y| ORS | HEL=[[Hellen]] |ORS=[[Orseis]]}} {{chart| | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| }} {{chart| | | DOR | | | | | | XUT | | | | | AEO | DOR=[[Dorus]] | XUT=[[Xuthus]] | AEO=[[Aeolus (son of Hellen)|Aeolus]]}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | |!|}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | ACH | | ION | | | |!| AEG=[[Aegimius]] | ACH=[[Achaeus (son of Xuthus)|Achaeus]] | ION = [[Ion (mythology)|Ion]]}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!|}} {{chart| |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|^|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|.}} {{chart| CRE | | SIS | | ATH | | SAL | | DEI | | MAG | | PER | |!| CRE=[[Cretheus]] | SIS=[[Sisyphus]] | ATH=[[Athamas]] | SAL=[[Salmoneus]] | DEI=Deion | MAG=[[Magnes (son of Aeolus)|Magnes]] | PER=[[Perieres (king of Messenia)|Perieres]] |}} {{chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!|}} {{chart| | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|'|}} {{chart| | | | | CAN | | ALC | | PIS | | CAL | | PER | CAN=[[Canace]] | ALC=[[Alcyone]] | PIS=[[Pisidice]] | CAL=[[Calyce (mythology)|Calyce]] | PER=[[Perimede (mythology)|Perimede]]}} {{chart/end}} {{chart bottom}} {| class="mw-collapsible wikitable" |+ class="nowrap" |Comparative table of Deucalion's family ! rowspan="3" |Relation ! rowspan="3" |Names ! colspan="18" |Sources |- ![[Homer]] ![[Hesiod]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellan.]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Acusilaus|Acus.]] ! colspan="2" |[[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollon.]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Diodorus Siculus|Diod.]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Diony.]] ![[Ovid]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Strabo]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]] !Harp. ![[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyg.]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]] ![[Lactantius|Lact.]] ! rowspan="2" |[[Stephanus of Byzantium|Steph.]] ! rowspan="2" |''[[Suda]]'' ![[Tzetzes|Tzet.]] |- |''<small>Sch. [[Odyssey|Ody.]]</small>'' |''<small>[[Catalogue of Women|Cat.]]</small>'' |''<small>[[Argonautica|Arg.]]</small>'' |''<small>Sch.</small>'' |''<small>[[Metamorphoses|Met.]]</small>'' |''<small>Lex.</small>'' |''<small>[[Fabulae|Fab.]]</small>'' |''<small>Div. Ins.</small>'' |''<small>Lyco.</small>'' |- | rowspan="4" |''Parentage'' |[[Prometheus]] and [[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]] |✓ | | | | | | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | |- |Prometheus and [[Hesione]] |✓ | | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |- |Prometheus and [[Pronoia]] | |✓ | | | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | | | |- |Prometheus | | | | |✓ | | | | | |✓ | | | | | | | |- |''Spouse'' |[[Pyrrha]] | |✓ | | | |✓ | | |✓ |✓ |✓ | |✓ | | | | | |- | rowspan="10" |''Children'' |[[Hellen]] | |✓ | | | |✓ |✓ | | |✓ |✓ | | | | | | | |- |Pandora | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |- |Thyia | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |- |Orestheus | | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | |✓ | | | | |- |Marathonius | | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |- |Pronous | | |✓ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |- |Amphictyon | | | | | | | | | | |✓ |✓ | |✓ |✓ | |✓ | |- |Protogeneia | | | | | | | | | | |✓ | |✓ |✓ | | | | |- |Candybus | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |✓ | | |- |Melantho | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |✓ |} == Mythology == [[Image:Virgil Solis - Deucalion Pyrrha.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Deucalion and [[Pyrrha]] from a 1562 version of Ovid's ''[[Metamorphoses]]'']] === Deluge accounts === The flood in the time of Deucalion was caused by the anger of [[Zeus]], ignited by the [[hubris]] of [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]] and his sons, descendants of [[Pelasgus]]. According to this story, King Lycaon of [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]] had sacrificed a boy to Zeus, who, appalled by this offering, decided to put an end to the [[Ages of Man|"Bronze" Age]] by unleashing a deluge. During this catastrophic flood, the rivers ran in torrents and the sea flooded the coastal plain, engulfing the foothills with spray, and washing everything clean. Deucalion, with the aid of his father Prometheus, was saved from this deluge by building a chest.<ref name="When the Great Abyss Opened">{{cite book|title=When the great abyss opened : classic and contemporary readings of Noah's flood|last=Pleins|first=J. David|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-973363-7|edition=[Online-Ausg.].|location=New York|page=110}}</ref> Like the biblical [[Noah]] and the Mesopotamian counterpart [[Utnapishtim]], he used this device to survive the [[Flood myth|great flood]] with his wife, Pyrrha. The most complete accounts are given by [[Ovid]], in his ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' (late 1 BCE to early 1 CE), and by the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] (1st or 2nd century CE).<ref name=":1" /> Deucalion, who reigned over the region of [[Phthia]],<ref>[[Strabo]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+9.5.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 9.5.6]</ref> had been forewarned of the flood by his father Prometheus. Deucalion was to build a chest and provision it carefully (no animals are rescued in this version of the flood myth), so that when the waters receded after nine days, he and his wife [[Pyrrha]], daughter of [[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]], were the one surviving pair of humans. Their chest touched solid ground on [[Mount Parnassus]],<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Olympian Odes'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Pind.+O.+9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 9.43]; cf. [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [http://www.mythology.us/ovid_metamorphoses_book_1.htm I.313–347]</ref> or [[Mount Etna]] in [[Sicily]],<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#153 153]</ref> or [[Mount Athos]] in [[Chalkidiki]],<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius']] commentary on Virgil's ''[[Bucolics]]'' 6.41</ref> or [[Mount Othrys]] in Thessaly.<ref>[[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]], ''[[Fragmente der griechischen Historiker|FGrH]]'' 4F117, quoted by the [[scholia]] to Pindar, ''Olympia'' 9.62b: "Hellanicus says that the chest didn't touch down on Parnassus, but by Othrys in Thessaly.</ref> [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] mentioned the opinion of a [[Hegesianax]] that Deucalion is to be identified with [[Aquarius (astrology)|Aquarius]], "because during his reign such quantities of water poured from the sky that the great Flood resulted."<ref>Hyginus, [[De astronomia|''De'' a''stronomica'']] [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.29.1 2.29.1]</ref> Once the deluge was over and the couple had given thanks to Zeus, Deucalion (said in several of the sources to have been aged 82 at the time) consulted an [[oracle]] of [[Themis]] about how to repopulate the earth. He was told to "cover your head and throw the bones of your mother behind your shoulder". Deucalion and Pyrrha understood that "mother" was [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], the mother of all living things, and the "bones" to be rocks. They threw the rocks behind their shoulders and the stones formed people. Pyrrha's became women; Deucalion's became men.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Parker|editor1-first=Janet|editor2-last=Stanton|editor2-first=Julie|year=2008|orig-year=2003|chapter=Greek and Roman Mythology|title=Mythology: Myths, Legends, & Fantasies|edition=Reprinted|publisher=[[The Quarto Group#Imprints|Global Book Publishing]]|location=Lane Cove, NSW, Australia|pages=32–35|isbn=978-1-74048-091-8}}</ref> These people were later called the [[Leleges]] who populated [[Locris]].<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women|Ehoiai]]'' fr. 234; Strabo, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+7.7.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 7.7.2]</ref> This can be related to [[Pindar]]'s account that recounted "Pyrrha and Deucalion came down from Parnassus and made their first home, and without the marriage-bed they founded a unified race of stone offspring, and the stones gave the people their name."<ref>Pindar, ''Olympian Odes'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Pind.+O.+9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 9.43–46]</ref> The 2nd-century AD writer [[Lucian]] gave an account of the Greek Deucalion in ''[[De Dea Syria]]'' that seems to refer more to the Near Eastern flood legends: in his version, Deucalion (whom he also calls ''Sisythus'')<ref>The manuscripts transmit scythea, "Scythian", rather than Sisythus, which is conjectural.</ref> took his children, their wives, and pairs of animals with him on the ark, and later built a great temple in [[Manbij]] (northern Syria), on the site of the chasm that received all the waters; he further describes how pilgrims brought vessels of sea water to this place twice a year, from as far as Arabia and Mesopotamia, to commemorate this event.<ref>[[Lucian]], ''[[On the Syrian Goddess|De Dea Syria]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/340#12 12]–[https://topostext.org/work/340#13 13]; [[Herbert Strong (philologist)|H. Strong]] & [[John Garstang|J. Garstang]], [https://archive.org/details/syriangoddessbei00luciuoft/page/50/mode/2up?q=deukalion p. 50–51]</ref> === Variant stories === On the other hand, [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] stated Deucalion's parents to be Prometheus and Clymene, daughter of [[Oceanus]], and mentioned nothing about a flood but instead named him as commander of those from Parnassus who drove the "sixth generation" of [[Pelasgians]] from Thessaly.<ref name=":0">[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Antiquitates Romanae'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#17.3 1.17.3]</ref> One of the earliest Greek historians, [[Hecataeus of Miletus]], was said to have written a book about Deucalion, but it no longer survived. The only extant fragment of his to mention Deucalion does not mention the flood either, but named him as the father of Orestheus, king of [[Aetolia]].<ref name=":2" /> The much later geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], following on this tradition, named Deucalion as a king of [[Ozolian Locris]] and father of Orestheus. [[Plutarch]] mentioned a legend that Deucalion and Pyrrha had settled in [[Dodona]], [[Epirus]];<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Life of Pyrrhus'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg030.perseus-eng1:1 1]</ref> while [[Strabo]] asserted that they lived at [[Opus, Greece|Cynus]], and that her grave was still to be found there, while his may be seen at [[Athens]].<ref>Strabo, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+9.4.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 9.4.2]</ref> This can be related to an account that after the deluge, Deucalion, founder and king of [[Lycoreia]] in [[Mount Parnassus|Mt. Parnassus]]<ref>''[[Parian Chronicle]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/119#3 3]; [[Jerome|St. Jerome]], ''[[Chronicon]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/530#B1535 B1535]</ref> was said to have fled from his kingdom to Athens with his sons Hellen and Amphictyon during the reign of King [[Cranaus]]. Shortly thereafter, Deucalion died there and was said to have been buried near Athens.<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.18.8&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 1.18.8]; [[Eusebius]], ''Chronicle'' 2, p. 26; ''[[Parian Chronicle]]'' 4-7</ref> During his stay in there, he was credited with having built the ancient sanctuary of Olympian Zeus.<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.18.8&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 1.18.8]; ''Parian Chronicle'' [https://topostext.org/work/119#5 5]</ref> Additionally, Strabo mentioned a pair of [[Aegean Islands|Aegean islands]] named after the couple.<ref>Strabo, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.++9.5.14&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Deucalion 9.5.14]</ref> == Interpretation == === Mosaic accretions === The 19th-century classicist [[John Lemprière]], in ''[[Bibliotheca Classica]]'', argued that as the story had been re-told in later versions, it accumulated details from the stories of Noah: "Thus Apollodorus gives Deucalion a great chest as a means of safety; Plutarch speaks of the pigeons by which he sought to find out whether the waters had receded; and Lucian of the animals of every kind which he had taken with him. &c."<ref>[[John Lemprière|Lemprière]], ''[[Bibliotheca Classica]]'' p. 475</ref> However, the Epic of Gilgamesh contains each of the three elements identified by Lemprière: a means of safety (in the form of instructions to build a boat), sending forth birds to test whether the waters had receded, and stowing animals of every kind on the boat. These facts were unknown to Lemprière because the Assyrian cuneiform tablets containing the Gilgamesh Epic were not discovered until the 1850s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=George |first=Andrew R. |date=2008 |title=Shattered tablets and tangled threads: Editing Gilgamesh, then and now |url=http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/7497 |journal=Aramazd. Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies |volume=3 |page=11 |access-date=12 September 2018}}</ref> This was 20 years after Lemprière had published his "Bibliotheca Classica". The Gilgamesh epic is widely considered to be at least as old as Genesis, if not older.<ref name="George2003">{{Cite book |last=George |first=A. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21xxZ_gUy_wC&pg=PA70 |title=The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-927841-1 |pages=70– |author-link=Andrew R. George |access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref><ref>Rendsburg, Gary. "The Biblical flood story in the light of the ''Gilgamesh'' flood account" in ''Gilgamesh and the world of Assyria'', eds Azize, J & Weeks, N. Peters, 2007, p. 117</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wexler |first=Robert |title=Ancient Near Eastern Mythology |date=2001}}</ref> Given the prevalence of religious syncretism in the ancient Greek world, these three elements may already have been known to some Greek-speaking peoples in popular oral variations of the flood myth, long before they were recorded in writing. The most immediate source of these three particular elements in the later Greek versions is unclear. === Dating by early scholars === For some time during the Middle Ages, many European Christian scholars continued to accept Greek mythical history at face value, thus asserting that Deucalion's flood was a regional flood, that occurred a few centuries later than the global one survived by Noah's family. On the basis of the archaeological ''[[stele]]'' known as the [[Parian Chronicle]], Deucalion's Flood was usually fixed as occurring some time around 1528 BC. Deucalion's flood may be dated in the [[Chronicon (Jerome)|chronology]] of Saint [[Jerome]] to {{circa}} 1460 BC. According to [[Augustine of Hippo]] (''[[City of God (book)|City of God]]'' XVIII,8,10,&11), Deucalion and his father Prometheus were contemporaries of Moses. According to [[Clement of Alexandria]] in his [[Stromata]], "in the time of [[Crotopus]] occurred the burning of [[Phaethon]], and the deluges of Deucalion."<ref name="Book1">[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02101.htm The Stromateis (Book 1)], Chapter 21.</ref> == Notes == {{reflist}} == Sources == * [[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' fragments 2–7 and 234 (7th or 6th century BC) * [[Hecataeus of Miletus]], frag. 341 (500 BC) * [[Pindar]], ''Olympian Odes'' 9 (466 BC) * [[Plato]], "[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]" 22B, "[[Critias]]" 112A (4th century BC) * [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' 3.1086 (3rd century BC) * [[Virgil]], ''[[Georgics]]'' 1.62 (29 BC) * [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' 153; ''[[Poeticon astronomicon]]'' 2.29 (c. 20 BC) * [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Roman Antiquities'' 1.17.3 (c. 15 BC) * [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', 1.318ff.; 7.356 (c. 8 AD) * [[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]'', 9.4 (c. 23 AD) * ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' 1.7.2 (c. 1st century AD?) * [[Plutarch]], ''Life of Pyrrhus'', 1 (75 AD) * [[Lucian]], ''[[De Dea Syria]]'' 12, 13, 28, 33 (2nd century AD) * [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' 10.38.1 (2nd century AD) * [[Nonnus]], ''Dionysiaca'' 3.211; 6.367 (c. 500 AD) == References == * [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website]. * [[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]], ''Argonautica'' translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. [https://topostext.org/work/126 Online version at the Topos Text Project.] * Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica''. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0227 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. * [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dionysus of Halicarnassus]], ''Roman Antiquities.'' English translation by Earnest Cary in the Loeb Classical Library, 7 volumes. Harvard University Press, 1937-1950. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/home.html Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site] * Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt'', ''Vol I-IV''. . Karl Jacoby. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1885. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0572 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. * [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/207 Online version at the Topos Text Project.] * Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.] * [[Hesiod]], ''Catalogue of Women'' from ''Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica'' translated by Evelyn-White, H G. Loeb Classical Library Volume 57. London: William Heinemann, 1914. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodCatalogues.html Online version at theio.com] * [[Nonnus|Nonnus of Panopolis]], ''Dionysiaca'' translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863-1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940. [https://topostext.org/work/529 Online version at the Topos Text Project.] * Nonnus of Panopolis, ''Dionysiaca. 3 Vols.'' W.H.D. Rouse. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1940-1942. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0485 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. * [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. {{ISBN|0-674-99328-4}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library] * Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. * [[Pindar]], ''Odes'' translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0162 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] * Pindar, ''The Odes of Pindar'' including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0161 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. * [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'' in ''Plato in Twelve Volumes'', Vol. 9 translated by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0180%3Atext%3DCriti. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0179%3Atext%3DCriti. Greek text available at the same website.] * Plato, ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' in ''Plato in Twelve Volumes'', Vol. 9 translated by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=4DAC0911EDDE8F410A4FED46380ED2C0?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0180%3Atext%3DTim.%3Asection%3D17a Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0179%3Atext%3DTim. Greek text available at the same website.] *Plutarch, ''Plutarch's Lives''. With an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1920. [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg030.perseus-eng1:1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg030.perseus-grc1:1 Greek text available at the same website.] * [[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] * Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. * [[Virgil|Publius Vergilius Maro]], ''Bucolics'', ''Aeneid, and Georgics of Vergil''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0058 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. *[[Lucian]], ''[[On the Syrian Goddess|The Syrian goddess]]; being a translation of Lucian's De dea Syria, with a life of Lucian by Herbert A. Strong.'' Edited with notes and an introd. by John Garstang. London: Constable & Company Ltd. 1913. [[iarchive:syriangoddessbei00luciuoft|Online version at the Internet Archive]]. [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg041.perseus-grc1:1 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library] * [[Strabo]], ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] * Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.] == External links == {{Commons category|Deucalion}}{{Portal|Ancient Greece|Myths|}} * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101213141556/http://ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1000.html Deucalion]}} from Charles Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1867), with source citations and some variants not given here. * [http://www.maicar.com/GML/Deucalion1.html Deucalion] from Carlos Parada, ''Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology''. * {{cite EB9 |wstitle= Deucalion |volume= VII |page=134 |short=1}} * [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000255 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Deucalion and Pyrrha)] {{Authority control}} [[Category:Progenitors in Greek mythology]] [[Category:Mythological kings of Thessaly]] [[Category:Deucalionids]] [[Category:Demigods in classical mythology]] [[Category:Metamorphoses characters]] [[Category:Mythological Thessalians]] [[Category:Deeds of Zeus]] [[Category:Flood myths]] [[Category:Mount Etna]]
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