Source Verification: Deucalion and the Flood
Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.
What the Sources Attest
How did Deucalion survive the flood?
In Apollodorus, Deucalion followed the advice of his father Prometheus and built a chest. He stocked it with provisions and sailed in it with Pyrrha for nine days and nights until it grounded on Parnassus. In Ovid the pair reach Parnassus in a small boat, and Jupiter stops the storm when he sees them.
Source: Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2
What is the Greek myth about the flood?
Zeus decides to destroy humankind. In Apollodorus he wipes out the Bronze Age with heavy rain, and in Ovid he does it after Lycaon's crime, with Neptune's help. Only Deucalion and Pyrrha survive. Afterwards they throw stones over their shoulders, and the stones turn into a new human race.
Source: Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.253-347
What is Deucalion known for?
Deucalion is known as the survivor of the flood and the man who repopulated the earth. He is the son of Prometheus and husband of Pyrrha. Apollodorus names Hellen as his first child. Apollodorus says he reigned in the region around Phthia.
Source: Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2
What was the main reason that Deucalion and Pyrrha survived the flood?
The sources give two reasons. Apollodorus says Deucalion built a chest because Prometheus advised him to. Ovid says the pair were blameless and devout: Deucalion was the most just of men, and Pyrrha the most god-fearing of women, and Jupiter spared them when he saw them.
Source: Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.253-347
Who is the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek mythology?
Their son is Hellen. Apollodorus lists Hellen first among their children, then Amphictyon and a daughter, Protogenia, and adds that some say Hellen's father was Zeus. Deucalion is the recorded father in the main line of the account. Amphictyon later reigned in Attica after Cranaus.
Source: Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2
Who was Pyrrha in Greek mythology?
Pyrrha was Deucalion's wife and the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, the first woman. She survived the flood with him, sailed in the chest to Parnassus, and threw stones that became women. Ovid calls her Epimetheus' daughter and shows her hesitating before Themis's command.
Source: Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2
Where Accounts Differ
- cause-of-the-flood
- chest-or-boat
- why-they-survived
- who-ordered-the-stones
- pindar-stone-born-race
- hellens-father
- neptunes-part
- The cause of the flood differs. Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2, says only that Zeus meant to destroy the men of the Bronze Age. Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.163-252, ties it to the crime of Lycaon and a divine council.
- The vessel differs. Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2, has a chest built on Prometheus's advice. Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.253-347, has a small boat and no warning. In Ovid, Deucalion and Pyrrha are simply the two left over.
- The reason for survival differs. Apollodorus credits Prometheus's advice. Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.253-347, credits the couple's virtue, and says Jupiter spared them when he saw them.
- Who ordered the stones differs. In Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2, Zeus sends Hermes, and Deucalion chooses to have men. In Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.348-415, Themis gives the riddling oracle, and the couple work out its meaning.
- Pindar, Olympian Ode 9.40-60, says the couple founded the stone-born race without a marriage-bed, and that Zeus ordained their coming down from Parnassus. Apollodorus and Ovid say nothing of a marriage-bed.
- The father of Hellen is disputed. Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2, names Deucalion as father but reports that some say Zeus was.
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.253-347, names Neptune as Jupiter's partner in the flood. Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2, names only Zeus.
Sources
- Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.163-252
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.253-347
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.348-415
- Pindar, Olympian Ode 9.40-60