Deucalion

Deucalion

In Greek mythology, Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and either Clymene, Hesione or Pronoia. He was born in the region of Achaea, Greece, and reigned in the area of Phthia.

According to the myth, Zeus decided to end the Bronze Age, because he was taken aback by Lycaon, king of Arcadia, who sacrificed a boy in the name of the father of Gods. So, he decided to start a torrential rain that would flood the whole world, in order to clean it from the wrongs of humans. Prometheus gave a warning to Deucalion, and the latter built a chest, in which he and his wife Pyrrha would be able to survive. The flood lasted for nine days, and the couple were the only two surviving humans. They then decided to ask the oracle of Themis on how to repopulate the earth; the oracle told them to throw the bones of their mother behind their shoulder. Deucalion and Pyrrha decoded the mother as being Gaea, the mother of all, and her bones as rocks. So, they threw rocks behind their shoulders and they transformed into people.

Deucalion and Pyrrha also had two children, Hellen and Protogenea. Other sources mention Pandora the Second and Thyia as being their children as well. The myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha is a version of the Biblical Flood, as well as the Sumerian Flood that is mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh; Deucalion thus is the Greek counterpart of the Biblical Noah and the Sumerian Utnapishtim.

See Also: Prometheus, Clymene, Zeus, Pyrrha, Hellen

Deucalion Q&A

Who was Deucalion?

In Greek mythology, Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and either Clymene, Hesione or Pronoia. He was born in the region of Achaea, Greece, and reigned in the area of Phthia.

Who were the parents of Deucalion?

The parents of Deucalion were Prometheus and Pyrrha.

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