Deucalion in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Deucalion

14 passages from 8 ancient authors that tell of Deucalion, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. 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 reign... For the story in one place, read our article on Deucalion.

Hesiod (1)

Hesiod, Fragments 1.1–13Deucalion, Hellen and their descendantsThe Catalogue of Women opens with the descendants of Deucalion and Hellen, saying that Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and Pronoea, that Hellen fathered Dorus, Xuthus and Aeolus, and that Thyia bore Magnes and Macedon to Zeus. The fragments then turn to the Aloiadae, Eurynome, Endymion, the sons of Actor and Molione, Periclymenus, and the sons of Neleus whom Heracles killed. Most are short quotations from later writers who cite Hesiod for a name or a descent.

Homer (3)

Homer, Iliad 13.328–454Idomeneus' onslaughtIdomeneus and Meriones go into the battle like fire on a mountain, and Idomeneus kills Othryoneus, who had sought Cassandra's hand, and then Asius. He kills Alcathous, a son-in-law of Anchises, and Deiphobus' spear, thrown at Idomeneus, misses him and kills Hypsenor. Idomeneus boasts over each of his victims and calls on Zeus.
Homer, Iliad 20.455–503Achilles' slaughter on the plainAchilles kills Dryops and Demuchus, then Laogonus and Dardanus, and Tros, who clasps his knees in vain. He goes on to kill Mulius, Echeclus, Deucalion and Rhigmus, and the Thracian Areithous. He rages everywhere like fire in a deep glen, and the earth runs with blood as oxen tread out barley.
Homer, Odyssey 19.164–316The stranger's tale of CreteOdysseus says that he comes from Crete, that his name is Aethon and that he is the younger brother of Idomeneus, and that he once entertained Odysseus in Crete when the wind drove him toward Troy. Penelope weeps, and tests him, asking what clothes Odysseus wore, and he describes the purple cloak with the golden brooch and the tunic that shone like the skin of an onion. He then says that Odysseus is alive in Thesprotia and will return, but Penelope does not believe him.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.7.1–10Prometheus, Deucalion's flood and the family of HellenPrometheus moulds men from water and earth, steals fire for them and is nailed to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle eats his liver until Heracles frees him. His son Deucalion survives Zeus's flood in a chest with Pyrrha and makes new people from stones; their son Hellen gives the Greeks their name and divides the country among Dorus, Xuthus and Aeolus. The section then follows Aeolus's children: the Aloads Otus and Ephialtes who pile Ossa and Pelion on Olympus, Endymion, Aetolus, Evenus and Marpessa, and the house of Thestius.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.8.1–2Lycaon and his sons; Callisto and the birth of ArcasThe account returns to Pelasgus and his son Lycaon, whose fifty impious sons serve Zeus a child's flesh; Zeus overturns the table at Trapezus and blasts them, sparing only Nyctimus. In Nyctimus's reign comes the flood of Deucalion's day. Zeus seduces Callisto, a companion of Artemis, and she is turned into a bear and shot; her son Arcas is raised by Maia, and she becomes the constellation of the Bear.

Pindar (1)

Pindar, Olympian Odes 9.1–112Olympian 9: for Epharmostus — Deucalion and OpusPindar praises Epharmostus of Opus, wrestling victor, and Opus, mother-city of the Locrians, and begs his lips to speak no ill of the gods, recalling Heracles' battles with Poseidon, Phoebus and Hades at Pylos. He tells how Deucalion and Pyrrha made a people from stones, and how Zeus took the daughter of Opus of Elis to Locrus, who named her son Opus after her father. The ode ends with Epharmostus' other victories and a tribute to his skill.

Diodorus Siculus (2)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.67.1–4.70.4Aeolus and Boeotus, Salmoneus and Neleus, the Lapiths and CentaursAfter the Epigoni return home, Teiresias dies at Tilphossaeum and the Cadmeans leave it, and the historian gives the story of Arne, Aeolus and Boeotus. He then follows Salmoneus, Tyro and their descendants as far as Nestor, and turns to the Lapiths and Centaurs: the sons of Peneius, Ixion's crime against Eïoneus, and the origin of the Centaurs.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 5.78.1–5.80.4Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon; the peoples of CreteMinos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon are sons of Zeus and Europa; Rhadamanthys is the most just of men and rules many islands and a stretch of the Asian coast. Minos' descendants include Idomeneus and Meriones, and the historian lists the peoples who later mixed with the Cretans.

Ovid (1)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.313–415Deucalion and PyrrhaThe flood drowns beasts and men, and starvation takes those it spares. Only Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha, who have always worshipped the gods, are saved when their boat comes to rest on Parnassus. Zeus (Jupiter) calms the waters, and the two, alone in the silent world, seek the oracle of Themis, who tells them to throw behind them the bones of their great mother. They understand that she means the stones of the earth, and the stones they throw turn into men and women.

Pausanias (2)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.18.1–9Athens: Dioscuri, Prytaneum, temple of Ilithyia and the OlympieumPausanias describes the sanctuary of the Dioscuri with paintings by Polygnotus and Micon, the precinct of Aglaurus and the story of Erichthonius’ chest, the Prytaneum, a sanctuary of Serapis and the temple of Ilithyia. He then turns to the sanctuary of Olympian Zeus, completed by Hadrian: the colossal image, the cleft where the flood waters of Deucalion’s time drained away, the statue of Isocrates, and Hadrian’s other buildings, including a temple of Hera and Panhellenian Zeus and a library.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.6.1–7Delphi: the founding of the city, Lycorea, Delphus and the slaying of PythoPausanias gives the early history of Delphi: the oldest city founded by Parnasus, its flooding in Deucalion's time and the survivors led by wolves to found Lycorea. He reports the various accounts of Delphus' parentage and of the first Thyiad, and explains the name Pytho either from Pythes or from the rotting of the creature Apollo shot, said to be a dragon or a robber from Euboea whom the oracle foretold would be purified by men of Crete.

Nonnus of Panopolis (2)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 3.131–215Book 3: Electra's palace and its garden; Emathion and DardanosCadmos looks over the house Hephaistos built for Electra, with its garden, its golden torch-bearing boys and its gold and silver dogs. Emathion, who rules Samothrace, rides up, and his brother Dardanos is said to have left for the mainland after the deluge. The first and second floods, of Ogygos and of Deucalion, are recalled.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 6.258–388Book 6: The flood; Pan and Galateia; the earth renewedLand and sea creatures mingle in the flood, and Pan and Galateia talk as she swims past him. The rivers Nile, Alpheios and Pyramos wander in search of their loves. Deucalion floats in his ark, and Poseidon splits a mountain to let the water run off, so that cities are built again.