Deucalion

“ In his immobility and dread, he moaned:
“My foe—Deucalion—here—under my hand—and I not to feel it. How often have I longed to yield him on the altar—that ‘Silent Priest.’ Baffled, and by such arts! Oh, for Deucalion! To have him here for one instant, even!”
“Call to mind how thou didst pale before him but last night,” derided Oltis. “Wouldst thou grow weak again under his eyes? The man is master of strange, dire powers. Well is it he hath gone. Though—the queen!”
“Name her not. Ah, how hath she known thee. How hath she borne with me. What sorrow hath been hers. ”

“ But the human race became in the course of time so degenerate that the gods resolved to destroy all mankind by means of a flood; Deucalion [22] (son of Prometheus) and his wife Pyrrha, being, on account of their piety, the only mortals saved.
By the command of his father, Deucalion built a ship, in which he and his wife took refuge during the deluge, which lasted for nine days. When the waters abated the ship rested on Mount Othrys in Thessaly, or according to some on Mount Parnassus. Deucalion and his wife now consulted the oracle of Themis as to how the human race might be restored. ”

“ Jupiter sends down rain from heaven, and rivers and seas gushing forth from their caves gather over the earth's surface, and sweep mankind away. Deucalion and his wife alone, borne in a little skiff, are stranded on the top of Parnassus. By degrees, the waters subside: the only surviving pair inquire of the gods how they may again people the desert earth. They are ordered, with veiled heads, to throw behind them the bones of their great mother. ”

“ Here put for the weapon.
“Deïphobus! do we judge rightly that it is a fair return, that three should be slain for one, since thus thou boastest? But do thou thyself also, wretch, stand against me, that thou mayest know of what nature I am, who have come hither the offspring of Jove, who first begat Minos, the guardian of Crete. Minos again begat Deucalion, his blameless son, and Deucalion begat me, king over many men in wide Crete. But now the ships have brought me hither, an evil both to thee and to thy father, and the other Trojans.” ”

“ Deucalion and Pyrrha now offered up sacrifices to Zeus Phyxius, i.e. Zeus, the protector of fugitives, and when Zeus through Hermes promised to grant his wish, he begged for human companions. Bidden to throw the ‘bones of their mother,’ i.e. the stones of the earth, over their shoulders, they obeyed, and the stones thrown by Deucalion became men, and those by Pyrrha women. The story of Deucalion seems to have sprung up near Dodona, or in Thessaly, where he was said to have settled after the flood, and thence spread over the Greek world. ”

“ Thereby I should disturb the dear one now wandering among the shades in Tartarus.”
Sadly they descended the temple steps, Deucalion meditating over the mysterious message to them. At last the shadows of grief in his heart were dissipated and he said: “Best beloved, the goddess intends no harm to us. I believe this is the meaning of her message. The earth is the mother, the stones are her bones. ”

“ But even to retain your good opinion, Deucalion—which I value more than that of any man living—I cannot do here as you have done. It would be impossible, even if I wished it. You must not judge all other men by your own strong standard: a Tatho is by no means a colossus like a Deucalion. ”

“ Superstition observes everything, not to correct itself, but to confirm itself more and more in its errors. It was, according to the fable, by the opening of this gulf that the waters which had covered Attica had disappeared; it was also said that Deucalion had raised near to this place an altar which he had dedicated to Jove the Preserver. ‘Tradition also attributed to Deucalion the temple of Jupiter Olympus,’ in which these mournful ceremonies were performed. ”

“ I tell you, Deucalion, there is a marvellous fascination about the woman.”
“Her present historian seems to have felt it.”
“Of course I have. Every one who sees her comes under her spell. And frankly, I am in love with her also, and look upon my coming here as detestable exile. Every one near to Phorenice, high and low, loves her just the same, even though they know it may be her whim to send them to execution next minute.” ”

“ Deucalion and Pyrrha leave it, offer sacrifice, and, according to the command of Zeus, repeople the world by throwing behind them 'the bones of the earth'—namely, stones, which change into men. This Deluge of Deucalion is, in Grecian tradition, what most resembles a universal deluge. Many authors affirm that it extended to the whole earth, and that the whole human race perished. ”

“ The small remainder dies for want of food.
Deucalion and Pyrrha were conveyed to the summit of Mount Parnassus, the highest mountain in Central Greece. According to Ovid, Deucalion now consulted the ancient oracle of Themis respecting the restoration of mankind, and received the following response: "Depart from the temple, veil your heads, loosen your girded vestments, and cast behind you the great bones of your parent." At length Deucalion discovered the meaning of the oracle—the bones being, by a very natural figure, the stones, or rocky heights, of the earth. ”

“ Deucalion said that a voice from heaven could not have meant them to do any harm. In thinking over the real meaning of the words he had heard, he told his wife, that, as the Earth is the mother of all creatures, her bones must mean the stones. ”

“ The brutal and savage nature of the early races of men may also have added strength to the tradition that they derived their original from stones. After the inundation, Deucalion is said to have repaired to Athens, where he built a temple to Jupiter, and instituted sacrifices in his honor. ”

“ Why, in Deucalion’s time, hey presto, everything was swamped, mankind went under, and just one little ark was saved, stranding on the top of Lycoreus and preserving a remnant of human seed for the generation of greater wickedness. ”

“ And so they walked on, down the steep slope of Mount Parnassus, and as they walked they picked up the loose stones in their way and cast them over their shoulders; and strange to say, the stones which Deucalion threw sprang up as full-grown men, strong, and handsome, and brave; and the stones which Pyrrha threw sprang up as full-grown women, lovely and fair. When at last they reached the plain they found themselves at the head of a noble company of human beings, all eager to serve them. ”

“ And Meriones spake first to Idomeneus, saying: "Son of Deucalion, at what point art thou eager to enter the throng? On the right of all the host, or in the centre, or shall it be on the left? For verily, methinks, in no other place do the long-haired Achaeans so fail in the fight." ”

“ And there are some Persians in stone holding up a brazen tripod, both themselves and the tripod fine works of art. And they say that Deucalion built the old temple of Olympian Zeus, bringing as evidence that Deucalion lived at Athens his tomb not far from this very temple. Adrian erected also at Athens a temple of Hera and Pan-Hellenian Zeus, and a temple for all the gods in common. ”

“ PROMETHEUS turned out to be quite right in saying that men would give more trouble to Jupiter than the Titans or the Giants, or anything that had ever been made. As time went on, men became more and more wicked every day.
Now there lived in Thessaly, on the banks of a river, a man and his wife, named Deucalion and Pyrrha. I think they must have been good people, and not like all the other men and women in the world. One day, Deucalion noticed that the water in the river was rising very high. ”

“ Here, under the overhanging cliff, he found a secluded spot, where, from the most ancient times, there had existed an oracle, in which Gæa herself had revealed the future to man, and which, in Deucalion's time, she had resigned to Themis. It was guarded by the huge serpent Python, the scourge of the surrounding neighbourhood, and the terror alike of men and cattle. The young god, full of confidence in his unerring aim, attacked and slew the monster with his arrows, thus freeing land and people from their mighty enemy. ”

“ Soon even the men and women who had boats were overwhelmed by the rise of water—all perished then except Deucalion and Pyrrha, his wife; them the waves had not overwhelmed, for they were in a ship that Prometheus had shown them how to build. The flood went down at last, and Deucalion and Pyrrha climbed up to a high and a dry ground. Zeus saw that two of the race of men had been left alive. But he saw that these two were just and kindly, and had a right reverence for the gods. He spared them, and he saw their children again peopling the earth. ”

“ Much water gushed out of the earth, great rains poured down, and the sea rose and overwhelmed the earth. Deucalion alone of all men was preserved to another generation on account of his wisdom and piety. He was thus saved. He went into a great ark which he had built, along with his wife and children. Then came to him, pair by pair, cows, horses, lions, serpents, and all kinds of animals which are nourished on earth, and he took them all in. They did not hurt him, for Zeus ordained a great friendship among them. So they all sailed in the ark as long as the flood lasted. ”

“ In the battle of Cheronæa he evinced cowardice, and saved his life by flight. He ended his life by taking poison, which he always carried in a quill, in the sixtieth year of his age, B.C. 322.
Deuca ́lion. A son of Prometheus, who married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus. He reigned over part of Thessaly, and in his age the earth was covered by a deluge of water, sent by Jupiter as a punishment for the impiety of mankind. Deucalion constructed a ship, and by this means saved himself and Pyrrha. The ship, after being tossed on the waves for nine days, rested on Mount Parnassus. ”

“ And, moreover, the Koran formally states that the waters of the Deluge were absorbed in the bosom of the earth."
Here the Xisuthros of Berosus becomes Deucalion-Sisythes. The animals are not collected together by Deucalion, as in the case of Noah and Khasisatra, but they crowded into the vessel of their own accord, driven by the terror with which the storm had inspired them; as in great calamities the creatures of the forest have been known to seek refuge in the houses of men. ”

“ Deucalion when he landed here new from Yucatan was a strong man. The King whom we have chosen—and who is the best we have to choose—has his weakness.”
“It can be turned into additional strength. Give me Nais here, living and warm to fight for, and I am a stronger man by far than the cold viceroy and soldier that you speak about.”
“I have passed my word to that already, and you shall have her, but at the cost of damaging somewhat this new kingdom of yours. Maybe too at the same time we may rid you of this Phorenice and her brood. ”

“ For Zeus is said to have become so enraged with the human race that he determined to sweep it off the face of the earth. So Deucalion was warned by Prometheus, whose son he is sometimes called—hence it is that some take two Deucalions for granted—and counselled him to prepare himself by building him an ark. ”

“ They will rise and rise till not even this peak will be seen. Jupiter is sending this flood to sweep away from the face of the earth the wickedness of man. Not one is to be saved. Even now, there is nobody left alive but you two.”
Deucalion and Pyrrha looked: and, in the distance, they saw the waters coming on, and rising above the hills.
“But perhaps,” said Prometheus, “Jupiter may not wish to punish you. I cannot tell. But I will tell you what to do—it may save you. Go down the mountain till you come to a wood, and cut down a tree.” ”

“ Deucalion alone is to be considered as the ancestor of the Hellenes, as all the noble families of kings and heroes derived their descent from him, and the later tribes of Greece, the Æolians, the Dorians, and Ionians, took their names from his sons. According to every indication, this people would appear to be a Caucasian race of Asiatics, of Indian, or at least of a cognate, origin. ”

“ Oh, Deucalion, you shall see Phorenice in all her glorious beauty and her magnificence one of these fine days soon, and believe me you will go down on your knees and repent.”
“I may see, and (because you say so) I may alter my life’s ways. The Gods make all things possible. But for the present I remain as I am, celibate, and not wishful to be otherwise; and so in the meantime I would hear the continuance of your history.”
“It is one long story of success. She deposed Zaemon from his government in name as well as in fact, and the news was spread, and the Priestly Clan rose in its wrath. ”

“ Tradition seems to have faithfully carried down the fact, that, amid this universal corruption, there was still at least one just man, and here it attributes to Deucalion the merit that belonged to Noah.
FABLE VII. Lycaon, king of Arcadia, in order to discover if it is Jupiter himself who has come to lodge in his palace, orders the body of an hostage, who had been sent to him, to be dressed and served up at a feast. The God, as a punishment, changes him into a wolf. ”

“ Deucalion’s satisfaction was something to behold; and this the keen-eyed Pelop laughed over to himself. For, the former was thinking, “Æole is like her mother. She 261will rise above the pressing weight ever.” Then aloud, he added, in Atlantean, that Electra might be benefited.
“Yea, Æole, this is the young prince who shared with me the perils of war, and who was firm in his wish to aid in freeing thyself and Hellen. And, who, after short trial, so ably took upon himself the shape of Sensel.” ”