Deucalion and Pyrrha vs. Noah's Ark: How Do They Stack Up? by Caleb Cunningham https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk An insightful look at the similarities between two of the stories that you didn't know you cared about. en-us 2019-01-04 13:26:44 UTC 2019-01-09 13:37:27 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/345579278/54cf17ac53ce4a87ff0adca823751e9f/images.jpeg Intro caleb_cunningham1 https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317424741 The story of Noah’s Ark is a well known Bible tale. However, it isn’t the only story of a great flood recorded by an ancient civilization. The Grecian people told the story of Zeus flooding the Earth to kill all the sacrilegious mortals who no longer respected the gods. These stories tell of a fatal flood that killed humanity and the struggles of the ones who survived. Although they are similar, there are some differences that will show how compatible or incompatible they really are.]]> 2019-01-04 13:40:43 UTC https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317424741 First Body Paragraph caleb_cunningham1 https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317424811 The Greek myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha is a lesser known myth. However, it has interesting parallels to the Noah’s Ark story. Rosenburg states that after Zeus determined that humanity wasn’t worthy of life any longer, he flooded the Earth with the help of Poseidon and Notus, the god of the rainy south wind. However, prior to the great flood, the Titan Prometheus had warned one of his sons named Deucalion of the nearly approaching disaster. Rosenburg also says, “In his dream,  Deucalion heard his father counsel him to build a very large chest and to stock it with all kinds of provisions, such as food, clothing, and tools” . Therefore, Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha were prepared and survived the flood. They stayed on the chest for nine days and nights before the waters receded. They then proceeded to the Oracle of Themis who instructed them on how to create a new race of humans. Rosenburg reports, “... the compassionate goddess replied, ‘When you leave my temple, loosen your clothing so that it flows freely around you. Then hide your faces, and throw the bones of your great mother behind you.’” Because of their great cunning and critical thinking skills, Deucalion and Pyrrha deciphered this riddle and did as they were told. By lobbing the bones of their mother, Mother Earth, over their shoulders, they created a new human race from pieces of the ground. When a stone was thrown by Deucalion, a man eventually grew out of the soil, while women emerged out of Pyrrha’s. The rest of the animals of the Earth were reintroduced to the world without the assistance of Deucalion (23-25). This story isn’t well known, but it will stack up to Noah’s Ark very well.

]]> 2019-01-04 13:41:00 UTC https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317424811 Second Body Paragraph caleb_cunningham1 https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317424871 There is a surprising lack of differences between the Noah’s Ark story and Deucalion’s myth. They will be discussed in the paragraph following this one. The Noah’s Ark story starts with God looking over the human race and observing the corruption and maliciousness of those he saw. He then instructs Noah to build an ark with his family and then fill it with all the animals of the Earth and his family to avoid the great flood that is oncoming. The day that they completed the ark, the waters surged forward and destroyed all living things on land. They were trapped in the ark for a little over a year before the Earth was dry enough to be habitable. Then, Noah and God make a few promises to each other and Noah’s family goes on to repopulate the Earth and attempts to keep everyone worshipping God (New International Version, Genesis 6.5-9.21). These stories are alike, yet dissimilar as well. ]]> 2019-01-04 13:41:16 UTC https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317424871 Third Body Paragraph caleb_cunningham1 https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317425214 There are a multitude of comparisons to be made. First of all, both catastrophes are floods. Second, they are both the result of humanity being unfaithful to a god and said god getting angry at humanity as a result. In both myths, a higher power warns a single family who is considered “righteous” or “holy” about the oncoming flood which allows them time to prepare. There aren’t too many similarities past this point, other than both families being rained on for an even amount of days and nights, nine and forty, respectively. Both parties repopulate the Earth as well, even though their methods are as different as possible. As well as similarities, there are differences galore throughout these stories. A few distinctions exist between these tall tales of ancient times. These include: the number of people living after the flood; the deities involved in each disaster; method of recreating humanity in its former image; time spent floating around on a flooded Earth; and rejoicing and prayer to the just deity or deities who killed life on Earth. ]]> 2019-01-04 13:42:24 UTC https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317425214 Conclusion caleb_cunningham1 https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317425522 Noah’s ark and the myth of Deucalion are related but different tales. After a side-by-side comparison, these two have a striking resemblance. These two stories, when examined under a close eye, have striking parallel themes that suggest that they may be one and the same, just different interpretations. In conclusion, there is enough evidence to back either the claim that the stories are based on the same event or that they are both falsified accounts of a flood, which never occurred, and were used to control the minds of the masses through religion. Hopefully, the differences and similarities are crystal clear by this point.

]]> 2019-01-04 13:43:28 UTC https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/317425522 Works Cited caleb_cunningham1 https://padlet.com/caleb_cunningham1/ep28w3y8knhk/wish/318750321    Black, John.”Deucalion Myth-The Great Flood from Greece”. Ancient Origins, March 24, 2013, www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-folklore/deucalion-myth-great-flood-greece-00259. Accessed December 2, 2018.
  The Holy Bible: New International Version. Zonderkidz, 2011.
Rosenburg, Donna. World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. NTC Publishing Group, 1994.
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