The ancient flood myth is common in many cultures due to the memorability of floods. When floods occur, the destruction and loss suggest a cosmic conspiracy of some sort and the hope for a new beginning. The flood destroys the old and gives birth to new life. Thus, the flood myth takes on the archetype of productive sacrifice (Leeming 43). The two flood myths that will be examined in this assignment are the ones from Israel and Greece. In both, the creator decided to send a flood to destroy humanity, but he chooses families to save from the flood, and there is a new beginning for both humanity and nature at the end. However, there are also several differences between the myths, and they will be examined in detail.

In the Biblical myth, God regrets creating humanity and animals due to their wickedness, so he pledges to destroy them. But he spares the righteous Noah and his family, ordering them to build an ark of gopher wood. He also demands that a pair of every animal on earth be put in the Ark (Leeming 50). Noah does everything God commands him to and enters the ark with his family. (Leeming 51). It rains upon the earth for many days, and the resulting flood ended up covering the high hills and killing every living thing on the earth. God later stops the rain, and the waters gradually subside, with the Ark coming to rest on Mount Ararat. Noah opened the window of his ark and sends forth a dove three times, with it returning with an olive branch one the second time before being gone for good. Noah knew it had found land (Leeming 52). He left the ark and headed to the dried earth along with his family and all the animals. God makes a covenant with Noah and his family, blessing them to be fruitful and multiply upon the earth (Leeming 53). God also promises that he will never again send forth a flood to destroy humanity (Leeming 54). Noah lives for many years after the flood (Leeming 55).

The Greco-Roman flood myth has some similarities, but more differences. Zeus decided to punish humanity for its sins by sending a great cleansing flood with the help of other gods. The north and south winds are sent forth (Leeming 60). Storms of blinding rain pour down from heaven, with Iris refilling the clouds.  Poseidon also helps by striking the earth with his trident, thus allowing all the waters of the world to flow freely. Everything was swept away and destroyed (Leeming 61). However, Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha survive the flood on a raft, which later lands on Mount Parnassus when Zeus ended the storm along with Poseidon and his son Triton (Leeming 62). The Earth was restored, but Deucalion and Pyrrha were alone. They both prayed for heavenly guidance and headed to Cephisus’ stream to douse themselves with holy water, before going to the shrine and asking Themis how to restore humanity (Leeming 63). She tells them to cast their mothers’ bones behind them. They are bewildered at first, before realizing that the mother is Gaia and her bones are the stones (Leeming 64). They grab the stones and throw them behind each other, with the stones thrown by Deucalion becoming men and the ones thrown by Pyrrha becoming women. Meanwhile, animals are borne by the earth with the help of the sun’s rays which create moisture (Leeming 65).

First, the similarities of the two myths. In both, the supreme god punishes humanity by sending a flood. The flood is created by excessive rain, and it buries mountains and kills every living thing. Due to their innocence and their worship of the supreme god, there are chosen people who survive the flood. For both myths, the flood represents a cleansing and a rebirth of humanity. The gods help the protagonists in both myths to repopulate the earth, giving them specific instructions on what to do. However, there are also many differences between the two myths. Firstly, Noah and his whole family are saved in the Biblical myth along with all the animals of the earth, while in the Greco-Roman myth only Deucalion and Pyrrha are saved while all the animals are killed. While Noah and his family build a massive ark, Deucalion and Pyrrha use an open raft.  There is also the famine faced by the survivors of the Greco-Roman flood (Leeming 62). There is obviously only one God in Judaism and Christianity, while the Greco-Roman myth has many gods working together to bring about the flood such as Iris, Poseidon, and Triton. Deucalion and Pyrrha are sad and weep after the flood, unlike Noah and his family. Deucalion and Pyrrha are unsure what to do next, and they must go through a ritual to ask the gods for help. They also bring back humanity by throwing stones rather than in the natural way of sexual intercourse. On the other hand, Noah and his family are blessed by God to repopulate the earth, and they do so naturally. Noah does offer a ritual sacrifice to God, but that is after he is blessed. God also promises not to destroy humans ever again, which the Greek gods do not promise. The Judaeo-Christian God appears to be more caring than the Greek Gods, as he is always there to help Noah and his family. He tells them what to do both before the flood and immediately after it is finished, while Deucalion and Pyrrha must go through their ritual to get the gods to tell them what to do after the flood. Also, the covenant made by Noah and his family, along with the promise never to destroy the world again, is absent from the Greco-Roman myth. Indeed, the Greek gods mistreat humanity in ways that the righteous Judaeo-Christian god does not.

So, although both myths are generally similar, there are also the differences that need to be considered. The gods decided to cleanse the world but chose people to save. Noah’s family along with Deucalion and Pyrrha were both saved from floods sent by their respective gods by heading on boats, and they rebirthed humanity. Both floods represent a cleansing and rebirth. However, the gods were different in both myths along with many of the details in both myths.

 

 

Works Cited

Leeming, David A. The World of Myth: An Anthology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.