16 The Ages of Man

INTRODUCTION

This myth, 'The Ages of Man," reflects an attitude of pessimism. As the world becomes more advanced technologically, it becomes more corrupt morally. The myth looks back to the earliest ages as being the purest, reminiscent of a kind of Garden of Eden. The earliest age in the myth, that ruled by Cronus, is similar to the way people lived in a matriarchal society . They, too, lived off the land, although they worked very hard. They, too, felt no need to acquire and to exploit, pursuits that reflected the aggressive, warlike attitudes of the patriarchal society .

ANTICIPATIONS

1. In what ways is our age the best of times? In what ways is it the worst of times? Divide into two teams . One team will defend the idea that we a re living in the best of times. The other will def e nd the idea that we are living in the worst of times. Which argument is more convincing?

THE MYTH

Wh e n Cronus was king of th e universe, the deathless gods created a:.;n kL·n ra ce tl[ m o r t a l m e n . These fi rs t m o rt a l s li v e d w ithout ha r d w ork ,w i l:huut pa i n, JJlti wit ho ut ;a dn ess . Th -t·:Mth ab u mb nt l y s upp li e d th en 'w ith a co rns, be rries, co rn , h on ey , ;m d n ec t a r . Th ey al so h a d l a rge h e rd s of cattl e. Thus, they could enjoy luxuriou s fea s ts without the back br ea kin g labor of farmin g. Th ese peopl e let their int elligence a nd co n science rul e th e m. They chose t o purs ue the good life for its own re wards . They lived with o ut f ear, without crime, and without courts oflaw . Written laws were unnecessary since they-did ·not need • the threat of

The Ages of Ma11 99

Why did the gods create mortal men?

How would you describe "The GoldenAge"?

punishment to motivate proper behavior. They felt no need to explore, to acquire, or to exploit. They erected no walls or fences to separate their possessions from those of their neighbors. There were no sights or soun¢s _o_Lyv..g&@ ;_,.Wildflowers reigned-in meadows--and ·fields, an(]' western winds -maintained eternal spring. Old age spared them its weakness and misery_ They enjoyed peaceful living and the love of the gods until they died. Then they became blessed guardian spirits.

After the first golden race of mortals had been buried and far-seeing Zeus had imprisoned his father Cronus, in Tartarus, the Olympian gods created a second, silver race of mortals. These men were far inferior to the golden race_ They remained as children, helpless for a full century, and after they became adults, they lived for only a few more years. Their own poor judgment always brought them pain and suffering, for they could not refrain from violence and crime. In this age, summer, autumn, and winter appeared for the first time_ Spring lasted only one-fourth of the year. The weather was often an enemy rather than a friend, produc ing blistering heat and icy snows. People were forced to seek refuge in caves or simple houses, and they now had to farm in order to have enough food to eat. Life was hard and unpleasant.

Next, Zeus created the third race of mortal beings-this was the age ofbronze. These men were incredibly strong and equally violent in temperament. Their invincible weapons, their houses, and their occupa tions all depended upon bronze_ Their very flesh seemed to be made of bronze. They brought their deaths upon themselves, dying from the violence by which they lived. After their deaths, they entered grim Hades' dismal kingdom where they spent eternity .

Last of all, Zeus, who thunders on high, established ourl iron age. We,the. fourth race of mortal men, live in a time of conquest. Great sailors have used seagoing vessels to claim more territory. We have forced the earth to supply us with metals as well as with food_ We have fought with iron weapons for possession of more gold. People of our time must work hard every day and have troubled dreams at night. Only occasionally do we achieve success_ Unfortunately for our iron race, moral behavior has begun to disappear and hospitality is coming to an end. Hosts maymurder their guests, and family members may murder one another. V:Jemust be wary of our own behavior. For when children and their parents are no lon ger fri e nds , wh en quarr el s d es tr oy the relati o n ships betw ee n U r o rhrr s 1n d fcien cb, '··';h,_: 1 YV!:: clcprivt h e: .Jged o f the ir· r·ights dnd th.-· respect th ey deserve, when we co vet th e possessi o ns o f our nei g hbors near and far, when we praise evil and violent behavior rather than ac tions which are good and peaceful, and when we have destroyed everything in our lives except pain and evil, then Zeus will destroy our race, and the last age of man will come to an end.

L The time of the writer of this myth (about 700 B.c.)_

100 The World of Man

Why are "the golden years" considered to be the best?

How does the Silver Age reflect mankind's early civilizations?

Decide: how or why did the SilverAge end?

How does the Bronze Age address mankind's technological advancement?

Take a guess: when did the Iron Age begin?

How is this description of the Iron Age an accurate account of modern civilization?

Why/when will the Iron Age end?

THE MYTH

The eai:th=-wa$.-',)reii.ng when- p-:-rometheus1, the clever Titan·; created all tll'E'· · Which age of man does Prometheus create?living creatures from a mixture of earth and water. From his imagination, he fashioned birds for the air, fish for the sea, and animals for the land . However, from the image of the immortal gods, he fashioned man.

Gentle Epimetheus2 observed his brother's creative activity with amazement and with envy. He also wanted to have some part in the creative process, so he pleaded with Prometheus to let him do something for each living creature. Because Prometheus loved his gentle brother, he decided to let him distribute the qualities that each of his creatures would need in order to survive.

With joy in his heart, Epimetheus set out to do his part. To creatureswho were si'ow, he gave strength. To creatures who were weak, he gave great speed. Some creatures he armed with tusks, sharp claws, or sting ing tails so that they could defend themselves. To other creatures, he gave either great or small size; the first to instill fright, the second to avoid detection. When he had assured himself that the land, sea, and air creatures were suitably defended, Epimetheus proceeded to protect them from the hazards of their natural environment: heat, cold, and starva tion. Depending upon the climate, he gave them skins of thin leather, or of heavy fur. He gave creatures the ability to climb, to dig, or to stalk their food. He proceeded thoughtfully from creature to creature until he had distributed all of the qualities that each would need in order to survive upon the earth.

He was feeling quite proud of his accomplishments when suddenly he came upon man. Man was naked and defenseless. He, alone, of all Pro metheus's creatures, had received no gifts. How would he ever survive? Gentle Epimetheus did not know what to do. He stood there, gazing at man, and hoped that somehow everything would be all right.

Epimetheus was still standing there when his clever brother joined him . Prometheus had followed Epimetheus, and had been very pleased with the distributions his brother had made. However, with one glance he understood the terrible problem.

'There isn't anything left for man, is there?" he questioned softly, trying to remain calm in the face of his tremendous disappointment. Slowly, gentle Epime theus shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes as he t·e;1! i z ed t he mag ni t u de of h is mi s tak e.

Of a ll his creat ions, Pro m e th eus mos t l oved m an. He resol ved to do w hat eve r wa s necessa ry to insure man's survival, regardless of the risk to himself. During the next moonless night, the clever Titan stole up to Mount Olympus, home of his cousin Zeus and the other immortal gods. He knew that the Lord of Olympus would not help him. However, he realized that Zeus's children, strong-armed Hephaestus and grey-eyed

104 The World of Man

How did Epimetheus decide how to dis -tribute the qualities creatures needed to survive?

How does Epimetheus' mistake explain the separation between man and nature?

Athena, would sympathize with him, because they, too, were creators. The clever Titan immediately went to their workshop.

Even though they feared Olympian Zeus's thunderbolts, Hephaestus and Athena risked their great father's wrath in order to help their fellow creator. Silently and secretly they taught Prometheus their knowledge of arts and crafts so that he, in turn, could impart this knowledge to humankind. As a parting gift, Hephaestus, the lame smith, gave Pro metheus fire3 so that mortals could use their new knowledge.

Prometheus returned. to earth to become humankind's great teacher.He taught mortals to understand their environment, to calculate, to read and to write, to build houses and sailing ships, and to tame wild animals for food, labor, and protection. He showed them treasures within Mother Earth: copper and iron, silver and gold. He taught them how, with the gift of fire, mortals could use these treasures to improve and beautify their lives . Thus it was that man, frail as he was, became master of his environment. Once mortals had this knowledge, they became aware of the gods. They worshipped the gods by building altars, by mak ing images, and by offering sacrifices.

Then Prometheus became concerned that mortals would give the gods the best fruits of their labors, leaving little for their own uncertain ex istence. Therefore, the clever Titan designed a scheme whereby mortals would be able to offer pleasing sacrifices to the gods and still eat well themselves.4

Prometheus carefully carved the carcass of a great ox, dividing the parts into two sacrificial piles. Into one pile he put the rich organs and the nourishing meat, craftily hiding them away in the ox's stomach. He the n covered this sacrifice with oxhide. Into the second pile, he wrapped layers of white fat over the bare white bones of the ox, covering this sacrifice also with ox hide . Then the wily Titan called upon great Zeus, Lord of Olympus, to choose which portion should be for the eternal gods a nd which portion for humankind.

As Zeus lifted up the hide that cove red the fatty portion, he was quiteimpressed with the quality of the sacrifice. Clearly, mortals had not skimped in their efforts to please the gods. However when the Lord of Ol y mpus raised the hide that covered the second sacrifice, he was re pulsed by the appeara nce and the smell of th e ox's s tomach. Search ing no furth er, he m ade the natural deci sion , announ c in g, "Fr o m now on, t h e L1tt/ purho n 1.vi ll ht-f()r 1· h (: irn rr. r•r · t·.-d f;ud, :1 nd t hisLtnnac h pur ti, \n h Hh um ank ind! '.

The n, a nx i ous for some of the tender, t asty meat, the Lord of High

Thunder quickly unwrapped the fat a nd found bo nes!With new in sight, Ze us sought th e eyes of his crafty opponent . E

ven u nd e r his great cousin's scrutiny, clever Prometheus could not hide th e

What does this part of the myth attempt to explain?

How did Prometheus trick Zeus?

joy h e f e lt in h a ving s ucceeded in his deception .5 , , .,. ,,,o

:::.:,.o<.;" -----Zeus's mine!· becariie'"'CIud ed -w ith rage; artd --h thundered at Pro

Prometheus 105

metheus, "yYil:y.s :-hemer" nd,d§, k r:I-You have given man g9g<;l.ll}eat to . - eat, but from n ; ;-h- iifh ltto-tit-;;.;;: (f rbi C f i ' 7faruse o.f fire!"

Then Olympian Zeus gathered up all fire, and returning to MountOlympus, hid its flame from man.

Prometheus knew that man could not survive without fire. In spite of the devastating power of Zeus's thunderbolt, clever Prometheus tempted the great Olympian's rage by daring to steal fire from the gods a second time. This time he succeeded by hiding its bright flame within a huge, hollow fennel stalk .6

When Zeus looked down from Mount Olympus and saw fire gleamingamong Prometheus's mortals, he controlled the fury in his heart. With cruel laughter he decided how he would punish both Prometheus and humankind.

He called his son, Hephaestus, the renowned smith, and commandedthat he bind the rebel Prometheus to Mount Caucasus far in the north, inScythia.

Although Hephaestus felt great admiration and sympathy for the

Imagine Prometheus running down Mount Olympus with a fennel stalk spouting flames; what does this remind you of?

clever Titan, he obeyed his great father's command. Against his will, he took Prometheus through the pathless wilderness of the far north until they reached the high-ridged, winter-bitten, and rocky gorges. There, the renowned smith fastened the defiant Titan to the icy cliffs with un breakable stone chains. He then drove an equally strong stake through Prometheus's chest for additional security. Thus, able to move only his head, Prometheus was condemned to be parched by the blazing sun each day, and frozen by the icy winds each night.

Having completed his terrible task, strong-armed Hephaestus tried tol eave Prometheus with a few comforting words . "Dear friend," he said, "remember that the Lord of Olympus has just acquired the supreme power of his father Cronus . In time his nature might change."

To this, the shackled prisoner replied, "Hephaestus, although the Fates have denied me the blessing of death and the ability to foresee my own future, Olympian Zeus, too, is also subject to their will.

"My mother has given me secret knowledge that will either humble his pride, or destroy him. The Lord of Olympus is destined to pursue a god dess, whose name I shall not reveal. This goddess is destined to give birtht o a son who will become g reater than his father. If his father i s Olym:·i .,n ·zr:u s. th,:n t h i s c;un w ill hue! ZE' us int o the c!<Jr k n ess o f Tart <J ru:>, j u s tas Zt:u s once hurled h is own fa th e r , C r o n u s .

"Far-seeing Zeus can avoid this prophecy only b y fr eeing me, f or without my advice, he is surely doomed. Until then, he can devise no cruel torment or evil scheme that will force me to divulge this knowledge."

106 The World of Man

What physical arrangement do you imagine Prometheus being in? Does this remind you of anything?

What bargain does Prometheus offer?

• ""'"'..·.'-'"'-·'· ' --·-···, ·---!':

: ---

---:-..-:--.,...,............_.•,......-. ..

As soon as strong-armed Hephaestus had reported this information to his illustrious father, the Lord of Olympus sent his swift-footed son, Hermes, to Prometheus's side.

"Prometheus, thief of fire! Look at me when I speak to you!" Zeus'sherald commanded. 'The father of the gods demands that you declare the secret knowledge that will destroy him."

To these words, the unconquerable Prometheus replied, "Nothing in your great father's power will force this knowledge from me unless he un shackles these chains of bondage. Therefore, let Zeus hurl his thunder bolts upon me! Let his tempests lash the earth until its subterranean foun dations quake and crack! He cannot force me to prevent his downfall. It is not my nature to fear the immortal gods."

'Then I must warn you," replied Hermes, "that the Lord of High Thunder will send wave after wave of tortures upon you. First he will strike this rugged ridge with his thunderbolts, splitting the rock apart so that it will enfold you within its darkest depths. Only after many ages have passed will you return to the world of sunlight.

'Then you will face an even more horrible torture. For Olympian Zeuswill set his predatory eagle upon you. Each day, this greedy vulture will tear open your body and gorge his voracious appetite upon your defenseless liver. Each night your liver will regenerate itself to provide a renewed feast for the eagle on the following day.

"So consider my message, defiant friend . Loud-thundering Zeus does not lie. His wishes become deeds. You can escape from this agony only if some immortal, of his own free will, chooses to give up his own immor tality and take your place in the depths of Tart arus.8 No matter how you twist and turn in the attempt to lessen your torture, just as you are hand c uffed and staked to this cliff, so you are chained to your fate. As brilliant as you are, you are not ingenious enough to outwit Olympi a n Zeus!"

"Return to your great father, Hermes," commanded the strong Titan ."No immortal can intimidate me. Let Zeus shake the atmosphere with violent storms a nd flaming thunderbolts! Let his great wrath hurl my body down into the darkness of Tartarus! I will endure even his mighty, ravenous eagle! For although Zeus may batter my body, he cannot shat ter my spirit."9

Sud d e nl y the sky cl ouded ove r a nd became bla c k and om inou s. Swift

rt") ut·el 1·-{ c rl'Jll·:::; q u i c!.-.. ! y :..H::.! ..1 :•.'i;J / . 1:. :1 fi ::.' r! :· 1_. \.; i n d h1·.\',:I Ji tu b.ll· t e r !· h(-::l one l y figure chained to th e fros tbitten c l i Ff

1. The name Prometheu s means ''fore th oug ht .'' I ro nica ll y. he had the ab ilit y to see a ll future occurrences excep t those that happe ned to him.

2. The n ame Epimetheu s mea n s "after th o u g ht." Ep imeth eus couldn't f orsee the conse

q uences of hi s actions.

Why is this a brazen thing to say?

What, essentially, does Prometheus do in order to protect mankind?

-···· : ::- --- ·

_ _ Prometheus.. \.:·:::.- ·--

107·'"·! · ·

. ·' .:a-;..'-·-- - ·-· · -

THE MYTH

A bronze race of mortals once inhabited the earth . They were arrogant and cruel, and they were disrespectful to the deathless gods. Zeus, who delights in thunder, heard rumors of their behavior and vowed that, if these rumors were true, he would destroy this race. So that he could evaluate for himself how religious, righteous, and law-abiding mortal man actually was, Zeus decided to travel over the earth in the disguise of a humble mortal.

Zeus, as a humble traveler, wandered south past the mountains in Ar cadia, which are known for their wild beasts, past Mount Cyllene, where his son, Hermes of the Golden Wand, was born, and into the pine forests of Lycaeus.

As dusk drew on the dew-covered chariot of Nyx (Night). the humble. traveler en tered Lycaon's palace. Lycaon was the king of Arca dia a nd the father of fifty sons. Zeus had heard rumors that these we re the mos t arro gant and disrespectful mortal men o n the face of the earth . Now he w ould see for himself if these rumors were true.

It was time for the evening meal when the humble tra veler entered the great assembly hall, and Lycaon had gathered his ex tensive family a bout him for the festive occasion . Upon finding an uninvited stranger in theiJ;" midst, and a humble one at that, King Lycaon met the stranger with hostility . He questioned him even before he fed him, which had not bee n the socially accepted practice in Greece a mong earlier races of ma n.

"Who a re you, and what do you want here?" he roared ."I am one of the d eathless Olympian gods," the humble tra veler

responded. "I have come down to Arcadia from the mountains in the north. Iseek hospitality in the name of f a r-seein g Zeus, w ho is the pro tector of strangers and beggars."

At thi s, L yca on looked a t the trave ler a nd g rinn e d. The n hi s sc orn f u l

l. t u..;htt:r rcva !ed 1NhJt ht-· t h ot :tht 1 )!- th i·..; pnp ll S ferou:ae;rtinn. "VVtw ill d e t erm in e w h e t h e r you ar e ;:J:> imm o r t;:Ji a s yo u say you a n.:, " he responded . "From yo ur a ppearance it see ms m o re li kel y that yo u sh are our mortal destiny. However, I invite you to share part of our meal with us ."

While his fifty sons and their many wives and children looked on ex pectantly , Lycaon announced to one of the attending servants, "Bring forth that young Arcadian boy ."

118 Th e World of Man

Do you think it was fair of Zeus to judge the entire bronze race based on the behaviors of one man? Why?

It was common for Gods to visit mortals in disguise; why does Zeus announce that he is indeed who he is?

When the child was brought forth, bound, the king slit his throat and then cut him into many pieces. He had certain pieces of flesh boiled and the other pieces broiled over the blazing flames of the hearth. Then he had the cooked flesh and the mutilated fragments of bone laid upon a platter and served along with the rest of the meal.

"Oh, we shouldn't forget to sacrifice to the immortal gods, should we!" Lycaon exclaimed as he gave the observant stranger a humorous glance.'We'd better do this before we eat, so just be patient everyone," he requested . "It won't take long."

Lycaon, having been educated in the old religious customs, called for a cow. When a servant brought one, Lycaon slit its throat, dismembered it, and roasted the meat. Then he whispered directions to another of the servants, who left the room and returned immediately with a bowl filled with body organs.

Lycaon took the roasted flesh, mixed the heart, liver, pancreas, and other organs among the meat and set the platter down before the humble stranger.

He knew that if their strange guest were a god as he proclaimed himself to be, he would not touch this sacrifice. Lycaon had composed it as a test of his guest's true identity. The organs provided the clue. If the humble stranger were truly an Olympian god, then he would recognize the organs as those of a mortal, in this case, one of Lycaon's own grand children . If not, he would not be able to recognize the source of these morsels once they had been chopped and mixed with the chunks of meat.

As soon as Lycaon placed the sacrifie in front of his humble guest, he announced, "This portion is for Zeus, Lord of Olympus, and the other deathless gods. May they eat heartily and well, as we sit down to our own fragrant food ."

The stranger regarded the sacrifice on the platter before him with com plete contempt. The royal family had forgotten his presence as its members ravenously attacked the food upon their own tables . They did not feel that this fuss over a stranger should have delayed their meal. Therefore, in their attention to their own food, they did not witness the transformation that was occurring only a few feet from them.

By the time they felt the tremendous heat and the blinding white light, it was too late to escape . Zeus suddenly overturned the feast and rocked the palace with the blasts of an awesome thunderstorm. Lightning bolts struck th e roof and walls, e ngulfin g th e palace in ragin g flames and killi n g t>V fr y o c c u. pa nt ex ce pt L y ca o n .

Ly c:llln , b e i n g t h : m us t ecl u r:a t e d i11 t·eli g i uu s fHl cr i c:::;, h a c! rnC cit: J il e ff o rt to pr o tec t him self a s h e t ook the cal c u l at ed r i s k of th e d ece p t i ve sa c rifice. He ;olone had kept one eye up o n the humble strange r. Th e refor e, as he watch ed the s tran ger recoil at th e sacrifice a

nd beg in to loom larger and bright e r in the darkened hall, Lycaon fled from his

_ palace .. ·"·" -..- ·-··-----·-·-··-..·---

....·:-...:;.;..

.:=·;-- - :..-:

Lycaon 119

What practice is this myth teaching the Gods will not tolerate?

. The Arcadian king-hid -inthefields_.The darkness andJ;he...cool breeze. _ _felt good up-on his · ski;;- -Ife"'-cieciciecf to warn-his - neig"Rt's that thedeathless gods were wandering the earth, and that they were ready to avenge the disrespect that had developed in the land . He opened his mouth to speak out, but his tongue would not obey his mind. All he could do was howl.

Terrorstruck, Lycaon examined himself. He was suddenly aware that instead of running in the manner in which he was accustomed, he was using his arms, as well as his legs. He found that he no longer could stand upright. His skin and robes had become covered with long hairs of silver and grey . As he licked his dry lips, he could see a longer, more pointedtongue. He had become a wolf!

The terrible stranger had avenged Lycaon's ridicule and cruelty. Yet, in many ways, Lycaon had not changed at all. His eyes still sparkled, although in a narrower space. His mouth still grinned maliciously. He continued to slaughter beasts in his bloodthirsty, furious way, delighting as much in killing his prey as in eating it.

Thus the Lord of Olympus avenged upon one family a fate that thewhole human family at the time deserved. Mortal man had become monstrous and was guilty of unmatched evils.

As Zeus, who delights in thunder, returned to Mount Olympus, he thought about mortal man's inhumanity to his fellow man and his disrespect for his gods. The thought of Lycaon's royal family rekindled his wrath. Feelings of rage and vengeance overcame his sighs of sorrow and pity. Far-seeing Zeus was to seal the fate of this race of man .

INTRODUCTION

The FloodSometime in the third millenium B.c. (3000-2000 B.c.), there was a great flood in Mesopotamia. This cataclysmic event produced three · great flood records; the Sumerian, the Biblical, and the Greek myth contained in this chapter.

All three tell of mortals saved by a divinity who h ad advised them to build an ark, which ultimately landed safel y upon the top of a mountain. In the case of both the Greek and Biblical records, the divinity caused the flo od to pu nish man f o r immor a l be h av i or. Howeve r, un lik e God and Ze u s , th e S um erian god s ac t e d impul s1 ve l y. S u c h gu d c r1' r1 :J J< h 1nu 1-c frighten in g becau se th ey bring ruin eve n to the virtuou s .

THE MYTH

The Olympian gods gathered upon Mount Olympus to hear far-seeing

120 The World of Man

Why was Lycaon transformed into a wolf instead of another creature? How is this a fitting punishment?

jI

Lycao n 121

.Zeus's judgment upon mortal-mere He ·had to-ld them about::tb e : w · ;; y _in.--- _- _-.-- - - which the royal family of King Lycaon lived, recounting in detail their treatment of both mortals and immortals. All of the gods agreed thathumankind must be punished. Yet, they grieved for the total destruction of mortals. What would happen to the earth without their presence? Who would sacrifice to the immortals if no mortal was left to worship the deathless gods?

Olympian Zeus comforted their fears by assuring them that once he had destroyed this race, he would create a new race of mortals to supply their altars with fragrant sacrifices.

Loud-thundering Zeus prepared to use his fearsome weapons to destroy man. However, he became concerned that his lightning and thunderbolts might so engulf the earth and seas in flames that even Mount Olympus and the heavens would be destroyed. Therefore, he determined to destroy man by water, rather than fire. He dared not burn the earth, but he certainly could flood it in safety .

Zeus imprisoned Boreas, the north wind, in the cave of Aeolus, the keeper of the winds, so that Boreas would be unable to freeze the flood waters into ice. With Boreas, he imprisoned Zephyrus, the west wind. Otherwise, Zephyrus might dispel the storm clouds before they had brought their devastating rains.

With these winds confined, the Lord of Black Clouds then set the southwind loose upon the earth. Bringing with him the storm clouds that frighten mortals, the south wind flew over the earth . His body was covered by terrifying black clouds, while his white hair, his robe, and his wings were all streaming with rain. As he flew, he clenched the storm clouds in his hands, crushing and squeezing all the moisture from them. The heavens roared with peals of Zeus's thunder, and a deluge drenched the earth.

Meanwhile, Iris, rainbow-clothed messenger of Hera, descended toearth. There she collected water from the seas and brought this nourish ment up to the weeping clouds to further increase the rainfall. The corn bent earthward beneath the onslaught of the deluge. Farmers wept over the loss of their crops. Yet, it never occurred to them that they, too, would perish .

Loud-thundering Zeus looked down from Mount Olympus and decided to increase the devasta tion, since the disaster was not yet sufficient t o erase morta l man from the earth. Therefore, the king called upon hishrnl !w r , the L ord r,r the Sr a. rnr hr' l f1.

Pose id o n, Lhc LJrth s hakcr , was delighted to r ece i ve permis ,iun l:

o exerc i se his own full authority. He assembled a ll the river god s and sea gods a nd instru cted them: "Un lock your gates and the doors to your houses. Remove whatever restrains your waves so that nothing obstructs the movement of your waters. Then, give them the freedom

to flow

Why did the Gods "need" mortals?

Lycao n 121

wherever they choose." The water gods proudly exercised their new powers. They returned to their underwater homes_qnd followecl--·'Poseidons commands, - .:::..·- -- -":""" ';.<;;:''!';:./'.;:· · - · ·· · · · .,,.

Meanwhile, as the sea swelled with fury , the Earthshaker struck the earth with his terrible trident. By causing the land to tremble and crack, the great sea lord opened new passages for the rising rivers and seas.

The flood now rushed over the land, burying the orchards and theopen fields of grain. As it roared along, it gathered sheep, cattle, farmers, entire trees, and houses, tearing them apart with its swirling force. Even temples dedicated to the deathless gods, with shrines containing sacred fires, were destroyed in the deluge. Buildings too strong to fall were buried beneath the waters, which now ran rampant over the earth. Slowly but surely the rising waters swallowed even the tops of towers and hills.

Men frantically tried to escape doom. Those who lived by the sea triedto rescue their boats, but, as often as not, they had not foreseen the ex tent of their peril. The raging seas had smashed their boats or had cast them loose before they could occupy them. Those who were able to launch their boats died of starvation on the endless sea . Those who lived inland took to the hills and mountains, desperately climbing higher and higher until there was nothing left to face except their inevitable fate.

The deer's swiftness was powerless against the torrential flood waters, and the wild boar found his terrible tusks no protection against this for midable new enemy. The birds frantically beat their wings as they wear ily searched in vain for a resting place. When finally exhausted, they plunged into the endless sea.

Afterwards, all was still. Sea monsters relaxed their bulky bodieswhere mountain goats had recently grazed, and the seanymphs swam in wonder among submerged houses, palaces, and temples. Dolphins invaded the woods a nd groves, chasing one another around mighty submerged tree trunks. Except for those creatures whose home was the river or sea, all earthly life had perished .

INTRODUCTION

Dawn of the New EraT h e fo ll o win g my th co ntin ues t h e s t o r y o l t h e Greek tl oo J by int r udu c: ing the two m o rtal s ur vi v ors, Oeu ca lion a nd Pyrrh a . Th e m yt h combines ideas from earlier oral versions, one dating from the matriarchal period, when the oracle was Themis rather than Apollo, and the other dating from the patriarchal period, since a male god, Zeus, caused the flood.

Deucalion and Pyrrha obeyed Themis's commands and did not look

What was the process Zeus followed to create the destructive flood?

behind them to see what was happening to the stones. Traditionally, gods did not permit mortals to observe miracles. In the Bible, when Lot's wife disobeyed God's command, He punished her by turning her into a pillar of salt.

In this myth, stones were transformed into people, an idea that couldhave arisen in Asia Minor. In mythology, man usually was created from the most abundant local material. Because Greek soil was very rocky, the new race of mortals was created from stones. In the Navajo religion, "First Man" and "First Woman" were created from two ears of corn. The first Norse man and woman were created from two trees.

THE MYTH

Before the deluge occurred, Prometheus had realized his great cousin's in tentions. From his imprisonment upon the cliffs of Mount Caucasus far to the northeast , the clever Titan called out to his son, Deucalion, warn ing him of the impending disaster . He advised his attentive son to con struct a sturdy boat, fill it with provisions, and then enter it with his wife, Pyrrha, the daughter of Prometheus's brother, Epimetheus. Finally, Prometheus commanded Deucalion to revere the Lord of Olympus and the other deathless gods in the coming time of terror.

Deucalion obeyed his loving father in every respect, so that when thegreat rains arrived the couple was well-prepared. They floated over the floodwaters for nine days and nine nights, surrounded by an endless sea of desolation. Finally the deluge ceased, and they found that their boat had drifted near the twin peaks of Mount Parnassus . These peaks had evaded the flood because their tremendous height transcended the clouds and reached the starry heavens.

When loud-thund e ring Zeus looked down from Mount Olympus andsaw that the earth had become one vast sea, he was satisfied. Then he noticed that one small craft had survived the devastation, and that its oc cupants were the last living representatives of humankind. As he ex amined them more closely , he recognized that they were the children of his Titan cousins . He kne w that, of all their race, these two were inno cent. They were humble and kind, and they respected the deathless gods. Therefore, he was content to let them remain th e sole survivors of the grea t catastrophe.

F;n -s<' e in g Z • :wc th e n Fr•· r-: cl f3 o rCJ S, 1\w n or·th wind , <mel Ze phyru s, t· h e

··.-'ll::,l ·..vi n •.i. l•1-'h v ru s ,_\ i > p t· l J ,.. rJ t h e t h r e1 t<:n i r1 g !)Orrn c l ou •.l:-., ,1 ncl Uc. n;·, :; blew up o n th e waters to erKo urJge them Lu r ecede . Ne x t the Lord oF Thund er com m an d ed his g reat brother, Pose idon , to put aside.hi s tr id ent and calm the turbulent surface of the sea. . .

..... . ..The Lord of the Sea obeyed his brother's w ishes a nd, in tum , com-

Lycaon 123

Did Prometheus warn Deucalion because he wanted to save his son or because he knew he was a good person as opposed to the rest of the people of the Bronze Age?

manded his immortal son, Triton, to calm the waters by blowing on his horn-like shell. Triton emerged above the waters at his father's sum-trtons; took his- f,:- hB61i-w a sharp bl st:The signal was heard fr fu· ':·:-...?.

the far eastern point, where Helius rises out of the ocean with his chariot of the sun at the break of day, to the far western point, where he descends into the ocean at the end of the day.

The sea and the river gods obeyed Triton's order and retreated from their newly acquired dominions, reluctantly returning to their customary homes. Thus, the waters gradually receded from the face of the earth, revealing the hills, trees, mountain valleys, streams, and the shambles of a civilization that had existed only a short time before. Far-seeing Zeus had restored the earth, but it had become a silent and desolate wasteland, devoid of humans to populate it.

As the waters receded, Deucalion's boat became beached upon themountainside which appeared beneath it. The lonely couple moored their boat and sacrificed to the deathless gods, first to Olympian Zeus, who is the God of Escape, and then to the local mountain gods.

Then Oeucalion announced, "Dearest Pyrrha, do you realize that we are alone upon the earth? We are the only living creatures Helius beholds as he travels each day from east to west. The great sea has buried everyone else.

"We share love and now danger, for we cannot be certain that the terrible deluge will not return. I am thankful that we have survived together. Could either of us have borne this terrifying experience alone? I think not. Without your companionship and comfort, I would have let the waters engulf me.

"I wish that I had my cunning father's talent for creation! If he could inspire me, perhaps I, too, could model clay into mortals and implant life within my creations."

Weeping for the loss of their entire race and for the desolation around them, Deucalion and Pyrrha again offered thanks to the deathless gods for their own survival. Then they decided to pray to the great Pythian oracle, Themis, because of her reputation for justice. The receding waters had disclosed her temple, and it was now accessible to them . They carefully made their descent to the Cephissus River, crossed its turbulent waters, and then cleansed themselves . They now were ready to enter g reat Themis's temple.

The flood h<d left t h e sa c red b u ildin g filth y with mud a nd moss, its ho l y a lt a r w ith o ut it s sa crecl fir e . H <Jw e ve r , De u ca li u n J n cl P yrrh ;1 humbly pros trated themselv es a nd ki ssed th e cold s tone floor. Th ey th en prayed to the great Mother Goddess and prophet:

"Oh, Themis, lover of justice, if the deathless gods have exhaustedtheir fury, if they can forgive us and be kind to us, then tell us how we

Lycaon 123

can reestablish our mortal race. Help us in our despair and desolation ."

- --:,... ....._:::::::::;... -

The Great Goddess heard their prayer and replied to them: "Leave my temple, both of you. Let your clothing hang loosely, ungathered and unbelted. Hide your faces with your clothing, and as you bend down to the earth, throw the bones of your mighty mother over your shoulders and behind your backs."

Deucalion and Pyrrha heard the words of the great oracle in stunned silence. What exactly had Themis commanded them? Pyrrha spoke first. "I must not obey the Great Goddess," she said. "If I were to remove my mother's sacred bones from her tomb, I fear that her shade would suffer in the Kingdom of the Dead."

'Would Themis request us to perform a sacrilegious act?" asked Deucalion. 'The oracle must have had a different message in mind." Con sequently, Deucalion and Pyrrha repeated the mysterious advice, hoping to discover another explanation.

Suddenly, Deucalion announced, "I think I have found an interpretation that will disturb neither the living nor the dead. The earth is our great mother, and the rocks and stones with which she abounds are her bones . Therefore, we should throw rocks and stones over our shoulders and behind our backs."

Pyrrha was not certain that Deucalion was correct. She replied, "I amhopeful, yet, Iam afraid. The idea seems safe. What harm would it do to try?"

Consequently, they loosened their clothes and veiled their heads, as the oracle had directed them . Then , they left the temple and collected rocks and stones, tossing them over their shoulders and behind their backs . When they had thrown as many as they could find and lift, they paused. The earth seemed to be stirring behind them. Since their task was finished, Deucalion and Pyrrha cautiously unveiled their heads and turned around . They gaped in wonder at the sight which met their eyes . Themis had answered their prayers.

The mountainside above them was strew n with rocks in various stagesof transformation. Those closest to them had a lready become softer. As their natur a l hardness lef t them, the rocks had swelled and elongated, g radually taking the shape and dimensions of mort al men and women. The firs t s tones they had thrown were in the most a dva nced stages of transformation . Yet even these did not show signs of being alive. Instead, th e y s tood upon th e earth like rough-hewn marble statues, which their sc ulpt o r h a d not quit e fini shed sanding and polishin g.

· rl1c .':1 :-t:.: t.) F rh:.: ,-.. l!k:-: lh.!!· i)n!·:t inPd .1ny n,·, i s lurt.: lliJd bPcn

lrJnsfor m e cl int o th e bk t) d d n d body Jiquids Ji: Less Jry For nu u rishme r1 l and li fe. T he solid pa rts of t h e rocks had been tran sfo r med in to bo n es. Th e veins which had been present iri the s tones, -rema ined in the new ly created mortals. As more time passed and their newly developed bodieswarmed into life and motion, the rocks, w hi ch Deucalion had thrown,

What are the "bones" that Themis is referring to?

Why were they instructed to veil their heads?

. • . --. t;t._::;:.: ,Lycaon 125

.;.,·

became mortal men, and those Pyrrha had thrown ecame mo,.rtalw.omen -.:::: :- ... ·;;:..;_

,

·- --' .

Which age is this the birth of?

. This new race was d estin ed to lead a hard , laborious life . How ever , h a vin g been d e veloped from st o n e a nd r ock , it w as born '"'i t h th e inn a t e abi li ty lo ba r ils bu rdens. T hese m orta l s became k n ow n as "peo p l e" (l a os in Grck) becau se thy had been crea ted fr om st on es (laas).

Then Helius once again warmed the earth with his sunshine, causing the moist land to become warm. Seeds from within the earth swelled and ripened into new life. The earth thus restored to life all the forms that had existed prior to the flood , and new ones as well.

REFLECTIONS

1. Write a science-fiction myth depicting the destruction of the world, its cause, and the recreation of man .

2 . What does Zeus's attitude about Lycaon's crime reveal about the development of Greek religion?

3. Why do you think cultures throughout the world have "flood myths"?4 . If there were going to be a flood today , what do you think Deucalion

would put into his ark? Discuss.5. When Zeus punished mankind with a flood, what do y ou think was

revealed about his values? Discuss.6. Write an essay on why the gods created a new race of man .

126 The World of Man

THE FIVE SUNS

{Aztec)

We are presently in the period of the fifth sun, but what were the earlier pe1i.ods.like?

The :first of the fiv.e suns V1.ras the Sun of the Ocelot.•that time, the ·world \Vas shrouded in darkness: and humans lived by animal instinct alone, without the benefit of reason. Lacking thought, they \\r.ere eventually all eaten by oeelots. The second sun was the Sun of Air, a Tworld of spirits and transparent beings

that may 1:eturn someday. But the humans of tllis time did not understand the necessary pdnciples to be re.deeme.d from their sins and the gods changed them all into monkeys:.

The third was the Sun of Fire. During this period, people again '\•ltere ignorant of the gods. All the rivers d1i.ed up and all creatures 'INere killed by roaring flames, vrtith tl1e exception of ilie birds, 'lifllo flew to safety. The fourth sun was the Sun of 1/Y'ater, Tlaloc, the rain god, who destroyed all the people ina flood.

The fifth is our own pe1i.od.This is the sun·where the other four principles, animal energy, air_, fire, and'.Nater, are combined and in balance. 111,re cannot take itfor granted tl1at this sun vvilllast forever; our continued existenee is dependent upon follov..". ing the "ladder of redemption" that is: contained in the...'\ztec calendar and observing rituals. If the gods are again ignored, then this sun too \Vill die and all of us witl1:it. +

How does man cause the end of each of the sun periods?

I often v;.r-onder \'lrhere lie hidden the boundaries of recognition hen'l•een man and the beast '>'l•hose h,eru.t knov,r.s: no spoken language. Through '"'hat primal paradise ina remote morning of cre.a.tion ran the snnple path by which their hearts visited each other? Those marks of their constant tread ha•'e not been effaced though their kir.ship has long be,en forgotten. Yet suddenly in some !Nordless music the dim memory vvakes up and the beast gazes into the mans face with a tender tru...c:t,. and the man looks down into its eyes vv'ith amused affection. It seems that the two friends meet masked, and vaguely knovl' •each other through the disguise.

- Rabindranath Tagore{1861-1941),Indian poet, 'The Ga1;derrer,

TI:IE BIBLICAL FALL (Genesis 3:1-24)

The serpent was the most subtle of all the ,,vild beasts that Yahvl''eh God had made. Itasked the '' 'oman) "'Did God really say you w,e.re not to eat from any of thetrees inthe garden?"' The '''oman answered the serpentJ"'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said'1:o' u mu..<:t not eat itJ nor touch itJ under pam of death.'" T11en the serpent said to the vmman,, "'No! You \'l'ill not die!God knuws in fact that on the day ynu eat it your,eyes vvill be opened and you will be like gods, knoVitillggood and evil."' The woman savr that the tree was good to eat and pleasillg to the e:ye, and that it vms desirable for tl1:e knowledge that it could give, So she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then the eyes of both of them>vere opened and they re.alized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.

The m;;u1 and his wife heard the smmd of Yahweh

Why does the serpent target the woman? What reflections can be made about this civilizations views of women?

The serpent claims that eating the fruit will open their eyes and they will know the difference between good and evil. Is this implying that nakedness is evil or knowledge

God '.valking in the garden 1n tl1e cool of the da y,_

aad of nakedness is evil?

they hld from Yahweh God among the trees of thegarden. Bl!.t Yah1-veh God called to the man. "'\\'here are you?, he asked. ""I heard the sound of you in the garden,"he replied. "'1\vtts afraid because I was naked, so I hid." '"1<\i'ho told you that you were naked?"' he asked. "'Have you been eating of the tre,e I forbade you to eat?"' The man replied, ''It was the

woman you put·w1th me; she gave me the fruit and 1 ate it., ThenY;:dy,veh God asked the woman, \'hat is this you have

. - :·_ -- :: .. ;·: :.:· ·- ...

And so man blames woman ....

• ""' o) . ....

done?'" The V!loman replied, The ser:pent tempted meand I .ate.,

Then Yah\veh God said to the serpent,, "'Because youhave done thisJ

-

Be aeeurse,d beyond all cattle,a1 l v=11d b,e.asts.:.crL .sh clerc.v{k -ern your b-e ly anJ d e.c..t ·dusteverv dav of vour life.I 1·vill make you enemies of each other;you and the \¥oman,your offspring and her offspring.Itwill crush your headand you 'i'Vill strike its heel.'"

To the '\Voman he said: '"I 1-vill multiply your pains in child-bearing, you shall give birth to your children in pain. Your yearning shall be for your husband yet he will lord it over you":'

To the man he :said_, :"Because you have listened to t1le vo:ice of yom wife and ate from the tree vv-hich I had forbidden you to eat_,

Accurs,ed he the soil because of you.·with suffering shall you get :your food fmm itevery day of your life.1t shall yield you brambles and thistlesand you shall eat ,._".il_d plants1\Y:ith sw,eat on your brm'\•shall you eat your breadrmtil you return to the soil as you were taken from it. For dust you .areand to dust )ou shall return."

The man na1ned his \'ll'ife '"'Eve-" bec-ause she w.as the mother of all those who liv,e. Yahvfeh God made clothes o ut of sKins for the man and his \v-ife, and they put them on. T1..1en -1cal1'Neh Gcd sa-id, "'See the rnan has become like one of us} \Yith his k_r10wledge of good and e;,. l. He mUc.q not he allmved to stretch ,,hls hand out next andpick from the tree of life also, and eat some and liveforever.'" So Yahweh God expelled bim from the garden

of Eden, to till the soil from liNhich he had been taken. He banished the man, and ill front of the garden ofEden he posted the cherubs, .and the flame of a flashffigsvmrd,. to guard the:wa.v to tl1e tree of life.

What is God's curse explaining about serpents?

What is woman's punishment for eating the forbidden fruit?

What is man's punishment for eating the forbidden fruit (and blaming it on woman)?

Although God was angry, how does he display compassion?

(Genesis 6:5-g:·17)

Yahv\'reh saw fuat the 1vickedness of man was great on the earth, and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing hut '\<Vickedness all day long. Yahw:eh regretted ha\ ng made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. "1._,vffi rid the earths face of Man, my own creation,'Yah\·\reh saiLd, i'and of anin1als also, reptiles tooand fh,e birds of heaven.; for I regret having made them.'} But Noah had found favor'With Yahweh.This is the story of Noah:

Noah was a good man, a man ofintegrity among his contemporaries, and he -vvaTh:ed \·Villi God. Noah became the falher of thTee sons, S:hem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth grew corrupt in Gocifs sight, and filled wifu vio11.ence. God contemplated the earth; it was corrupt, for conupt were tl1e \<\rays of all flesh upon the earth.

God said to Noah, ''The end has comefor all things of flesh; I have decided thls, because the earth is full of violence ofman's malcing, and I 1vill efface the1n fromfue earth. 1ake yourself an ark out of resinous -vvood. Make it1vifu reeds and line it \·vith pitch inside and out. This is ho\·'il to tnake it: the ]ength of the ark is to be three hundred cubits; its breadth, fifty ,cubits;. and its height, thllty cubits.1\:lake a roof for fue ark ... put the door of the ark high in the side, and make a fll-st, second, and third deck.

"For my part I mean to bring a flood, and send the ,,vateTs over the earth, todestroy' all flesh on it, every living creature under heaven; eveiything on the emth shall perish. But I will establish my Covenant lvith you, and you must go on hoard the ark, yourself, your sons, yorn wife, and your sons'' \•Vives along \\lith you. From all lhllig creaturesfrom all flesh, you must take 'hv:o of each kffid aboard the

Why did God regret creating man and other creatures?

Why is God so precise in his instructions to Noah?

aTk• to save their lives ''l' ith v•. ours·: thevJ

must be a male and a female. Of every kindolf bird, of every kind of animal, and of

' ..

H'ileiy klnd of reptilH on .the ground, twn must go vvith you so that their lives may he saved. For your part provide yourself '\·vith eatables of all kindsand: lay in a stor(i of the1n, to serve as food for yourselves andthem.'t N· Oca;:h. ·d.id, ·, t. .·h•ls; ·l1ehad ordered him.

d·i".d. a, n·.!· t'>at ·G·.o·d•

Yahweh said to Noah, "Go aboard the ark, you and all yotu: household, for you alone among this generation do I see as a goodman in my judgment. Of all the dean animals you must take s.even of each kind, both male and female; of the unclean animals y.. ou 1nust take nv-o, a 1nale and afemale (and of fue hrrds of heaven also,seven of each kind, both male and female)to propagate their kind over the -vvhole

What do you think God means by clean and unclean animals? If animals are unclean, why would God demand they be saved?

earu' ll. ;F, or m.

seevHn · d· ays,. t,ime ·• r "V.v.!·lnli 1nean

to make it rain on the earth for forty days and nights, an-d I vvill rid the earth of every living thing that I m,ade." Noah did aU that Yahweh ordered.

Noah was sii"{ hundred years old vvhent:he flood of \<Vaters appeared on fue earth.

Noah and his sons, his wife, arid his.sonsvvives hoarded the ark to escape th.Hwaters of the flood. (Of · the clean anhnals

' w

·--------- ·-·---------- - -------- ---------

and tile .animals that are not dean, of the birds ai1d all that ·crawls on the ground, two of each kind boarded the ark 'with Noah, a malle and a female, according to th·e order God gave Noah.} Seven days later the watersof the flood appear·ed on earth.

Inthe six hundredth year of Noahts life,in the second monfu and Qll the seventeenth day....

of that month, that ver.y..

da·v..1 all

the springs of the great deep brokethrough, and me sluices of heaven opened.It ramed on the ·earth for forty days andforty nights.

That very day Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth boarded the ark, 'With Noah's 1cvife and the three 'Wives of his sons. and vvith them 'Wild heasts of everv kind, cattle of every kind, r·epti1es of every kind that crm·vls on the earth, birds of every kind, all that flies, everything '\Nith vvings. One pair of aU that is flesh and has the breath of Hfe boarded the ark 1.vith Noah; and so theTe \Vent in a male and a female of every cre-ature that is flesh, just as -God had ordered hirn.

And Yahi·l,reh ciosed the door behindNoah.

;r. .+l..·!- .th th b th f "l.:.C • ·

------------

The flood lasted forty days on the earth. The waters swelled greatly on the -earth, and the ark sailed on the waters. The waters rose more and more on the earth so that all the highest mountains under the vhole of heaven ·were submerged. The vvaters rose fifte-en cubits higher, submHrging the mountains. And SO aUthings of flesh perished that moved on theearth, birds, cattle, villd beasts, everythingthat swarms on the earth, and every man. lei "ery ulli1.g "WI! • • . e · rea · · o n.Le. m ltS

nostrils died, -everything on dry land. YaJlnv:eh destroyed every living thing on the face of the earth, man and animals, reptiles, and the birds of heaven. He rid theearth of them, so -that orn.v.

Noah ,was left

and those 1<Vith him in the ark. The 1vatersrose on the earth for a hundred and fiftydays.

But God had Noah in mind, and aU the'Wild beasts and aU the cattle that vvere 'Withhim in the ark. God sent a wind acr·oss the earth and the v-va jters subsided. The springsof the deep and the sluices of heaven. 'vere stopped. Rain ceased to fall from heaven; the ·vmters gradually ebbed from the earth.

Do some math, how much time did Noah have to prepare for the flood and how long did it take for the waters to recede?

AfteT a hundred and fifty day.s, the ·waters felland in the seventh monthon the. seventeenth day of that month, the ark ean1e to n?.st on the rr1ountain of Ararat The waters gradually iell until the 'tenth month·v.rhen on the first day of the tenth month, the tnountain peaks appeared.

At the end of fod}r days Noah opene.d the porthole he had made in the ark ana he sent out the raven. This went off, and fl.e"\·V back and forth until the 1-vate:rs. dried up from the ear.th. Then he sent out the dove, to see \vhethe.r the \·Vaters ·v ere :r;e,cedin,g from ilie s Lnface of the earth. The dove, finding nowhere to perch, returned to him in the ark, for theTe was vmter over the whole sudace of the earth;· putting out his hand he. took hold of it and brought it hackinto fue, ark ""Jim him. After 'Waiting sevenmore days.again he sent out the dove fromthe ark. In the evening, the dove came backto him and there it vvas 'With a new olive branch in its beak. So Noah realized that the. \Vaters 1•\rere receding from the earth. After 1vaiting seven more days he sent out the do\'e, and novv it rehuned to hi!n no more.

It V!!'as in the six hundred and first year of Noah's life, inthe first month and on the first of the month, that the water dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the hatch of the ark and looked out. The surface of the ground was dry!

In the second month and on the l\venity-seventh day of the month, the earth·was dry.

Then God said to Noah, ''Co1ne out of the ark, you, yourself, your ·wife, your sons, and your sons' 'Wives \vith you. As for all the animals ·with you, all things of flesh,'i·'v'"hether birds or animrus or reptiles that crawl on the earth; let them he fruitful and:rnultiply on the earth."' So Noah 'W-ent out\vith his sons, his vvife, and his sons 1 •wives..And all the \Wd beasts, all the cattle, a]J] thebirds and all the reptiles that crawl on the earth·went out from the ark, one kind afteranother.

Noah built an altar for Yah"'i·veh, and choosing from all the dean animals and all the dean birds he. offere-d burnt offerings on the altar. Yahv\reh smelled the pleasing fragrance and said to himself, "Never again\viii I shike dmvn every living thing as I

have done."'*

As long as e.arth lastsSO'Ning and reaping cold and heat sun1mer and winter day and nightshall cease no more. •

THE FIVE WORLDS

(Jt.rauajo)

The preselit wo.rld is the fif-th world. In the tirst\VOrld, ther·e \Vere three heings li'l. ng m the darkness: First 1\i[an, First \7oman, and Coyote. The :first '""orld was too small and dark for them to live happily, so they climbed into the second 'l!vorld, which contained the..sun and the moon. In the ·east, there ·was blackness; :in the•vest, yello"\'l'lless; :in th.e south, blueness; and in the north, w-hiteness. Sometimes the blackness would roll fi"Dm the east and overshadow the entire \o\<orld. \<\?hen the three beings arrived :in th·e second ·world, the sun tried to make love to First \>\loman. "When .she refused, there was discord. Coyote, \>Vho understood such things.,. ·called the otheT people of the four directions togetheT.

He advised them to climb up mto the third \Vorld, a v,cide and peaceful land. Upon their ascent, they found that Coyote had been right; the new land 'i'fas beautiful. They were greeted there by the mountain people, 'ivho warned that they would all livein peace as long as they did not disturb the water serp-ent,, Tieholtsodi.

Telling Coyote not to do somethillg WttS a guarantee that he would do it. His natural curiosity got th.e better of him and he wandered dovv"ll to the sea. There he saw the 'i.c\'ater serpent Tieholtsodi's: children playing and found them so attractive that he ran off with them under his arms. Tieholtsodi became very angry and searched the world for his children, but to no . avail. Then he decided to flood the world and flush out the thlef.

As the v... ater.s rose, the people discussed ho'iv to escape the flood and, through magic, they piled the four mountains of the four direetions up, one atop the other. Still, the V >"aters continued to rise.,. cov.er:ing the first mountain, then the second_, then the third, until the people were huddled atop the fourth mountain wondering \Vhat to do. So they planted a giant reed that grev;' high into the sky..Just as: the \Vaters \Yere lapping around them, they climbed- up into the·fomth world. The last to leave was the turkey;. to this day his tail

feathers are ·white. "''here. the, fl.oodv>'ate.r washed out thec.olors.

The fourth \Vorld was: ev·en larger than the third.. Hnwev-er, it was dim and misty. There was a great river flmving through the fourth world. Human beings lived north of the river and human souls in animal form lived to its south.

About this time, humans grew quarrelsome. TI1e men constantly argued 'i'vith the \Yomen about stupid things. Each sex claimed to be the more important. The wo.men argued that, were it not for thern, everyone\vould ·die-after allJ they planted the com and harvested it, they made clothing and bore children. The men disagreedJ saying they were the moreimpmtant: Men did the rituals that guaranteed a good corn crop, plm,ved, hunted, built homes, and fathered children. In addition, thy protected the villages from attack. The ,.,,omen countered that they made baskets, cooked the foodJ and tended the fires. The arguments could not be resolved, so the men decided to leave for four years.

But neither the me.n nor the '\Vomen \Vere happy during those four years. 1\Ien and women >vere meant to be together, despite their differences, and 'vith separation came apprec-iation. Bec:ause. the wo:me11 did not k:nov1t t1:J.e proper corn rituals nor hmN to plow, the. c.orn did not grow properly and there was not enough food to go around. \1\'ith the failure of the crops_, there was little that the women could do, as they did not knovv·.ho•;N·to hunt.

The men weren't any better off than the vvomen. Four ye.ars on their ovvn made them irritable. N·ot knm'lcing hmv to process cotton, the men found their

do:tbing deteriorating into rags, and so their skin burned in the hot sun and froze in the eold weathe.r. AJthough they knew the rituals and how to plow, they had no corn, as they didn't know the right procedures for cultivation and harvest. Although they knew hovl'' to hunt, they grew . sick _and ..their teeth fell out from.che>\cing ra>v meat, ai' they knew nothing of cookini' .·\;\'orst of an, they missed the delight of having littlecloildr-e11 around..

Thus the nvo sexes realized that 'each '.Vas

incomplete ·without the other; neither \Vas the more impmtant. The women decided to overlook 1.-vhat they-considered the men's "'faults,"' and the men "forgave" the W'Omen for theirs. \\'hen they finally did get back together, it was: a period of peaee and happiness-and maa1y, many children w:e.re born in that first year togethe1".

Their peace \Vas short-liv·ed., howeverJ for Coyote:still had the children of Tieholtsodi 1.-'\rltll him. Tieholts:odi's flooding of the third ;r..•orld had been so eomplete that the \Vaters rose up into the fourth, rnaking t.e ground soft. A ne'N flood threatened the people and th.ey again stacked the four mountains on top nf each .other, planted the giant reed, and 'escapedto the fifth world, ,,·here vv1e nm< .<live.

The heaver '\vas the first tn enter the fifth world andhe returned '"r:ith very discouraging news: From what hecould see, all that 'ivas above them in the fifth world 'Nasthe bottom of a vast lake. So the people then sent the locust, 'ivho '\-Vent up to the surface of the lake.

On the :surface there \'l'ere hvo s\•.rans,. the guardians of the fifth 'i'l"orld. They told the locust that no one·could ,enter the fifth vvorld J.'lrithout passing a test. The

Why did people have to transition to different worlds?

What caused the transition to each world?

newcomers had to take an arrow; svvallmv it, pass it out by the anus, then put the arrov hack up the anus and

spit it out by the mouth. The locust knew v.ery well that most of the animals would never survive such a test. But, being a locust, he tricked the S\·vans; he knew that he co-uld pass an arrow through his.."m'l;n thorax: andsurvive. Moreover, it was apparent that the .swans hadnever seen a locust before.

So the loeu.st amazed. the S\'\'alls by passli1g au arrm.. through his m:vn thorax and he challenged the swans to dolikevvise, vvhich, of eourse, li'muld have been fatal to the:m. The swans knew that it "Would be suicide to pass an arrow through their chests, and they '"'ere impressed by the locust's courage and «magic" Sn they gave their permission for the people of the fourth world to enter the fifth.

Having endured tlNo floods because of Coyote's theftof Tieholtsodi's children, the people wanted to avoid the same problem in the fif-th world. .S:o they ordered Coyote to gi,;e the children hack. He did so and Tieholtsodi was pacified.

Upon their -entry into the fifth vwrld, the people found themselves on an island :in the middle -of tlus. vastlake. They pTayed to the Darkness Spirit, -..vlm cut a ditch to drain a'iva:y much of the Vl'ater; this ditch is today the Colorado River. Then they prayed to the four 1vinds to blow day and night to dry up the so:il on their island until more land '\'l'as available. The sun and the moon \Vere thrown up into the sk-y, and for four days the people watched the sun ascend up to its proper place in the sky.

Hmvever, ·when the sun reached that spot, 1t stoppedceasing to move at all. Everything \Vas indanger of being burned up. A great 'chiefs wife came fon'l•ard and told the people that :she had reeently dreamt that the sun \-vould not move unless a human being died. She offered herself. The pe,ople wondered sadly where her spirit had gone until, one day, a man looked down a hole and saw the woman inside it, contentedly combing her hair. Since that time, one human being has had to die 'each day in order to make the sun mnve.

How is Tieholtsodi similar to the serpent in Genesis?