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Flood myth

A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeval waters which appear in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who "represents the human craving for life".[1]

"Great Flood" redirects here. For other uses, see Great Flood (disambiguation).

The flood-myth motif occurs in many cultures, including the manvantara-sandhya in Hinduism, Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek mythology, the Genesis flood narrative, the Mesopotamian flood stories, and the Cheyenne flood story.

Matsya-avatara of Lord Vishnu pulls Manu's boat after having defeated the demon.

Matsya-avatara of Lord Vishnu pulls Manu's boat after having defeated the demon.

Nanabozho in Ojibwe flood story from an illustration by R. C. Armour, in his book North American Indian Fairy Tales, Folklore and Legends (1905)

Nanabozho in Ojibwe flood story from an illustration by R. C. Armour, in his book North American Indian Fairy Tales, Folklore and Legends (1905)

The Great Flood, by anonymous painter, The vom Rath bequest, Rijksmuseum

The Great Flood, by anonymous painter, The vom Rath bequest, Rijksmuseum

The Deluge, by Francis Danby, 1840. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery

The Deluge, by Francis Danby, 1840. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery

Noah's Ark from the Zubdat al-Tawarikh in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, dedicated to Sultan Murad III in 1583

Noah's Ark from the Zubdat al-Tawarikh in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, dedicated to Sultan Murad III in 1583

Bølling–Allerød warming

List of flood myths

Sea level rise

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Translated by Andrew R. George (reprinted ed.). London: Penguin Books. 2003 [1999].  0-14-044919-1.

ISBN

Bailey, Lloyd R. Noah, the Person and the Story, University of South Carolina Press, 1989.  0-87249-637-6

ISBN

Best, Robert M. Noah's Ark and the Ziusudra Epic, Sumerian Origins of the Flood Myth, 1999,  0-9667840-1-4

ISBN

(1878). "Deluge" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. VII (9th ed.). pp. 54–57.

Cheyne, Thomas Kelly

Dundes, Alan (ed.) The Flood Myth, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988.  0-520-05973-5

ISBN

Faulkes, Anthony (trans.) Edda (Snorri Sturluson). , 1987. ISBN 0-460-87616-3

Everyman's Library

Greenway, John (ed.), The Primitive Reader, Folkways, 1965.

Grey, G. Polynesian Mythology. Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1956.

Lambert, W. G. and , Atra-hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood, Eisenbrauns, 1999. ISBN 1-57506-039-6

Millard, A. R.

Masse, W. B. "The Archaeology and Anthropology of Quaternary Period Cosmic Impact", in Bobrowsky, P., and Rickman, H. (eds.) Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society: An Interdisciplinary Approach Berlin, Springer Press, 2007. pp. 25–70.

Reed, A. W. Treasury of Maori Folklore A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1963.

Reedy, Anaru (trans.), Nga Korero a Pita Kapiti: The Teachings of Pita Kapiti. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch, 1997.

Like many other elements from around the world, the story of flood survival and human restart (motif A 1021.0.2 and associated elements) appears in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature.[1]

folk-tale