Ogyges - The Deluge of Ogyges

The Deluge of Ogyges

The area outside of Attica including Boeotia was called by some ancient sources Graïke,the region where is mentioned the first worldwide flood in Greek mythology,the deluge of Ogyges.The Ogygian deluge, occurred during his reign and derives its name from him,though some sources regard it as a local flood, such as an inundation of Lake Copais, a large lake once in the center of Boeotia. Other sources see it as a flood associated with Attica. This latter view was accepted by Africanus, who says "that great and first flood occurred in Attica, when Phoroneus was king of Argos, as Acusilaus relates.

When this deluge has been considered global, a similarity is noticed with Noah's flood in the Bible. Various dates have been assigned to the event, including 9500 BCE (Plato), 2136 BCE (Varro), and 1793 BCE (Africanus).

Ogyges survived the deluge but many people perished. After his death, due to the flood's devastation, Attica was without kings for 189 years, until the time of Cecrops (Cecrops Diphyes). Africanus says, "But after Ogyges, on account of the great destruction caused by the flood, what is now called Attica remained without a king one hundred and eighty-nine years until the time of Cecrops. For Philochorus asserts that that Actaeon who comes after Ogyges, and the fictitious names, never even existed."

It seems the deluge of Deucalion of Greek-mythology is the Greek version of the older legend. Deucalion and Pyrrha were the only survivals after the great deluge. His son Hellen who became ruler of Phthia in southern Thessaly was the patriarch of Hellenes.