Iapetos and JaphethHesiod’s Theogony, Iliad 15.187–93, and Genesis 9–10

To transition out of the Flood myth and focus on the survivor’s three sons, the Genesis scribes turn to the Greek myth of the Titans, especially appropriating a version of their rebellion against Ouranos, with the principals euhemerized and reshaped to fit an Israelite agenda and conception. Genesis’ Japheth is thus a refigured Iapetos, while the three sons together blend not only the Titans’ larger myths but also in their three separate fates are an adaption of the type of myth present at Iliad 15.187–93, where Kronos’ three sons draw lots to divide the cosmos.