Sodom and Gomorrah were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by sin. They are mentioned frequently in the prophets and the New Testament as symbols of human wickedness and divine retribution, and were subsequently adopted into the Quran. The legend of their destruction may have originated as an attempt to explain the remains of 3rd millennium Bronze Age cities in the region.