Utnapishtim
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In the eleventh tablet of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim is the wise king of the Sumerian city state of Shuruppak who, along with his unnamed wife, survived a great flood sent by Enlil to drown every living thing on Earth. Utnapishtim was secretly warned by the water god Ea of Enlil's plan and constructed a great boat or ark to save himself, his family and representatives of each species of animal. When the flood waters subsided, the boat was grounded on the mountain of Nisir. When Utnapishtim's ark had been becalmed for seven days, he released a dove, who found no resting place and returned. A swallow was then released who found no perch and also returned, but the raven which was released third did not return. Utnapishtim then made a sacrifice and poured out a libation to Ea on the top of mount Nisir. Utnapishtim and his wife were granted immortality after the flood. Afterwards, he is taken by the gods to live for ever at "the mouth of the rivers" and given the epithet "Faraway".
The Babylonian legend of Utnapishtim (meaning "He Saw Life", presumably in reference to the gift of immortality given him by the gods) is matched by a Sumerian version, the legend of Ziusudra, a name with the same meaning as Utnapishtim. The tale of Ziusudra is known from a single fragmentary tablet published in 1914 by Arno Poebel. The first part deals with the creation of man and the animals and the founding of the first cities - Eridu, Badtibira, Larak, Sippar, and Shuruppak. After a missing section in the tablet, we learn that the gods have decided to send a flood to destroy mankind. The god Enki (lord of the underworld ocean of fresh water and Sumerian equivalent of Ea) warns Ziusudra of Shuruppak to build a large boat - the passage describing the directions for the boat is also lost. When the tablet resumes it is describing the flood. A terrible storm raged for seven days, "the huge boat had been tossed about on the great waters," then Utu (the Sun) appears and Ziusudra opens a window, prostrates himself, and sacrifices an ox and a sheep. After another break the text resumes, the flood is apparently over, and Ziusudra is prostrating himself before An (sky-god) and Enlil (chief of the gods), who give him "breath eternal" and take him to dwell in Dilmun. The remainder of the poem is lost. [link]
Scholars have noted similarities between the myth of Utnapishtim and the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
See also
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