The flood of Noah and the flood of GilgameshThe Sumerian-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, after two and a half millennia of hibernation, was resurrected by British archaeologists in 19th century. Among the rubble of an Assyrian palace, the twelve clay tablets recorded the adventures of the first hero of world literature: King Gilgamesh, whose oral folktales date back at least 3,000 years before Christ (Harris 1). Tablet XI contains the story of the Flood. In this essay we compare this account of the Flood with the more recent account of Noah's Flood in Genesis of the Old Testament. Column 1 on Table 11 begins the narrative of the Sumerian-Babylonian Flood (Gardner 226). The sage Utnapishtim of Shurippak (100 miles south of Babylon), says: The great gods stirred up their hearts to bring about the Flood.[. . .] Build an ark.[. . .] Load the seed of every living thing into your ark, the boat that you will build. Let his measure be measured; let its width and length be equal. Cover it with a roof, as one covers the abyss. (Gardner 226) Utnapishtim gives no reason for the flood. On the contrary, the Hebrew version of the Flood in Genesis states in Genesis 6.5-8 a very clear and explicit reason for the Flood: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that precisely the imagination of the Flood i thoughts of his heart were continually only evil. And the Lord regretted having made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. Therefore the Lord said, “I will wipe out from the face of the earth man whom I have created, man, and cattle, and reptiles, and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Likewise in Genesis 11:13 God gives a reason for the Flood: An...... middle of paper ......ks Quoted and consulted Bailkey, Nels M. Readings in ancient history: thought and experience from Gilganesh in St. Augustine. Third edition. Lexington, MA: DCHeath and Co., 1987.Budge, EA Babylonian Story of the Deluge and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Montana, USA: Kessinger Publishing Co., ndGardner, John and John Maier. Gilgamesh: Translated from the Sin-leqi-unninni version. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. Harris, Stephen L. “Gilgamesh.” The humanist tradition in world literature. Ed. Stefano Harris. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., 1970.Heidel, Alexander. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the parallels of the Old Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949. Ignatius' Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1966. Sandars. NK The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: Penguin Books, 1972.