What Is The Difference Between Gilgamesh And Noah's Flood

Improved Essays
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the wise man Utnapishtim talks about a flood similar to Noah's flood. It came from a powerful being and it destroyed the whole earth. However, the flood in the epic is different from that in the Bible.

First of all, the flood in The Epic of Gilgamesh lasted seven days. Noah's flood lasted one year and 10 days. This is one major reason why the two floods are different. Uh... I don't know what else to say about this...

Secondly, the flood in the story is caused by a bunch of gods, not a single God. This fact is very important in understanding the difference between the two floods. In the Bible, God tells Noah about the flood. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the god Ea tells Utnapishtim about it.

Finally, in The Epic

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Name: Ted akufffo Mesopotamian values: ideas about the nature of life and death The flood tells about the story of Utnapishtim. The city of Shurippak was corrupt, so the gods decide to bring upon a flood that would wipe out the human race. However, the god Ea, tells Utnapishtim to build a ship and to put two of every animal onto the boat with all the good people and his belongings. When Utnapishtim told the people, they laughed at him.…

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Sumer used lots of mudbricks to build. Mudbrick is a building material they use for the most important buildings at the time. Mudbrick was a was really good and cheap material. Mudbricks were easy to make. At the time it was good.…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the literary works, the book of Genesis and The Epic Of Gilgamesh it puts a focus on the use of character development. Through establishing a fundamental understanding of a characters journey for self worth. Two characters that compare and contrast these ideologies is Noah from the book of Genesis and Gilgamesh from its own epic story. Readers look at these two characters from their perspective roles as saviors for the greater good of people. However, readers may question if their fight for mere existence is just to please themselves or for the greater good of society?…

    • 1965 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Utnapishtim's Philosophy

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gilgamesh was seeking for everlasting life, hoping that Utnapishtim would disclose the secret, but his answer was not anticipated. Utnapishtim explained the calamity of the flood that devastated mankind and his path to his everlasting life. The flood in Utnapishtim’s story represented how death can easily befall mankind according to God’s will. The God’s survival symbolizes how a man can die, but mankind will continue to survive regardless of any disaster.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They both include a global flood caused by wickedness and sin. Noah and Utnapishtim were both righteous and blessed after the flood because of their deeds. The two heroes built boats to prepare for the flood, holding both animals and humans. While there are many differences, the two stories are much alike. It has been said that Christians rarely compare the two stories, but the floods were too close in detail to ignore.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Epic of Gilgamesh’s version of The Flood begins when Gilgamesh searches for Utnapishtim so he can learn how to live forever. Once met Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh how it came to be. The story beings with the god Enlil as he is gathering the other gods directed at one city and all of mankind. One of…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Will of the Gods The gods represented in Gilgamesh hold a certain resemblance to the way that humans act, and are only set apart through of their immortality, strength, and birthright as a god. The gods are above all men. They form the highest of the class system, though they are not humans in Gilgamesh they still interfere with the human world. The gods influence the humans through dreams and visions, they are the ultimate governing force for mankind, and yet they are detached from the humans and their suffering. The gods in Gilgamesh provide a window into what the lives of the Kings and upper classes of the Mesopotamian societies and how they viewed everyone else within the hierarchy.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This is because the story of the flood starts with the question of whether the reader knows the city Shurrupak that stands on the banks of River Euphrates (Sandars). The question leaves one to anticipate an answer either immediately or later in the story. It also acts as a form of capturing the reader’s attention making them keen on finding out the relationship between the city, the river and probably its inhabitants. The translation of the same account of the floods by Benjamin Foster brings about a reaction that is full of comparisons. As the story of the flood starts, it begins with Gilgamesh comparing himself to Utnapishtim in terms of the body structure (Foster et al).…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Undeniably, Noah and Utnapishtim tried to contribute in their own way to help restore the order, but did so differently through their actions, which revolved around their social differences. The last significant difference between the Bible and The Epic of Gilgamesh is the promises the god or the gods made afterward. In both literary works, they used a rainbow to symbolize their promises after their repentance and admission of guilt. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the mother goddess blamed Enlil for the flood.…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Connections to Mesopotamia What do you think of when you hear the word “Mesopotamia?” What thoughts or pictures flash through your mind as you think about “Mesopotamia?” To most people, Mesopotamia is just a word to describe a place that existed a long time before our existence. Not much is known about this mysterious place and some people may not even know what it is or where Mesopotamia is located.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the sun god, Shamash showers down loaves of bread and wheat. In Genesis, the Lord tells Noah that needs to provide the all the food and store it away. The flood lasted only lasted six days and seven nights in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but in the story in Genesis, the flood lasted for forty days and forty nights. The flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh was so severe that the gods were frightened, that they ascending to the heaven of Anu. The Gods were saddened by…

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The creation myth of the Epic of Gilgamesh starts out with the introduction of the character Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is the powerful king of Uruk and two-thirds god, and one-third man who is seen as one of the greatest things in Uruk. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a creation myth because Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that the gods are going to flood the earth and wipe out mankind as punishment , and he is told to build a massive boat for his family and “take aboard the boat a seed of every living creature” (143). Similarly, just as it states in our bible, Noah is told to build an Arc for the flood and bring two of every animal…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The reason for both floods was the behavior of the people, their sins, and wickedness. The flood in the epic of Gilgamesh was to destroy all of humankind because the Gods were annoyed. Utnapishtim and Noah both released birds to find land after the storm was over. The biblical version a dove came back with an olive leaf letting Noah know there was land.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim is considered to be the Mesopotamian Noah, just like the Noah from the Bible in the book of Genesis. Gilgamesh asks for advice and is given news that he doesn’t want to accept. That he can’t be…

    • 1457 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Old Testament Essay

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Many Christians today struggle to define the right relationship with God. We often do not believe that we need to follow God’s instructions or the words from the chose prophets in the Old Testaments. Old testaments were written many centuries ago. Christians nowadays often conclude that the instructions and words of God from the Old testaments are too old to be reflected with their daily Christian living in 21st centuries. Instead of ignoring the importance of Old testaments, we need to reinterpret in modern words and absorb the teachings from the Old Testaments.…

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays