Every culture has a flood story. Not every detail is the same, but for the most part, each story has the same general idea. Tablet Eleven of Gilgamesh,a Mesopotamian epic, tells Mesopotamia’s take of the great flood, all taking place in there. Genesis, the first book in the sacred scripture used by Christians called the Holy Bible, also details a flood story. This flood story takes place in an unidentified place, but ends in Turkey. These stories have a lot in common, but have differences that are common in stories told by different people. Both the flood story from Gilgamesh and from the Bible have a common plot. A god floods the world due the the flaw of humans. Though this is a similarity, the flaw of the humans are different. In Gilgamesh, the god Enlil floods a city because the humans were too loud. In Noah, the flood story from the Bible, God floods the whole world because the humans were corrupt and lawless. In both stories, one man is chosen to survive the storm. In …show more content…
One of them being do what God, or a god, tells you to do. Although this is a common theme, it is shown differently in each story. In Gilgamesh, Uta-napishtim is forced to do what Ea tells him to. If he does not he risks angering the gods further. In Noah, Noah has the choice about whether to build the ark or not. Even though the choice is more whether to live or die, he still has the choice. Both stories include a rule for humans, but the rule is different in each story. In Gilgamesh, the rule is do not be noisy because you may anger the gods. In Noah, the rule is do not be corrupt because then God will have to get rid of the corruption. The stories differ in the way animals are treated. In Gilgamesh, all animals are treated the same way. In Noah, there is a hierarchy of animals where some are deemed clean where others are deemed unclean. While there are some similarities to the themes of the flood stories, they have some significant
Lorey, F. 1997. The Flood of Noah and the Flood of Gilgamesh. Acts & Facts. 26 (3) Web. 4 Feb. 2014. When reading the story, someone can take many different viewpoints. In the article above, the author is analyzing the Epic of Gilgamesh through a creationists view point.
Perhaps the most popular comparison with Noah's Flood is that of an ancient Babylonian story of a similar flood. A quick look at the text does show some key similarities between them however there are also some pointed differences. I will show you both and let you decide whether there is or is not a connection.
The theme in Gilgamesh, Genesis and Sur 11 are comparably the same in that the people in each story were with sin and wickedness. In all three literatures, the people in the beginning were mean and sinful. The people in the Epic of Gilgamesh were evil and when Gilgamesh came to power he did not known what to since it was his first time beinging king. So, he would rule in a stern way to keep the people from sin. On Genesis God wanted to flood the Earth from the people who were sinful. God asked Noah to build an ark and to take his family and two of each animal.
Isaak, Mark. "Flood Stories from Around the World." The Talk. Origins Archive. 4 July 2004. <http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html>
is the idea of a divine being or, in other words, god. Early humans were
Noah’s Ark is the story of a man who builds a boat for animals and his family to escape a fatal flood. The flood was caused by God because he was dismayed by the evilness of humans. In the end, Noah, most of the animals and his family survived and God swore that he would never destroy humankind again. The Flood of Gilgamesh is a story in which the gods are infuriated by the obnoxious behavior of humans, so Utnapishtim builds a boat to save his family and animals from a destructive flood. They survived and the Gods gave Utnapishtim immortality thanking him for his actions and apologized for destroying humankind.
The Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, after two and a half millennia of dormancy, was resurrected by British archaeologists in the nineteenth century. Amid the rubble of an Assyrian palace, the twelve clay tablets inscribed the adventures of the first hero of world literature – King Gilgamesh, whose oral folk tales go back to at least 3000 years before Christ (Harris 1). Tablet XI contains the story of the Flood. In this essay let us compare this flood account to the more recent Noah’s Flood account in Genesis of the Old Testament.
Almost every culture or ancient civilization has a flood story. For example, in the Old Testament, there was a flood story that lasted forty days and forty nights. In the Sumerian civilization, there is a flood story as well. The motive for the flood story in the Old Testament is similar to the motive in the flood story in the Sumerian culture. This motive was to punish the wickedness of men. The flood happened in a city called Shurrupak. It stands on the bank of the Euphrates River. The city grew old and the gods that were in it grew old. The city was in an uproar and the god Enlil heard the clamor and he said to the god in the council, “The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the babel.” (Bailey 59.) The gods decided to exterminate mankind. “For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts.” (Bailey 57.) Even the gods were terrified at the flood, they fled to the highest heaven, the firmament of Anu.
How to Treat a God One of the most fascinating aspects of the ancient epic is the window it provides into the relationship between humans and their gods. Just as the hero of the classical epic represents an embodiment of the ideals of that society, observing the interactions between an epic’s hero and his gods, can provide some of the most revealing insights into the fascinating relationship between a given society and their gods. Through careful analysis of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homers’ The Odyssey, we learn of similarities between the Greek and Sumerian relationship with their gods, in that both the goddesses Ishtar and Circe are revered, feared, and idolized by the hero; and of the differences between the two empires’ divine relationships, as Odysseus treats Circe much more as one would a human, than
The roles of Noah and Utnapishtim in the Flood Myths are quite similar. There are several differences regarding the two flood myths, but the general idea behind the two remains consistent. In the Mesopotamian Flood Myth, the Gods were overwhelmed by the amount of humans that existed on Earth and were unable to sleep due to the noise of men. So they decided to "exterminate mankind." While in the Hebrew story of Noah and the Flood Myth, God grew tired of the evil that had plagued mankind and engulfed the earth. So God decided to start the world over to undue the mistakes of man. Both of these stories display an attempt by the Gods to start the world over to cleanse the earth. Both Utnapishtim and Noah were spoken to by Gods and asked to build large boats from which all who were to be spared would seek shelter during the storm. Both men were allowed to spare the lives of their family via the safety of the boats. Also, the method used by the Gods in these myths are the same, the skies would rain down upon the earth flooding the land and killing all who were not ordered onto the boats.
The flood story that is told in The Epic of Gilgamesh has the same principle as the story of Noah told in the book of Genesis in the Bible, but there are some major differences. In the epic, Utnapishtim is immortal and, although Noah was extremely old when he died, he wasn’t immortal. Utnapishtim was a human, but because he saved mankind, Enlil said, “Hitherto Utnapishtim has been a human, now Utnapishtim and his wife shall become like us gods.” (Gilgamesh 11.206-207) In the Biblical story, God told Noah that he was going to send a flood and asked him specifically to make the ark in order to save mankind. In Genesis 6:13-22, God tells Noah why he’s flooding the earth and exact instructions to build the ark. “13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[b] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[c] high all arou...
In both versions of the flood story something angers God (in Genesis) and the gods (in Gilgamesh). "The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reasons of the babel" (Gilgamesh 12). The Gilgamesh reason seems very illogical. The Gods decide to destroy mankind because they are making too much noise. It seems that the gods didn't think over their decision wisely. They are gods, wouldn't they have the power to block out the sound? One would think so, but obviously that was not the case. This is the first major difference between the two stories.
Some of the simpler similarities are that the extent of the flood reaches every part of the earth, the flood is intended to destroy mankind, aside from the heros and their families, Utnapishtim and Noah are found righteous by their God or gods, and they build an ark to certain qualifications. An example of a less obvious similarity is the location of where the arks first touche land. In the general sense, they both landed on a mountain: Noah’s “ ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventh day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 75) and Utnapishtim's “boat stuck fast beside Mt. Nimush” (Gilgamesh 57). Taking this information a Step deeper reveals that Mt. Ararat and Mt. Nimush are about 300 miles apart. Both boats land in a relatively close proximity. Further proving the idea that the Sumerians and Hebrews experience the same event. Utnapishtim’s and Noah’s lives are dramatically changed by the flood. They sacrifice all that is familiar to them in order to receive the blessings of God or the gods. The heroes are both examples of a term I will call the archetypal path of blessing. Utnapishtim and Noah are both comfortable with what they have before the flood, but as Christopher Columbus States “One can never cross the ocean until one has the courage to leave the shore.” Utnapishtim and Noah give up what is ordinary to receive what is great. The blessings of both characters exceed
You may think Jesus isn't an epic hero or you may ask how is he an epic hero, but his story is more of an epic than you would think. On the other hand, Gilgamesh has the story and the characteristics of a good old fashion epic hero, that was brave, a strong fighter, and didn't back down for nothing. But Jesus never fought his enemies he fought them with love, and he was one hundred percent god on earth but Gilgamesh was only ⅔ god. Gilgamesh and Jesus have a good amount of differences. And in this essay I will be explaining the differences and similarities between these two godly figures abilities, the purpose of their quest,and what makes them very different from all humans on earth.
When two people are so much alike yet so different, it makes a comparison of Gilgamesh and Odysseus an interesting subject. Both the stories of “Gilgamesh” and “The Odyssey” show that the characters were successful warriors with many adventures to be told. Gilgamesh and Odysseus are human with many god-like qualities. Their perception of immortality, as well as regard for death and the influences of the gods in their lives and adventures, are similar; however, the characters have many differences.