The Flood The archetype of the flood has changed throughout time in literature. In the The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh excounterns many challenges, including a flood, on his way to find eternal life. Genesis 6 is a popular chapter in the Bible, named Noah and the Flood, about Noah and God’s punishment on the sinful people on earth through the flood. The flood, both stories encounter is a shared notion between Genesis 6 and The Epic of Gilgamesh. In Genesis 6 and The Epic of Gilgamesh there are many similarities and differences through the concept of the flood. The stories of Noah’s Ark in Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh are contrasted with how long each flood last. In The Epic of Gilgamesh the rain of the flood only last six days and six nights. Said in The Epic of Gilgamesh, “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.” (Sanders 240). Enlil, one of the gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh, sends the flood and harsh winds for only six days and six nights. In …show more content…
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the flood is sent by Enlil because mankind was being to obstructive and loud. “Enlil heard the clamour and he said to the gods in council, "The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the Babel." (Sanders 185). The flood is sent to wipe out mankind for their noisiness. In Genesis, God sends the flood to earth because mankind had evil thoughts and He could see their wickedness. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5). God sends the flood to wash away and cleanse the earth from all the wickedness and wrongdoing. The floods are sent as a warning and punishment to help mankind to fix and improve
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.
One difference that backs it up is in The Epic of Gilgamesh the rains that cause the floods only last six days, six nights and in “The Flood Story in Genesis” the rains last forty days, forty nights. A quote that tells about the flood is when Utnapishtim said, “For six days and six nights the wind blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts (pg. 25).” This quote by Utnapishtim describes how bad the weather, rains, and wind were during the six days and six nights of the storm. On the other hand in “The Story of the Flood” it rained for forty days, forty nights. While God was talking to Noah he said, “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth (pg. 48 line 4).” This quote describes how long God will have the rain go for. It also says that he is doing it to destroy all of mankind.
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.
The eleventh tablet in Gilgamesh, line 187 reads, “Punish the wrongdoer for his wrongdoing, punish the transgressor for his transgression. ”(147). Just what motivated Enlil and the gods to bring about the flood is vague at best and causes Ea and Ishtar to scold them for their foolish deed. Utnapishtim and Noah were also given detailed instructions on how the vessels were to be made and which humans and animals were allowed to board the vessels to weather the flood. One of the most noteworthy passages in Gilgamesh contains the gods’ commandment to Utnapishtim to build the boat by saying: “O man of Shurupak, son of Ubar-Tutu, wreck house, build boat; forsake possessions, seek life; reject belongings and save life!
What does society define as a hero? Is it someone who saves people from burning buildings, stops a comet from destroying the earth, or simply rescues a cat from a tree? Throughout Gilgamesh and the Flood Story of Genesis, readers may realize the differences and similarities regarding heroic characteristics between Gilgamesh and Noah. Gilgamesh has several characteristics that classify him as a hero to the Babylonians. Gilgamesh was more than “two-thirds divine and one-third human,” (para 2).
Before I explore all the differences between The Flood of Noah Vs. The Flood of Gilgamesh; I would like to discuss the similarities. First off, the God’s chose to males to take on this position. The God’s both chose Uthapishtim and Noah to be heroes because they are righteous. The Gods demanded both of the heroes to build their boat. Noah and Uthapishtim only could build one door for the ark. In both stories, the heroes had to put all species of animals on
They are both stories centered on a great flood that the God(s) send down, and they have chosen an individual (Utnapishtim and Noah) to build this boat and save life on earth because of its wickedness. Both arks were huge, although there shapes differed. Noah’s was rectangular; Utnapishtim’s was square. Some differences are that the biblical flood lasted for 40 days and night, while the Gilgamesh flood was six days and nights. In addition, in both stories birds were released to find land. In ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’, Utnapishtim received his orders in a dream while Noah received his from God. A major difference is the presence of great heroes during this time. When Gilgamesh story takes place, the gods allow half-god/half-human being to exist on earth. This was apart of the ‘Golden Age’, and in Genesis, the ‘Golden Age’ was done. Therefore, no more heroes were still alive on
In The Epic of Gilgamesh the flood started when one of the gods, Enlil, became angry when Utnapishtim and the people in the community were making too much noise. In the story Utnaphishtim said to Gilgamesh, “I will reveal to you, O Gilgamesh, a secret matter, and a mystery of the gods
The Epic of Gilgamesh records a story of a world-wide flood and pre-dates Genesis. So some claim that this invalidates the Genesis record. But P.J. Wiseman presents an interesting theory in this regard in his book Ancient Records and the Structure of Genesis (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1985).
“A man of distinguished courage or ability,admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities” (“hero”). A hero is a person who cares for people, is determined to obtain his goals, and is very brave and lets no one stop him from achieving his dreams. Gilgamesh is a man who is also part god that has lost his best friend Enkidu and now searches for eternal life due to the death of his friend. Noah is a very religious man who the Lord trusted very much and was tasked with building an arch and housing animals and his family in it to save them from an incoming flood. They are both epic heroes from their respective stories. Gilgamesh is a better example of an epic hero then Noah because he is a brave, caring, and determined person.
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.
As human beings, we are designed to belive in something. Although the belief in a higher power or religion is diverse, many theologies share common themes. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and the Hebrew book of “Genesis” are seemingly polar opposites. Christianity, demonstrated in Genesis, is monotheistic, and the Hebrews base their faith on their relationship with God. On the other hand, Sumerian philosophy, found in Gilgamesh, is polytheistic, and the Sumerian people base their theology on fear. Ancient polytheistic literature forms an archetypical pattern of the mortals trying desperately to please the gods. A mortal’s entire existence rests in the hands of the sometimes childish gods. In spite of this, these two stories
The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.