¨Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the devisings of man´s mind are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done,¨ (Genesis, 48) There is a similar story about the flooding of the earth in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but the story in The Bible is really different from the one in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Both The Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh have flood stories about destruction through the flooding of the earth and in both stories they tell about a rebirth of mankind; but they had completely different reasons why the flood happened.
These two earthly flood stories have a lot of things that would cause you to define them as two very different stories but they also have very defining traits that make them very similar. The main point that makes them similar in context is that they both had one particular person that was most faithful to their god that was to be saved and build a boat to save their families and all animals and creatures. Both Noah and Utnapishtim were told to build a very large boat to put everyone in and to keep them away and safe from the destruction of
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The time planned before the flood happened gave Ea time to prepare Utnapishtim of the upcoming flood. And when the flood had finally came, it was so strong and so terrifying that it even frightened the gods. The storm scared them so much that they ended up hiding from the storm themselves and started to regret their decision of flooding the earth. ¨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. When the seventh day dawned the storms from the south subsided, the sea grew calm...¨ (Kinsella, Kate, et. al., 27) This quote directly from the text explains thoroughly how strong and the big the storm was and how it progressed throughout its
There is no reason given by Utnapishtim for the deluge. On the contrary, the Judaic version of the Flood in Genesis states in Genesis 6:5-8 a very clear, explicit reason for the Flood:
The rendition of the historic, worldwide Flood recorded in Genesis of the Old Testament is similar to the account recorded on Tablet 11of the Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, discovered in the 1800’s by British archaeologists in Assyria. Let us compare the two in this essay.
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.
Centuries ago, two books were written with similar and different ideas. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Job have different settings although they both discuss friendship, death and mortality, pain and suffering, and characters, but individually the book of Job examines where human beings stand in the world.
At some point in every one’s life they go on a journey, whether it be a journey that circumferences the entire world or a journey of solely self-exploration. Either way a crucial part of life is going on a journey and finding out the type of person you are. Journeys are important for people because journeymen almost never end their journey the same way they started them. This is true for both Gilgamesh in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Candide in Candide. Both characters went on grand, strenuous and extensive journeys and both of them found out more about the world but more importantly more about themselves.
Both in greek mythology Hercules and Gilgamesh experience similar burnedens in their stories, although both are only half God they are well respected in their societies. Both of the societies reflected in their stories are similar not just to each other but also to society that existed in the time period in which they were written. Even though the societies reflect the society of ancient Greece they of course have major differences. Women, men, gods, goddesses, death, and loyalty are all valued differently not so much in the stories when compared to each other but differ from how they are valued in ancient greek society.
Comparing each record of the flood can reveal how different cultural and religious backgrounds explain events of the world, and despite the stories differences, their similarities prove
Most everyone knows something about the story of Noah and the great flood. It is one of the most illustrated and common stories from the Bible. The knowledge that God was angry, Noah built an ark to carry animals and then there was a flood that killed everything. Though this is the basic picture of the story, it does not capture alone the main point of the story. God’s saving grace is the message. Believe and follow in the path of the Lord and salvation will be yours. All of God’s characteristics and boundaries he conveyed spawn off of the following of this or the ignoring of His omnipotent power and being. Just like in much of the text in the Bible, you have to read between the lines to find the meaning; the same is true for Genesis 5-9.
Harold Ramis said “Every people have a different aspect”. In The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Genesis also have a different aspect. Each stories characters have a different mind and thinking. Although the both stories have a 2 difference and 1 similarity, The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Genesis are different because of number of gods and Noah’s life, but they are surprisingly similar because of used birds when they found ground.
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.
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.
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...
The epic poem is famous because it came from a culture that was unknown to moderns. Unlike other ancient culture, the Greeks, Romans, Persians, etc., the Sumerians were almost unheard of. On top of that, a portion of the epic had close similarity with the Bible or our civilization. In both books the serpent is presented negatively; a force that deprives humanity of some pleasure or immortality. In the Bible, the serpent is a deliberate force of temptation, and Adam and Eve are cast out as sinners. It is clearly depicted as an evil presence. In Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s own carelessness deprives him of immortality. In his case, the role of the serpent is necessary for him to move past his feelings toward life and death and become a better
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.
Sometimes when the gods flooded the earth it was either for good or punishment. When the myths state that the earth was flooded by a higher power, it shows that people need to be obedient to their god and do the what is right in his eyes. It can be used as a scare tactic and as a way to keep people from chaos. The Mayans flooded the earth because the first batch of people they made were too stupid. They cared to much and didn’t want stupid people.