Noahs Ark vs. Gilgamesh Epic - 1560 Words

The Gilgamesh Epic is an ancient Mesopotamian story about life and the suffering one must endure while alive. Included in the story, is a tale of a great flood that covered the earth, killing all but a select few of its inhabitants. This story of a great flood is common to most people, and has effected history in several ways. Its presence in the Gilgamesh Epic has caused many people to search for evidence that a great flood actually happened. It has also caused several other religions and cultures to take the same basic story, claiming it for their own. Whether in Christianity in the form of Noahs Ark, or through Mesopotamian history in the form of an immortal, the idea of a great flood has proven to be a common story throughout the†¦show more content†¦This story can be found with great variation in over two hundred separate cultures all over the globe. Though these stories are, for the most part, all unique to their own culture, they all have at least these four things in common: The cause of the flood was a moral one, and people brought it on themselves; one person is warned of the oncoming flood, and he saves himself and friends and family; the world is depopulated except for the few survivors; and animals play some sort of role. All other details differ in such a way that borrowing from the Bible or the Gilgamesh Epic is almost excluded altogether. These separate accounts from different cultures are probably recollections of an event that was never forgotten, although the details may have become blurred. All the evidence collected from the different cultures suggests that a worldwide flood did occur. A flood of this size would have needed more water than the Earth currently has. If all the water vapor in the Earths atmosphere fell to the Earth in rainfall right now, it would only increase the worlds sea levels by two inches. How could it be possible for the world to be covered in water when there isnt enough water on Earth? Two possibilities are that the water flooding the world did not just come from rainfall, and the Earth before this great flood was much different than afterwards. Many scientists believe thatShow MoreRelatedEssay on Noahs Ark vs. Gilgamesh Epic1552 Words   |  7 PagesNoahs Ark vs. Gilgamesh Epic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Gilgamesh Epic is an ancient Mesopotamian story about life and the suffering one must endure while alive. Included in the story, is a tale of a great flood that covered the earth, killing all but a select few of it’s inhabitants. This story of a great flood is common to most people, and has affected history in several ways. It’s presence in the Gilgamesh Epic has caused many people to search for evidence that a great flood actually happened. It has alsoRead MoreFlood Narrative ( Genesis 6-9 ) Vs. Epic Gilgamesh And Genesis1259 Words   |  6 PagesFlood Narrative (Genesis 6-9) vs. Epic Gilgamesh, Tablet XI The Flood Narrative (Genesis 6-9) and the Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI have certain parallels that are undeniable, yet many noticeable differences. The parallels are strange yet oddly common in any flood narrative and the differences often lie behind the reasons, responses, and decisions made by the main characters. In both texts, each of the main characters, Noah and Uta-napishti, were ordered to build an ark or a boat due to an incomingRead MoreBiblical Vs. Classical Phenomenon2078 Words   |  9 PagesBiblical vs. Classical Phenomenon Throughout the semester, we have analyzed various texts that constitute some of the most important publications in the history of humankind. These myths and legends are known as the oldest in centuries and possibly the first sight of written text that humans have encountered. Dating back to the times of traditional oral-based stories, texts such as The Epic of Gilgamesh have given humankind a sense of emergence in the old times of script and literature. The Epic of Gilgamesh