The flood of Noah and the flood of GilgameshThe Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, after two and a half millennia of dormancy, was resurrected by British archaeologists in the 19th century. Amidst the rubble of an Assyrian palace, the twelve clay tablets recorded the adventures of the first hero of world literature – King Gilgamesh, whose oral folk tales date back to at least 3,000 BC (Harris 1 ). Tablet XI contains the story of the flood. In this essay, let us compare this account of the flood to the more recent account of Noah's flood in Genesis of the Old Testament. Column 1 of Tablet 11 begins the Sumero-Babylonian account of the flood (Gardner 226). The wise man Utnapishtim of Shurippak (100 miles south of Babylon) said: The great gods moved their hearts to bring about the Flood.[. . .] Build an ark.[. . .] Load the seed of every living thing into your ark, the boat you will build. Let its measure be measured, and let its width and length be equal. Cover it with a roof as the abyss is covered. (Gardner 226) There is no reason given by Utnapishtim for the flood. On the contrary, the Judaic version of the flood in Genesis states in Genesis 6:5-8 a very clear and explicit reason for the flood: the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. And the Lord regretted having created man on earth, and this grieved him deeply. Then the Lord said: “I will wipe out from the face of the earth man whom I have created, man, beast, creeping thing and bird of the air, for I am sorry that I have created them. » Likewise in Genesis 11:13 God gives a reason for the flood: A...... middle of paper ......ks Quoted and accessed Bailkey, Nels M. Readings in Ancient History: Thought and Experience from Gilganesh to Saint Augustine. Third edition. Lexington, MA: DCHeath and Co., 1987.Budge, EA Babylonian History of the Flood and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Montana, USA: Kessinger Publishing Co., nd Gardner, John and John Maier. Gilgamesh: Translated from the Sin-leqi-unninni version. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. Harris, Stephen L. “Gilgamesh.” The humanist tradition in world literature. Ed. Stephen Harris. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., 1970. Heidel, Alexander. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament Parallels. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949. Ignatius Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1966. Sandars. NK The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: books about penguins, 1972.