History: The Epic of Gilgamesh

2800-2500 BCE

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem dating to ancient Sumeria. It recounts the tale of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh describes a cataclysmic flood sent down upon the Earth by the gods to destroy human kind. A god, Ea, revealed the plot to destroy humanity to a man, Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim built a boat which was said to bear the "seed of all living creatures." The epic of Gilgamesh is thought to be the progenitor of the Biblical tale of Noah and the Great Flood.