Classical Greece Reflection Paper
Being raised in a strong Christian family I was always told the story of Noah and the flood. It was one I grew up hearing often and one that I’m still very familiar with today. However, the Tale of the Flood from the Epic of Gilgamesh was one I have never heard and had to do some research to find out what it was. After reading the story I discovered that the two stories are strikingly similar. So similar in fact it looks like one would have just ripped off the other one and changed the name of the story and the characters names. The only few things that were different was that Noah was told to build the ark directly from God. Probably the biggest difference between to two stories was that in Noah’s story the flood lasted for 40 days and 40 nights and begin because of rain and groundwater. In Utnapishtim’s version the gods of heaven and hell wept and the flood lasted 6 days and 6 nights.
In the story of Noah, God sent a flood to destroy all of mankind because they were so perversely wicked and Noah and his family were the only ones who were even remotely righteous. Noah was commanded to build a boat and take 2 of every species of animals. Noah sent out birds to test if it was safe to land. Once the raven came back he landed the boat on a mountain. He offered a sacrifice to God, and God blessed Noah and his family. God signified his promise by making an amazing rainbow for all of Noah’s family to see. Now, in the tale of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh, there was a man by the name of Utnapishtim. He also lived in a very evil world and his god’s told him that they were sending a flood to destroy everyone but him and his family as they were righteous. So they ordered this hero to build a large boat that was 6 stories tall and to carry two of every species of animal. (Noah’s boat was 3 stories.) Now Utnapishtim sent out birds to see if it was safe to land. He discovered it was safe and landed on a mountain as well. He...