The Lord said to Noah, there will be a flood, a flood; Then bring these children out of muddy, muddy; Then to build him a space and an vabia. What we have heard while grilling marshmallows around campfire, at least if we grow in a certain modern Protestant tradition. As an adults, we can or may not believe that he has ever experienced a man called Noah who built an ark to save all the innocent animal species in the world from a deluge of sin. But unless we have plunged deeply into ancient history, we probably do not know that this particularly famous biblical story was not the first of its particular sub-genre. As explained in THE Haloche video aboveThere are still older world flood tales with which there is to count.
In fact, one of these myths appears in the work of oldest literature in human history, the Gilgamesh Epic. “In her, the god EA learns this divine flood and secretly warns humans of this upcoming disaster,” explains Tommie Trelawny, creator of Hochelaga. Thus informed, King Utnapishtim builds a giant coracle, a kind of circular boat “used to sail in the rivers of Mesopotamia for centuries”.
Like Noah, Utnapishtim brings his family and a host of animals on board, and after having released the worst from the storm, notes that his job was rested at the top of a mountain. Like Noah, he then sends birds to find dry land. But in the end, “history takes a strange turn: instead of being satisfied, the gods are angry”, although EA intervenes to assume responsibility and ensure that Utnapishtim is rewarded.
There are other versions with other gods, floods and ark manufacturers. In THE Religion for breakfast video just aboveThe scientist of religious studies Andrew Mark Henry compares the biblical history of Noah and the episode of Utnapishtim of Gilgamesh Epic With “the history of the Sumerian floods” of the second millennium before JC and the plus of the two centuries “ATRAHASIS EPIC”. All these versions have a good common deal, in particular the executive decision by a being (or beings) exasperated to erase the humanity which they themselves created. Ironically, we, the Moderns, probably met for the first time this story of divine anger and subsequent massive destruction in light, even joyful presentations. That the ancient Sumerians also sang in groups of young people, no clay tablet has yet revealed.
Related content:
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Has Babel's tower really existed?: A look at archaeological evidence
The epic of Gilgamesh, the work of oldest literature in the history of the world
Based in Seoul, Colin MArshall Written and broadcastTS on cities, language and culture. His projects include the substack newsletter Books on cities And the book The stateless city: a walk through Los Angeles from the 21st century. Follow it on the social network formerly known as Twitter in @ColinmArshall.
Finn founded Learnopoly to provide unbiased, in-depth online course reviews, helping learners make informed choices. With a decade in financial services, he developed strategic partnerships and business development expertise. After a frustrating experience with a biased course review, Finn was inspired to create a trusted learning resource.