Abstract This paper is an examination of the ancient Mesopotamian creation and flood myth in the story of Atrahasis. Comparisons are briefly made to other Indo-European tales and myths, including Ulysses, Prometheus and Noah from the Judeo-Christian bible. The paper primarily looks at evidence of daily life in the myth of Atrahasis itself with only some comparison to outside tales.
From the Paper "Archaeology has recovered numerous myths from ancient Mesopotamia in the form of stone steles, wall carvings, and especially clay tablets. Most of these stories were written in Akkadian, the general term for a few of the languages of the ancient Sumerians. The stories were originally passed down in an oral cultural history for many hundreds or even possibly thousands of years before they were written in cuneiform. From the Atrahasis and Creation myths of ancient Sumeria and Mesopotamia one can learn a great deal about the beliefs and daily lives of the people that told and wrote them down."
Abstract The intent of this research analysis is to compare and contrast multiple versions of the flood myth, in order to identify the predominant motifs that drive the flood myth and to discern the similarities and differences between each of these tales. The analysis begins with a brief review of each of the flood myths highlighting important events, then continues by comparing and contrasting the similarities and significance of each of the flood myths relative to contemporary society. The paper finds multiple parallels in each of the stories mentioned. The primary similarity includes the presence of gods or a God that facilitates the flood. However, the paper also finds that while each of the flood myths share many similarities, they differ in many respects, particularly with regard to the flood motif.
Outline:
Introduction
Biblical Version: Israelitic Genesis 6-9: Story of Noah
Babylonian Atrahasis and Epic of Gilgamesh Motif
Hellenistic Babylonian Berossos - Motif
Babylonian Erra and Ishum - Motif
Comparisons and Similarities
Contrasting the Motifs
Summary of Similarities
Conclusions and Synopsis
From the Paper "Most cultures or societies share their own unique version of the Great Flood Myth. While many associate the Great Flood with biblical versions of the tale that involve Noah, in reality the flood story enjoys and ancient and relevant history. The biblical version of the flood story, often referred to as the Genesis account, suggests that God sent the flood to rid the world of wickedness resulting from mankind's wrongful ways. Sin therefore acted as the motivation for the flood. Multiple versions of the flood myth however predate the Genesis account. Many of these arose in the Near East, with versions evident from Mesopotamia, including the "Babylonian Flood Myth" (Crapo, 2000). The Babylonian version (s), often dated to 2,000 BCE provide many similarities to the Genesis version."
Abstract Compares the Mesopotamian flood stories of Gilgamesh and Atrahasis to the Biblical account of the flood found in Genesis. By comparing these three texts, the paper demonstrates that although they share similar events, the Biblical account establishes an entirely different rationale for the occurrence of the flood, and uses the story to define characteristics of the Israelite God that are not present in the earlier Mesopotamian texts.
From the Paper "The Biblical flood story contained in Genesis and the Mesopotamian flood stories of Gilgamesh and Atrahasis contain similar themes, language, events, and details that would lead one to believe that the text produced later chronologically, the Biblical account, draws on the earlier Mesopotamian accounts, or the Biblical narrative and the Mesopotamian stories both draw on a document produced at an even earlier date. The differences in the details of these stories, however, make the interpretation of them significantly different for the societies from which they are drawn."
Abstract The flood story recurs in many ancient civilizations, even in distant parts of the world, though the nature of the story may be very different in some cultures. The paper shows the links between the flood story as told in the ancient Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh and the flood story of Noah as told in Genesis. There is recent evidence that there may have been a great flood in the area of the Black Sea which may have become a continuing tribal memory that was eventually embodied in "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and reshaped to fit the theology of the Israelites for the tale told in Genesis. The paper shows that the two versions of the flood story have many points of agreement, suggesting that they are somehow connected, although in the Noah story, the role of God differs from the role of the gods in Gilgamesh.
From the Paper "In the Atrahasis version of the story, the Flood portion of the text, which is quite damaged, presents a narrative account of Mesopotamian primeval history that parallels the version in Genesis 1-11 inclusively. The Flood Story in Atrahasis is more than twice the length of the Gilgamesh version. While they seem to tell the same story, the function of the floods in the two epics is quite different. In Atrahasis, the flood is a means of population control and a divider of epochs, while in Gilgamesh, it explains how immortality was once granted to a mortal. The Atrahasis Epic begins with the creation of humankind because the labor-class gods are tired of the heavy tasks imposed on them by the management-class gods."
Abstract In this paper, the writer examines the Genesis account of Noah's flood story. The writer compares and contrasts the story of Noah with the flood recounted in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In this article, the writer also discusses the flood stories of other Ancient Near Eastern cultures, such as China.
From the Paper "There are few myths that are as prevalent in all societies and religions as the myth of a great flood that washes clean the earth and cleanses it of evil and sin. As Frank Lorey explains 'There have been numerous flood stories identified from ancient sources scattered around the world'. The stories that were discovered on cuneiform tablets which comprise some of the earliest surviving writing have obvious similarities. Two of the oldest and most identical accounts of flood mythology in the Ancient Near ... "
