Compare and Contrast Gilgamesh Flood and Noah's Flood
Jessica Micheaux
Professor Barbara Cade
World Lit Engl. 2302
30 January 2012
“The Comparisons and Contrast between Gilgamesh Flood & Noah’s Floods” I was asked to compare and contrast using the story of Gilgamesh’s flood and Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6:9). A good number of people know the famous story Noah’s flood, but do they know how it resembles to the Gilgamesh flood story? The main stories are so alike; the main theme is the biggest comparisons between the two. They also contrast greatly in the smaller details in the events that take place. The Epic of Gilgamesh was a story passed down through generations as a folk tale that they believed to be true; no singular author was ever established for the story. The stories are very much the same, but when comparing the details within they are very different. Even though the flood of Gilgamesh took place in 2000 B.C, while Noah’s Ark (Genesis flood) took place much later then the Gilgamesh flood. Most likely intended the original story with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, the differences are revealed in a number of different topics that distinguish the biblical version of the story from the ancient version. Now, I will give you some examples of the differences between the two stories of Noah’s Ark and Gilgamesh flood. For example, the boats where different, the Gilgamesh boat looked like a tall building, in saying that it was built in one day. With that being said, Noah’s Ark was really a boat that took time to build clearly. Another difference was the Gilgamesh flood had a boat full of people, while Noah’s Ark had only eight people and the rest was animals two of each. The Epic of Gilgamesh storm only lasted seven days compared to Noah’s ark which lasted forty days and forty nights. Then also with the Gilgamesh people they looked for a stone at the end of storm whereas Noah’s people looked for a rainbow. The Epic of Gilgamesh believed that life forever was in a
Professor Barbara Cade
World Lit Engl. 2302
30 January 2012
“The Comparisons and Contrast between Gilgamesh Flood & Noah’s Floods” I was asked to compare and contrast using the story of Gilgamesh’s flood and Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6:9). A good number of people know the famous story Noah’s flood, but do they know how it resembles to the Gilgamesh flood story? The main stories are so alike; the main theme is the biggest comparisons between the two. They also contrast greatly in the smaller details in the events that take place. The Epic of Gilgamesh was a story passed down through generations as a folk tale that they believed to be true; no singular author was ever established for the story. The stories are very much the same, but when comparing the details within they are very different. Even though the flood of Gilgamesh took place in 2000 B.C, while Noah’s Ark (Genesis flood) took place much later then the Gilgamesh flood. Most likely intended the original story with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, the differences are revealed in a number of different topics that distinguish the biblical version of the story from the ancient version. Now, I will give you some examples of the differences between the two stories of Noah’s Ark and Gilgamesh flood. For example, the boats where different, the Gilgamesh boat looked like a tall building, in saying that it was built in one day. With that being said, Noah’s Ark was really a boat that took time to build clearly. Another difference was the Gilgamesh flood had a boat full of people, while Noah’s Ark had only eight people and the rest was animals two of each. The Epic of Gilgamesh storm only lasted seven days compared to Noah’s ark which lasted forty days and forty nights. Then also with the Gilgamesh people they looked for a stone at the end of storm whereas Noah’s people looked for a rainbow. The Epic of Gilgamesh believed that life forever was in a