There have been numerous flood stories identified from ancient sources The Bible and the Koran both have flood stories that are similarbut also share differences. The Epic of Gilgamesh also has a flood myth that is contraryto other flood accounts. Even though these stories are all dissimilar they all start becauseof the faults of man.The notion of the flood comes from a varied source in each story. In the Koran itwas Noah who asked God to flood the Earth because of mans sins while in the Bible,God called down upon Noah and told him of the plan to flood the Earth and destroy allthat was upon it because of mans wickedness. In Gilgamesh the flood comes toUtnapishtim in a dream. Utnapishtim is told that the world will be destroyed because ofmans sins.The actual boats contrasted each other in the tales. In Gilgamesh the arc wasaround six stories high and was of a square shape. The arc in the Bible was only aroundthree stories high and of a rectangular shape. The Koran does not tell much about theboat but it does show that Noah tried to warn the unbelievers about the great tragedyabout to strike their lands.The amount of passengers taken on each voyage differed. The Bible states thatNoah took only his family members and two of each animal. In the Epic of Gilgamesh itis said that Utnapishtim took not only family members but others as well includingcraftsmen and a pilot for the boat. Utnapishtim also took some of every species of animalwith him because he was told to do so in his dream.The source of the waters and the duration of the excursions were not the same. The Bible states that it rained for forty days and forty nights with the water coming fromheavy rain and ground water. It also says that after Noah landed on a mountain it took along time for the Earth to dry up. During this time Noah sent out a raven and three dovesuntil the last of the three doves did not return and then he knew the land was dry. InGilgamesh the rain...
