Many of the same ancient stories can be found in different cultures. Each story differs in some aspects, but the general themes can have striking similarities. One story that is paralleled in several cultures is the legend of a great, disastrous flood. The epic of Gilgamesh resembles the Bible’s story of Noah’s Ark, but specific details differ on several occasions. The story of Gilgamesh originates from twelve fire-hardened, mud tablets, written in cuneiform, in the Mesopotamian culture from around 2500 B.C.E. It has been passed down through generations for centuries, teaching obedience to gods. The story of Noah’s Ark, found in the Old Testament, seems to do the same thing; teach the importance of being obedient to God. Both sagas start with the earth being extremely populated, with no foreseen break in the continuation of a booming culture. The earth was too full. People were rowdy and reckless. Crime was widespread and grew day to day. These heretical activities would not be tolerated for long; the flood is now scheduled to arrive soon. Noah’s story creates the theme that the flood was sent because the earth had become corrupt and filled with violence, (Genesis, 6). The only way to destroy this violence was to drown everyone but the chosen few. These chosen few were hand-picked by God as good people to start a new, more wholesome and obedient civilization. Gilgamesh’s story says the reason for the flood was the volume the people created. The noise was intolerable and the gods insisted on ending the racket at once (Gilgamesh). The only reason Gilgamesh was spared is that he was informed of the flood by Ea, the water god, through a dream. Ea was one of many gods in this time. He told him to build a boat of equal width and length. He was to tear down his house for wood and tell the curious townspeople that he was instructed to leave the city and go out to sea so as to please the gods. Ea also in...
