The Flood Story in the Gilgamesh Epic

Said Gilgamesh to him, to Uta-napishti the Distant:
~~‘I look at you, Uta-napishti:
your form is no different, you are just like me,
~~you are not any different, you are just like me.

‘I was fully intent on making you fight,~~XI 5
~~but now in your presence my hand is stayed.
How was it you stood with the gods in assembly?
~~How did you find the life eternal?’

Said Uta-napishti to him, to Gilgamesh:
~~‘Let me disclose, O Gilgamesh, a matter most secret,
to you I will tell a mystery of gods.~~XI 10

‘The town of Shuruppak, a city well known to you,
~~which stands on the banks of the river Euphrates:
this city was old — the gods once were in it —
~~when the great gods decided to send down the Deluge.

‘Their father Anu swore on oath,~~XI 15
~~and their counsellor, the hero Enlil,
their chamberlain, the god Ninurta,
~~and their sheriff, the god Ennugi.

‘Princely Ea swore with them also,
~~but repeated their words to a fence made of reed:~~XI 20
"O fence of reed! O wall of brick!
~~Hear this, O fence! Pay heed, O wall!

‘"O man of Shuruppak, son of Ubar-Tutu,
~~demolish the house, and build a boat!
Abandon wealth, and seek survival!~~XI 25
~~Spurn property, save life!
Take on board the boat all living things’ seed!

‘"The boat you will build,
~~her dimensions all shall be equal:
her length and breadth shall be the same,~~XI 30
~~cover her with a roof, like the Ocean Below."

‘I understood, and spoke to Ea, my master:
~~"I obey, O master, what thus you told me.
I understood, and I shall do it,
~~XI 30~~but how do I answer my city, the crowd and the elders?"~~XI 35

‘Ea opened his mouth to speak,
~~saying to me, his servant:
"Also you will say to them this:
~~‘For sure the god Enlil feels for me hatred.

‘"‘In your city I can live no longer,~~XI 40
~~I can tread no more [on] Enlil’s ground.
[I must] go to the Ocean Below, to live with Ea, my master,
~~and he will send you a rain of plenty:

‘"‘[an abundance] of birds, a profusion of fishes,
~~[he will provide] a harvest of riches.~~XI 45
In the morning he will send you a shower of bread-cakes,
~~and in the evening a torrent of wheat.’"

‘At the very first] glimmer of brightening dawn,
~~at the gate of Ata-hasis the land assembled,
the carpenter carrying [his] hatchet,~~XI 50
~~the reed-worker carrying [his] stone.
[the shipwright bearing his] heavyweight axe.

‘The young men were . . . . . . ,
~~the old men bearing ropes of palm-fibre;
the rich man was carrying the pitch,~~XI 55
~~the poor man . . . brought the tackle.

‘By the fifth day I had set her hull in position,
~~one acre was her area, ten rods the height of her sides.
At ten rods also, the sides of her roof were each the same length.
~~I set in place her body, I drew up her design.~~XI 60

‘Six decks I gave her,
~~dividing her thus into seven.
Into nine compartments I divided her interior,
~~I struck the bilge plugs into her middle.
I saw to the punting-poles and put in the tackle.~~XI 65

‘Three myriad measures of pitch I poured in a furnace,
~~three myriad of tar I . . . within,
three myriad of oil fetched the workforce of porters:
~~aside from the myriad of oil which was consumed in libations,
there were two myriad of oil stowed away by the boatman.~~XI 70

‘For my workmen I butchered oxen,
~~and lambs I slaughtered daily.
Beer and ale, oil and wine
~~like water from a river [I gave my] workforce,
so they enjoyed a feast like the days of New Year.~~XI 75

‘At sun-[rise] I set my hand [to] the oiling,
~~[before] the sun set the boat was complete.
. . . . . . . . . were very arduous:
~~from back to front we moved poles for the slipway,
[until] two-thirds of [the boat had entered the water.]~~XI 80

‘[Everything I owned] I loaded aboard:
~~all the silver I owned I loaded aboard,
all the gold I owned I loaded aboard,
~~all the living creatures I had I loaded aboard,
I sent on board all my kith and kin,~~XI 85
~~the beasts of the field, the creatures of the wild, and members of every skill and craft.

‘The time which the Sun God appointed —
~~"In the morning he will send you a shower of bread-cakes,
and in the evening a torrent of wheat.
~~Go into the boat and seal your hatch!" —

‘that time had now come:~~XI 90
~~"In the morning he will send you a shower of bread-cakes,
and in the evening a torrent of wheat."
~~I examined the look of the weather.

‘The weather to look at was full of foreboding,
~~I went into the boat and sealed my hatch.
To the one who sealed the boat, Puzur-Enlil the shipwright,~~XI 95
~~I gave my palace with all its goods.

‘At the very first glimmer of brightening dawn,
~~there rose on the horizon a dark cloud of black,
and bellowing within it was Adad the Storm God.
~~The gods Shullat and Hanish were going before him,~~XI 100
bearing his throne over mountain and land.

‘The god Errakal was uprooting the mooring-poles,
~~Ninurta, passing by, made the weirs overflow.
The Anunnaki gods carried torches of fire,
~~scorching the country with brilliant flashes.~~XI 105

‘The stillness of the Storm God passed over the sky,
~~and all that was bright then turned into darkness.
[He] charged the land like a bull [on the rampage,]
~~he smashed [it] in pieces [like a vessel of clay.]

‘For a day the gale [winds flattened the country,]
~~quickly they blew, and [then came] the [Deluge.]~~XI 110
Like a battle [the cataclysm] passed over the people.
~~One man could not discern another,
nor people be recognized amid the destruction.

‘Even the gods took fright at the Deluge,
~~~they left and went up to the heaven of Anu,~~XI 115
lying like dogs curled up in the open.
~~The goddess cried out like a woman in childbirth,
Belet-ili wailed, whose voice is so sweet:

‘"The olden times have turned to clay,
~~because I spoke evil in the gods’ assembly.~~XI 120
How could I speak evil in the gods’ assembly,
~~and declare a war to destroy my people?

‘"It is I who give birth, these people are mine!
~~And now, like fish, they fill the ocean!"
The Anunnaki gods were weeping with her,~~XI 125
~~wet-faced with sorrow, they were weeping [with her,]
their lips were parched and stricken with fever.

‘For six days and [seven] nights,
~~there blew the wind, the downpour,
the gale, the Deluge, it flattened the land.

‘But the seventh day when it came,~~XI 130
~~the gale relented, the Deluge ended.
The ocean grew calm, that had thrashed like a woman in labour,
~~the tempest grew still, the Deluge ended.

‘I looked at the weather, it was quiet and still,
~~but all the people had turned to clay.~~XI 135
The flood plain was flat like the roof of a house.
~~I opened a vent, on my cheeks fell the sunlight.

‘Down sat I, I knelt there weeping,
~~down my cheeks the tears were coursing.
I scanned the horizons, the edge of the ocean,~~XI 140
~~in fourteen places there rose an island.

‘On the mountain of Nimush the boat ran aground,
~~Mount Nimush held the boat fast, allowed it no motion.
One day and a second, Mount Nimush held the boat fast, allowed it no motion,
~~a third day and a fourth, Mount Nimush held the boat fast, allowed it no motion,~~XI 145
a fifth day and a sixth, Mount Nimush held the boat fast, allowed it no motion.

‘The seventh day when it came,
~~I brought out a dove, I let it loose:
off went the dove but then it returned,
~~there was no place to land, so back it came to me.~~XI 150

‘I brought out a swallow, I let it loose:
~~off went the swallow but then it returned,
there was no place to land, so back it came to me.

‘I brought out a raven, I let it loose:
~~off went the raven, it saw the waters receding,~~XI 155
finding food, bowing and bobbing, it did not come back to me.

‘I brought out an offering, to the four winds made sacrifice,
~~incense I placed on the peak of the mountain.
Seven flasks and seven I set in position,
~~reed, cedar and myrtle I piled beneath them.~~XI 160

‘The gods did smell the savour,
~~the gods did smell the savour sweet,
the gods gathered like flies around the man making sacrifice.

‘Then at once Belet-ili arrived,
~~she lifted the flies of lapis lazuli that Anu made for their courtship:~~XI 165
"O gods, let these great beads in this necklace of mine
~~make me remember these days, and never forget them!

‘"All the gods shall come to the incense,
~~but to the incense let Enlil not come,
because he lacked counsel and brought on the Deluge,~~XI 170
~~and delivered my people into destruction."

‘Then at once Enlil arrived,
~~he saw the boat, he was seized with anger,
filled with rage at the divine Igigi:
~~"[From] where escaped this living being?~~XI 175
No man was meant to survive the destruction!"

‘Ninurta opened his mouth to speak,
~~saying to the hero Enlil:
"Who, if not Ea, could cause such a thing?
~~Ea alone knows how all things are done."~~XI 180

‘Ea opened his mouth to speak,
~~saying to the hero Enlil:
"You, the sage of the gods, the hero,
~~how could you lack counsel and bring on the deluge?

‘"On him who transgresses, inflict his crime!~~XI 185
~~On him who does wrong, inflict his wrong-doing!
‘Slack off, lest it snap! Pull tight, lest it [slacken!]’

‘"Instead of your causing the Deluge,
~~a lion could have risen, and diminished the people!
Instead of your causing the Deluge,~~XI 190
~~a wolf could have risen, and diminished the people!

‘"Instead of your causing the Deluge,
~~a famine could have happened, and slaughtered the land!
Instead of your causing the Deluge,
~~the Plague God could have risen, and slaughtered the land!~~XI 195

‘"It was not I disclosed the great gods’ secret:
~~Atra-hasis I let see a vision, and thus he learned our secret.
And now, decide what to do with him!"

‘Enlil came up inside the boat,
~~took hold of my hand and brought me on board.~~XI 200
He brought aboard my wife and made her kneel at my side,
~~he touched our foreheads, standing between us to bless us:

‘"In the past Uta-napishti was a mortal man,
~~but now he and his wife shall become like us gods!
Uta-napishti shall dwell far away, where the rivers flow forth!"~~XI 205
~~So far away they took me, and settled me where the rivers flow forth.
‘But you now, who’ll convene for you the gods’ assembly,
~~so you can find the life you search for?
For six days and seven nights, come, do without slumber!’

As soon as Gilgamesh squatted down on his haunches,~~XI 210
~~sleep like a fog already breathed over him.
Said Uta-napishti to her, to his wife:
~~‘See the fellow who so desired life!
Sleep like a fog already breathes over him.’

Said his wife to him, to Uta-napishti the Distant:~~XI 215
~~‘Touch the man and make him awake!’
The way he came he shall go back in well-being,
~~by the gate he came forth he shall return to his land!’

Said Uta-napishti to her, to his wife:
~~‘Man is deceitful, he will deceive you.~~XI 220
Go, bake for him his daily bread-loaf, and line them up by his head,
~~and mark on the wall the days that he sleeps.’

So she baked for him his daily bread-loaf, she lined them up by his head,
~~noting on the wall the days that he slept.
His first bread-loaf was all dried up,~~XI 225
~~the second was leathery, soggy the third,

the fourth flour-cake had turned to white,
~~the fifth had cast a mould of grey,
fresh-baked was the sixth,
~~the seventh still on the coals:
then he touched him and the man awoke.~~XI 230

Said Gilgamesh to him, to Uta-napishti the Distant:
~~‘No sooner had sleep spilled itself over me,
than forthwith you touched me and made me awake!’
~~[Said] Uta-napishti [to him,] to Gilgamesh:

‘Come, Gilgamesh, count out your bread-loaves,~~XI 235
~~then you will learn [the days that you slept.]
Your [first] bread-loaf [was all dried up,]
~~the second was leathery, soggy the third,

‘the fourth flour-cake had turned to white,
~~the fifth had cast a mould of grey,
fresh-baked was the sixth,~~XI 240
~~[the seventh still on] the coals:
and only then did I touch you.’

Said Gilgamesh to him, to Uta-napishti the Distant:
~~‘O Uta-napishti, what should I do and where should I go?
A thief has taken hold of my [flesh!]
~~For there in my bed-chamber Death does abide,~~XI 245
and wherever I turn, there too will be Death.’
[Said] Uta-napishti to [him,] to the boatman Ur-shanabi:
~~‘[May] the quay [reject] you, Ur-shanabi, and the ferry scorn you!
You who used to walk this shore, be banished from it now!
~~As for the man that you led here,~~XI 250

‘his body is tousled with matted hair,
~~the pelts have ruined his body’s beauty.
Take him, Ur-shanabi, lead him to the washtub,
~~have him wash his matted locks as clean as can be!

‘Let him cast off his pelts, and the sea bear them off,~~XI 255
~~let his body be soaked till fair!
Let a new kerchief be made for his head,
~~let him wear royal robes, the dress fitting his dignity!

‘Until he goes home to his city,
~~until he reaches the end of his road,~~XI 260
let the robes show no mark, but stay fresh and new!’
~~Ur-shanabi took him, and led him to the washtub.

He washed his matted locks as clean as could be,
~~he cast off his pelts, and the sea bore them off.
His body was soaked till fair,~~XI 265
~~he made a new [kerchief for] his head,

he wore royal robes, the dress fitting his dignity.
~~‘Until he goes [home to his city,]
until he reaches the end of his road,
~~let [the robes show no mark, but stay fresh and] new!’~~XI 270

Gilgamesh and Ur-shanabi crewed the boat,
~~they launched the [craft,] and crewed it themselves.
Said his wife to him, to Uta-napishti the Distant:
~~‘Gilgamesh came here by toil and by travail,

‘what have you given for his homeward journey?’~~XI 275
~~And Gilgamesh, he picked up a punting-pole,
he brought the boat back near to the shore.
~~[Said] Uta-napishti to him, to Gilgamesh:

‘You came here, O Gilgamesh, by toil and by travail,
~~what do I give for your homeward journey?~~XI 280
Let me disclose, O Gilgamesh, a matter most secret,
~~to you [I will] tell a mystery of [gods.]

‘There is a plant that [looks] like box-thorn,
~~it has prickles like a dogrose, and will [prick one who plucks it.]
But if you can possess this plant,~~XI 285
~~[you’ll be again how you were in your youth.]’

Just as soon as Gilgamesh heard what he said,
~~he opened a [channel] . . . . . .
Heavy stones he tied [to his feet,]
~~and they pulled him down . . . to the Ocean Below.~~XI 290

He took the plant, and pulled [it up, and lifted it,]
~~the heavy stones he cut loose [from his feet,]
and the sea cast him up on its shore.
~~Said Gilgamesh to him, to Ur-shanabi the boatman:

‘This plant, Ur-shanabi, is the "Plant of Heartbeat",~~XI 295
~~with it a man can regain his vigour.
To Uruk-the-Sheepfold I will take it,
~~to an ancient I will feed some and put the plant to the test!

‘If the old man grows young again,
~~I will eat it myself, and be again as I was in my youth!’~~XI 300
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
~~at thirty leagues they stopped for the night.

Gilgamesh found a pool whose water was cool,
~~down he went into it, to bathe in the water.
Of the plant’s fragrance a snake caught scent,~~XI 305
~~came up [in silence], and bore the plant off.

As it went away it sloughed its skin.
~~Then Gilgamesh sat down and wept,
down his cheeks the tears were coursing.
~~. . . [he spoke] to Ur-shanabi the boatman:~~XI 310

‘[For whom,] Ur-shanabi, toiled my arms so hard,
~~for whom ran dry the blood of my heart?
Not for myself did I find a bounty,
~~[for] the "Lion of the Earth" I have done a favour!

‘Now far and wide the tide is rising.~~XI 315
~~Having opened the channel I abandoned the tools:
what thing would I find that served as my landmark?
~~Had I only turned back, and left the boat on the shore!’

At twenty leagues they broke bread,
~~at thirty leagues they stopped for the night.~~XI 320
When they arrived in Uruk-the-Sheepfold,
~~said Gilgamesh to him, to Ur-shanabi the boatman:

‘O Ur-shanabi, climb Uruk’s wall and walk back and forth!
~~Survey its foundations, examine the brickwork!
Were its bricks not fired in an oven?~~XI 325
~~Did the Seven Sages not lay its foundations?

‘A square mile is city, a square mile date-grove, a square mile is clay-pit,
~~~~~half a square mile the temple of Ishtar:
~~three square miles and a half is Uruk’s expanse.’