The Epic of Gilgamesh

Reading this story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, I became aware of how similar it was to other works of fiction. I ask myself the question, is this coincidence? I believe this is not the case, let’s explore.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, a story within a story occurs when Utnapishtim is recounting how he and his family survived the great flood sent down by the Gods to purge the earth of all people. In this recounting, Utnapishtim brings animals on a boat with him and his family, even using birds to see if they come back or not, to determine if the flood is over. The animals found dry land. Sound familiar? This is nearly a mirror of the Bible story Noah and the Ark (ESV Bible, Gen 6:9-9:17). However, you have to remember, The Epic of Gilgamesh was around for hundreds of years before it was recorded, and was even recorded before it occurred to anyone there might only be one God, let alone Christianity or the Bible being around. So how could this have happened?

Many Christians, among others, have their theories. Those who do not believe that the Bible is literal history, believe that those who wrote the book of Genesis copied The Epic of Gilgamesh. Some denominations of Christianity believe the stories written in the Bible are historical fact. They believe that the Mesopotamians who, over time, created The Epic of Gilgamesh were divinely inspired in the same way those who were writing Genesis were years later, so God could create this story for all to hear and understand. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘤 was a writing tool to aid the Hebrews in getting to a final product. Other denominations of Christianity believe that most of the Biblical figures and some of the stories are historical. However, most of them are fictional and meant as metaphors to convey religious meaning.. Those who think this way usually believe that those writing Genesis had heard The Epic of Gilgamesh and took great meaning out of the story of the flood. They decided to alter it to a monotheistic view, and put it in the book of Genesis as a valuable lesson for the worshipers of God to hear. So, no matter what your beliefs are, it stays true, that this was in no way coincidence. No matter what you believe, people did and still do find great morality in these stories. You don’t have to take them literally to apply them to your life and take their meaning.

This parallel happens again later when a serpent is found in the water in the garden of the gods, preventing Gilgamesh from reaching a plant that will give him youth. Sound familiar? This story is again, taking place in a garden, and a serpent is preventing man from becoming anything other than the sinful, moral, mortal, human. This same argument between religious modes of thought still stands, but again, most don’t believe this can be a coincidence.

Works Cited

Holy Bible. American Standard Version, Bible Domain Publishing, 2013