Great Flood Myths: Different Cultures Have Similar Myths

Nearly every culture in every region of the world has a myth about a great flood that was sent to earth from a higher being in order to punish humans for their transgressions and cleanse the world of impurity. In Europe, there are Greek, Germanic, and Irish versions of the tale; there are Sumerian, Hebrew, and Babylonian renditions in the Middle East; the Americas are home to Aztec, Hopi, Incan, and Mayan interpretations; there are Indian, Chinese, and Indonesian versions in the East; and Australian Aboriginal and Polynesian adaptations come out of the Pacific region ("Flood (mythology)"). In particular, the Epic of Gilgamesh from Sumeria, the ancient Greek story of Zeus's flood, and the Judeo-Christian story of Noah and the flood are three of the most prominent versions of the myth that we have record of today.

In the Sumerian flood myth, as explained in the eleventh tablet of The Epic of Gligamesh, Enlil, the god of the sky and the air is upset by the cacophony of noise that humans are making on earth and decides to wash them all away with a massive flood. The water god, Ea, or Enki, then indirectly advises Utnapishtim, a righteous king, to build a boat to save his family and a few of each animal. After having drifted on the floodwaters for a week, Utnapishtim sends birds out to search for dry land. When a raven does not return to the ark, Utnapishtim makes a sacrifice to Ea and is granted eternal life at the edge of the earth. (The Epic of Gligamesh; Tablet XI). The idea that it was mankind's excessive noise that caused Enlil to send down his deluge points out that the Sumerians were probably a very peaceful group of people who valued quiet and calm. It is also important that Utnapishtim makes a sacrifice to Ea in that we are shown that he is a thankful, humble man who gives his god, not himself, credit for being saved from the flood.

In the Greek account of the flood, Zeus, the ruler god, hears rumors of mankind's wickedness. To test this, he becomes a man and comes to earth, where he is treated inhospitably, verifying his belief that the human race should be wiped out. Zeus then settles on an immense flood as means to destroy the world, and calls upon his brother, Poseidon, the god of the sea, to assist him. Only Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha, who are devoted to Zeus and the gods survive the flood and are responsible for repopulating the planet. They have a son, Hellen (whom the Greeks attributed their lineage to, thus their name, the Hellenes), and they are given the ability to create humans by tossing stones over their shoulders as they walk. The earth, Gaia, then proceeds to recreate animal and plant life. (Morford 98-101). The fact that Zeus sent the flood because he was not treated well by humans illustrates the point that the Greeks valued those who were friendly and who warmly accepted visitors and travelers into their homes. The idea that Deucalion and Pyrrha were not only saved, but given god-like powers after they were saved shows that the Greeks believed that at any moment, a human could get swept up in a god's plan and either be rewarded greatly or punished severely for their past actions.

The Hebrew flood story, as found in Genesis, starts when God sees that humans on earth have become sinful and wicked. He decides to send down a flood to destroy humankind, but saves Noah, a righteous and blameless man, and his family. God then tells Noah to build a great ark so that he and his family, along with seven of every clean animal and two of every unclean animal may escape the floodwaters. After forty days and forty nights of flooding, a wind was sent to stop the rain. Noah then sent birds to find dry land; when a dove came back with a fresh olive leaf, Noah knew that the water had receded and came out to build an altar on which he would make a sacrifice to the Lord. God then proceeded to promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood. (NIV Study Bible, Genesis 6-9). Since it is man's wickedness and sin, in this story, that causes the flood to be sent, it is clear that the Hebrew culture valued religious law above all else and saw disobeying God as the ultimate evil. As in the Sumerian myth, it is significant that Noah builds an altar to make a sacrifice to God because it shows us not only that the Hebrews greatly valued the worship of God, but also that Noah is thankful for his life being saved rather than angry with God for his race being saved. This attitude implies that the Hebrews trusted God and had confidence in that anything he did was ultimately right.

Despite the obvious discrepancies of each of the stories, each culture's account of the great flood is similar in structure: a god perceives humans to be highly flawed and sends a flood to destroy the entire race, but one person or group of people manage to survive and repopulate the earth. These acute similarities in the versions of this story imply that there are universal meanings to the idea of the flood. First, human beings in all cultures view themselves as lesser beings than the gods and understand themselves to be at the mercy of the gods. This is shown by the reiterated idea that the flood is a punishment for mankind's extensive faults. Each of the people who are saved from the flood are people who are devoted to their deities and are righteous people, which emphasizes the idea that all cultures appreciate religious dedication and respect those who have high moral standards. The fact that the stories specifically use a flood for the means of destruction brings in the idea that water is considered worldwide not only as physically cleansing, but also spiritually cleansing. Lastly, the chance of there actually being a historical great flood improves greatly with the idea that the same story is reported in similar fashions over the entire world. Overall, the various flood legends of the world serve to unite intercultural beliefs and prove that what is generally dismissed as a myth may actually have historical basis in reality.
Works Cited

The Epic of Gligamesh. The Academy for Ancient Texts. 18 Sept. 2006

"Flood (mythology)". 17 Sept. 2006. Wikipedia. 18 Sept. 2006

Morford, Mark P.O. and Lenardon, Robert J. Classical Mythology. New York: Oxford Univeristy Press, 2007.

The NIV Study Bible. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1995.