In the Epic of Atrahasis, Atrahasis is the flood hero who builds a boat.
The Old Babylonian Atrahasis epic tells of a flood sent by the gods and a human survivor who receives a warning and constructs a large boat. The hero’s name is commonly written Atrahasis, meaning “exceedingly wise” in Akkadian. He is associated with the city of Shuruppak.
The story is one of several ancient Near Eastern flood traditions that resemble parts of the later biblical Noah narrative. In Atrahasis, the god Enki—or Ea in later usage—warns the hero, while the decision to send the flood involves the divine assembly. The text also includes the survival of animals and the preservation of life aboard the boat.
Atrahasis is not the same figure as Utnapishtim, the flood survivor in the Epic of Gilgamesh, although the Gilgamesh account incorporates a closely related flood story. Noah belongs to Genesis, while Atrahasis belongs to Mesopotamian literature. These names should not be treated as interchangeable answers.