In the Epic of Gilgamesh, how long does the great flood last?

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the great flood lasts six days and seven nights.

Utnapishtim describes the disaster when he tells Gilgamesh how the god Ea instructed him to build a boat. After the storm begins, the flood overwhelms the land and the boat is battered by the waters. The text then states that the storm and flood continue for six days and seven nights before the weather clears.

This duration is one of the poem’s most recognizable numerical details. It should not be confused with the forty-day period associated with the flood story in Genesis, a much later biblical tradition. Mesopotamian flood narratives existed in several forms, and their details are not identical.

The flood account in Gilgamesh also includes the release of birds to find dry land. Utnapishtim eventually leaves the boat, makes an offering, and receives exceptional immortality from the gods.