In the Epic of Gilgamesh, how many days did the flood storm last before the vessel became calm?

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the flood storm lasted six days and seven nights before the vessel became calm.

This duration appears in the Utnapishtim flood narrative in Tablet XI of the standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. The storm is described as overwhelming and destructive, after which the boat came to rest and Utnapishtim opened a hatch to look outside.

The figure differs from Genesis, where rain falls for 40 days and 40 nights. These are separate literary traditions, so the numbers should not be merged or treated as alternate verses of one account.

After the storm, Utnapishtim sends out birds to discover whether the waters have receded. The sequence includes a dove, a swallow, and a raven, although details and translations can vary across editions of the ancient poem.