Utnapishtim is the man who builds an ark to survive the great flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In the flood narrative preserved in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim to abandon his possessions and build a large boat. Utnapishtim takes aboard his family, craftsmen, animals, and various supplies before the flood arrives. The episode is one of the best-known Mesopotamian flood traditions.
Utnapishtim is often compared with Noah because both figures survive a divinely sent flood in a large vessel. They are not the same character, however, and the stories belong to different literary and religious traditions. The biblical Noah narrative appears in Genesis, while Utnapishtim’s account is part of the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh.
The flood episode is told to Gilgamesh by Utnapishtim after the hero seeks answers about mortality. In the Akkadian tradition, Utnapishtim and his wife receive a special status after surviving.