In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim is the flood hero often compared with Noah of Noah's Ark.
Utnapishtim appears in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, especially in the epic's flood narrative. The god Ea warns him of a coming flood and tells him to build a large boat, preserve life, and survive the destruction. After the flood, Utnapishtim releases birds to determine whether the waters have receded.
These parallels are why scholars and readers commonly compare Utnapishtim's story with the account of Noah in Genesis. Both narratives include divine warning, a large vessel, preservation of life, a devastating flood, and birds sent out afterward. The stories are not identical, however. Their characters, gods, settings, literary forms, and theological purposes differ.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is preserved in Akkadian cuneiform tablets, with the best-known flood account appearing on Tablet XI. The poem itself is much older than the surviving medieval or modern copies, and it developed within Mesopotamian literary traditions.
Utnapishtim is therefore the specific name sought here, not Gilgamesh, the epic's central king, or Enkidu, his companion.