What is the name of the ancient Mesopotamian flood poem whose hero is Atrahasis?
Answer
The Atrahasis Epic
Answer
The Atrahasis Epic
The ancient Mesopotamian flood poem featuring Atrahasis is called the Atrahasis Epic.
The work is an Akkadian poem preserved on clay tablets and named after its central human hero, Atrahasis. In its flood section, the god Enki warns Atrahasis about a coming catastrophe and instructs him to build a boat, creating a tradition closely related to later Near Eastern flood narratives.
The poem is especially important for comparative mythology because it preserves a detailed Mesopotamian account of creation, human origins, divine decisions, and the flood. Its surviving tablets are incomplete, and some passages have been reconstructed from parallel traditions and later copies.
Atrahasis is not Utnapishtim, although the characters perform similar roles in different texts. The Eridu Genesis is another Mesopotamian flood narrative, while the Epic of Gilgamesh incorporates a version told by Utnapishtim.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026