Atrahasis is the flood survivor and central human figure in the ancient Mesopotamian Atrahasis epic.
The Old Babylonian poem tells how the god Enki warns Atrahasis about a destructive flood and instructs him to build a boat. Atrahasis preserves people, animals, and skilled workers, then survives the disaster. Afterward, the gods establish measures intended to control human population and reproduction.
The poem is one of several Mesopotamian flood traditions related to the later flood episode in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Its boat, warning, flood, survival, and post-flood sacrifice create important points of comparison with the Genesis account of Noah.
Atrahasis should not be confused with Utnapishtim or Ziusudra. Utnapishtim is the survivor in the Epic of Gilgamesh, while Ziusudra appears in the Sumerian King List and Eridu Genesis tradition. These figures belong to different texts, even though their stories share a flood motif.