Utnapishtim is the flood survivor in the Epic of Gilgamesh who is told to build a boat.
In the Mesopotamian epic, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim about a coming flood and instructs him to construct a large boat. Utnapishtim saves his family, craftsmen, and living creatures, creating a flood narrative with important parallels to the story of Noah.
After the waters recede, Utnapishtim releases birds to discover whether land has emerged. He later receives immortality, unlike Noah, who remains a mortal patriarch in Genesis. These differences show that the two stories are related as ancient flood traditions but are not identical versions of one account.
Atrahasis is another Mesopotamian flood hero from an earlier epic, which is why the names can be confused. In the Epic of Gilgamesh specifically, the survivor who tells the story is Utnapishtim.