Utnapishtim is the Mesopotamian flood hero whose boat story appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the epic, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh how the god Ea warned him about a devastating flood and instructed him to build a large boat.
Utnapishtim’s story includes animals, family members, and a release of birds to determine whether the waters had receded. These similarities have made comparisons with Noah’s ark especially important in the study of ancient flood traditions.
The stories are not identical. Utnapishtim’s account belongs to Mesopotamian literature, while Noah’s story appears in Genesis. The flood episode is preserved in the Standard Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the most important surviving works of ancient Near Eastern literature.