Utnapishtim is the Mesopotamian flood survivor whose story resembles Noah’s Ark in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim that the gods intend to send a devastating flood. Utnapishtim builds a large boat, brings aboard his family, craftsmen, and animals, and survives the disaster. After the waters recede, he releases birds to discover whether dry land has appeared.
The flood episode is told in Tablet XI of the standard version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Utnapishtim’s account includes several elements that readers compare with Genesis, including divine warning, a constructed vessel, preservation of life, birds sent out after the flood, and a sacrifice after survival.
The comparison does not mean that the two narratives are identical. Their gods, theological purposes, characters, measurements, and details differ. Utnapishtim is also granted immortality, a feature not given to Noah in Genesis. The Mesopotamian story belongs to a broader ancient Near Eastern flood tradition that also includes the earlier figure Atrahasis.