Utnapishtim was the flood survivor in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Babylonian story often compared with Noah’s Ark.
In the flood episode of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim to build a great boat and preserve living creatures, family members, and skilled workers. Utnapishtim survives the catastrophic flood and later receives immortality from the gods.
The boat story includes details that resemble Genesis, such as a divine warning, a large vessel, birds sent out after the waters, and a landing place. However, the two narratives differ in names, theology, chronology, and many plot details.
Utnapishtim’s story is preserved on the eleventh tablet of the Standard Babylonian version of the epic. The flood account is also related to the older Mesopotamian Atrahasis tradition.