Which ancient epic includes a flood survivor named Utnapishtim, often compared with Noah?

The Epic of Gilgamesh includes the flood survivor Utnapishtim, often compared with Noah.

In the flood story embedded in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim to build a large boat and preserve life from a devastating flood. Utnapishtim later releases birds to find land, a sequence that invites comparison with Noah’s raven and dove.

The two narratives are not identical. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian work preserved on clay tablets, while the Noah story appears in the Book of Genesis. Their shared motifs include divine warning, a boat, survival, birds, and a post-flood sacrifice, but their characters, divine beings, measurements, and theological conclusions differ.

The flood episode is told to Gilgamesh by Utnapishtim as part of the hero’s search for the secret of immortality. The comparison is therefore a major topic in studies of ancient Near Eastern literature.