Which ancient Mesopotamian epic features Utnapishtim’s account of a world-destroying flood?

The Epic of Gilgamesh features Utnapishtim’s account of a world-destroying flood. In the epic, Gilgamesh seeks Utnapishtim, who has received immortality and recounts how he survived the flood by building a boat.

The flood narrative is part of Tablet XI in the Standard Babylonian version. Utnapishtim’s story includes divine warning, boat construction, the loading of living creatures, severe weather, and the release of birds to determine whether the waters have receded.

Scholars compare this account with Genesis and with the older Atrahasis Epic because the stories share important motifs. Similarities do not make the works identical: the names of the gods, the reasons for the flood, the boat’s specifications, and the aftermath differ.

The Enuma Elish is another major Mesopotamian work, but it is a creation epic rather than the specific text containing Utnapishtim’s flood account. That distinction makes the Epic of Gilgamesh the canonical answer.