Which ancient Mesopotamian epic tells a flood story featuring Utnapishtim, a Noah-like survivor?

The Epic of Gilgamesh tells a Mesopotamian flood story featuring Utnapishtim, a survivor who builds a huge boat after being warned of a catastrophic flood. His story is one of the best-known ancient parallels to the account of Noah’s Ark.

In the flood episode, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim to abandon his possessions and construct a vessel. Utnapishtim takes family members, craftsmen, and animals aboard. After the waters recede, he releases birds to discover whether the land is dry, echoing several details found in Genesis.

The Epic of Gilgamesh survives in later Akkadian tablets, while related flood traditions appear in older Mesopotamian texts such as the Atrahasis Epic. Scholars compare these stories because of their shared motifs, but the texts differ in names, divine motives, vessel descriptions, and outcomes.