Utnapishtim built a boat and survived the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In the flood episode of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim to build a boat and preserve living creatures, craftsmen, and provisions. Utnapishtim later releases birds to learn whether the waters have receded. The episode is one of the best-known ancient Mesopotamian flood narratives.
Utnapishtim is sometimes compared with Noah because both figures receive divine warning, build a large vessel, survive a devastating flood, and release birds. The stories are not identical, however. They differ in names, divine motivations, boat descriptions, aftermaths, and theological settings.
The Epic of Gilgamesh survives in versions written in Akkadian, with the most famous flood account appearing on Tablet XI of the standard version. A related earlier Mesopotamian flood hero is Atrahasis, showing that flood traditions circulated in more than one literary form.