Who is the flood survivor who boards a giant boat in the Epic of Gilgamesh?

Utnapishtim is the flood survivor who boards a giant boat in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In the standard version of the Mesopotamian epic, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim that the gods intend to send a devastating flood. Utnapishtim builds a large boat, brings aboard his family, craftsmen, animals, and provisions, and survives when the flood overwhelms the land.

After the waters recede, Utnapishtim releases birds to discover whether dry ground has appeared. The episode has notable parallels with later flood narratives, including Noah’s Ark, although the stories differ in names, divine motivations, boat details, and theological setting.

Utnapishtim is granted immortality after the flood. In the epic, Gilgamesh visits him while seeking an answer to the problem of human mortality. The character is also known as Atrahasis in related Mesopotamian flood traditions, but Utnapishtim is the canonical name in the Epic of Gilgamesh.