Gilgamesh, Sumerian Cycle: The Deluge

The Sumerian poem known as "The Deluge" is described as follows. The flood episode also constitutes the major part of the eleventh tablet of the Babylonian "Epic of Gilgamesh". The fact that the Sumerian account of the flood is not in any way a clue for determining some of the procedures employed in ancient literary borrowing.

The Sumerian flood episode is part of a poem devoted primarily to the myth of the immortalization of Ziusudra, and this myth was artfully utilized by the Babylonian poets for their own purposes. Thus, when the weary Gilgamesh comes before Utanapishtim (the Babylonian Ziusudra) and questions him concerning the secret of eternal life, the Babylonian poets did not let him answer briefly and to the point; instead, they took advantage of this opening to insert their version of the deluge myth. The first (the creation) part of the Sumerian myth, they omitted altogether as unnecessary to their theme. They retained only the deluge episode ending with Ziusudra's immortalization. And by making Utanapishtim (Ziusudra) the narrator, and putting the narration into the first person instead of the third, they changed the Sumerian form, in which the narrator was a nameless poet.

In addition we find variation in details. Ziusudra is described as a pious, humble, god-fearing king, but Utanapishtim is not thus described. On the other hand, the Babylonian version is much more lavish with details concerning the building of the boat, and the nature and violence of the flood. In the Sumerian myth the flood lasts seven days and seven nights; in the Babylonian version it lasts six days and seven nights. Finally, the sending of the birds to test the degree of water abatement is found only in the Babylonian epic.

The Flood, the Ark, and the Sumerian Noah.
The obverse and reverse of the "flood" tablet, held in the University Museum.

That the Biblical deluge story is not original with the Hebrew redactors of the Bible has been known from the time of the discovery and deciphering of the 11th tablet of the Babylonian "Epic of Gilgamesh" by the British Museum's George Smith. The Babylonian deluge myth itself, however, is of Sumerian origin. In 1914 Arno Poebel published a fragment consisting of the lower third of a six-column Sumerian tablet in the Nippur collection of the University Museum (picture on right), the contents of which are devoted in large part to the story of the flood. This fragment still remains unique and unduplicated, and although scholars have been "all eyes and ears" for new deluge tablets, not a single additional fragment has turned up in any museum, private collection, or excavation. The piece published by Poebel is still our only source, and the translation prepared by him is still basic and standard.

The contents of this lone tablet are noteworthy not only for the flood episode, although that is its main theme, but also for the passages preceding and introducing the deluge story. Badly broken as the text is, these passages are nevertheless of significance for Sumerian cosmogony and cosmology. They include a number of revealing statements concerning the creation of man, the origin of kingship, and the existence of at least five antediluvian cities. Here, then, is practically the entire extant text of the myth with all its tantalizing obscurities and uncertainties. It provides an apt example of what the cuneiformist is up against, and of the surprises the future holds in store for him.

Since it is the lower third of the tablet that is preserved, we start right off with a break of some 37 lines, and there is no way of knowing just how the myth began. We then find a deity addressing other deities, probably stating that he will save mankind from destruction and that as a result man will build the cities and temples of the gods. Following the address are three lines which are difficult to relate to the context; they seem to describe the actions performed by the deity to make his words effective. Then come four lines concerned with the creation of man, animals, and plants. This entire passage teads:

"My mankind, in its destruction I will ..,
To Nintu I will return the ...of my creatures,
I will return the people to their settlements,
Of the cities, they will build their places of divine laws,
I will make restful their shade,
Of our houses, they will lay their bricks in pure places,
The places of our decisions they will found in pure places."
He directed the pure fire-quenching water,
Perfected the rites and the exalted divine laws,
On the earth he ...d, placed the ...there.
After An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursag
Had fashioned the blackheaded people,
Vegetation luxuriated from the earth,
Animals, four-legged (creatures) of the plain, were brought artfully into existence.

There follows another break of about 37 lines, after which we learn that kingship was lowered from heaven and that five cities were founded:

After the ...of kingship had been lowered from heaven,
After the exalted tiara and the throne of kingship had been lowered from heaven,
He perfected the rites and the exalted divine laws ...,
Founded the five cities in ...pure places,
Called their names, apportioned them as cult centers.
The first of these cities, Eridu, he gave to Nudimmud, the leader,
The second, Badtibira, he gave to ...,
The third, Larak, he gave to Endurbilhursag,
The fourth, Sippar, he gave to the hero Utu,
The fifth, Shuruppak, he gave to Sud.
When he had called the names of these cities, apportioned them as cult centers,
He brought ...,
Established the cleaning of the small rivers as ..."

A break of about 37 lines follows next; these must have dealt largely with the decision of the gods to bring the flood and destroy mankind. When the text becomes intelligible again, we find some of the gods dissatisfied and unhappy over the cruel decision. We are then introduced to Ziusudra, the counterpart of the Biblical Noah. He is described as a pious, god-fearing king, who is constantly on the lookout for divine revelations in dreams or incantations. Ziusudra seems to station himself by a wall, where he hears the voice of a deity informing him of the decision taken by the assembly of the gods to send a flood and "to destroy the seed of mankind". The longest passage reads:

The flood ...
...
Thus was treated ...
Then did Nintu weep like a ...,
The pure Inanna set up a lament for its people,
Enki took counsel with himself,
An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursag ...,
The gods of heaven and earth uttered the name of An and Enlil.
Then did Ziusudra, the king, the pashishu of ...,
Build a giant ...,
Humbly, obedient, reverently he ...,
Attending daily, constantly he ...,
Bringing forth all kinds of dreams, he ...,
Uttering the name of heaven and earth, he ...,
...the gods a wall ...,
Ziusudra, standing at its side, listened.
"Stand by the wall at my left side ...,
By the wall I will say a word to you, take my word,
Give ear to my instructions:
By our ...a flood will sweep over the cult centres;
To destroy the seed of mankind ...,
Is the decision, the word of the assembly of the gods.
By the word commanded by An and Enlil ...,
Its kingship, its rule (will be put to an end)."

Sumerian Boat. Cylindrical stamp imprint.

The text must have continued with detailed instructions to Ziusudra to build a giant boat and thus save himself from destruction. But this is missing, since there is another break of about 40 lines at this point. When the text becomes intelligible once again, we find that the flood in all its violence had already come upon the "land" and raged there for seven days and nights. Then the sun-god Utu comes forth again, bringing his precious light everywhere, and Ziusudra prostrates himself before him and offers sacrifices. The lines read:

All the windstorms, exceedingly powerful, attacked as one,
At the same time, the flood sweeps over the cult centers.
After, for seven days and seven nights,
The flood had swept over the land,
And the huge boat had been tossed about by the windstorms on the great waters,
Utu came forth, who sheds light on heaven and earth,
Ziusudra opened a window on the huge boat,
The hero Utu brought his rays into the giant boat.
Ziusudra, the king,
Prostrated himself before Utu,
The king kills an ox, slaughters a sheep.

Here, again, there follows a break of about 39 lines. The last extant lines of our text describe the deification of Ziusudra. After he had prostrated himself before An and Enlil, he was given "life like a god" and breath eternal, and translated to Dilmun (Paradise), "the place where the sun rises". Thus:

An and Enlil uttered "breath of heaven", "breath of earth", by their ...it stretched itself,
Vegetation, coming up out of the earth, rises up.
Ziusudra, the king,
Prostrated himself before An and Enlil.
An and Enlil cherished Ziusudra,
Life like a god they give him:
Breath eternal like a god they bring down for him.
Then, Ziusudra the king,
The preserver of the name of vegetation and of the seed of mankind,
In the land of crossing, the land of Dilmun, the place where the sun rises, they caused to dwell.

The remainder of the tablet, containing about 39 lines of the text, is destroyed, and so we know nothing of what may have happened to the transfigured Ziusudra in the home of the immortals.