Gilgamesh and the Great Flood

Sometime before 2000 BCE in ancient Mesopotamia, storytellers inscribed the Epic of Gilgamesh on twelve stone tablets, making it one of history's earliest known works of literature. In the narrative, Gilgamesh quests for immortality and encounters Utnapishtim (the "Preserver of Life"), who survived a Great Flood by constructing a massive ship. That myth-etched in the cradle of civilization-likely predates and inspires later deluge legends across cultures.

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