From Gilgamesh to Genesis: Stories of Humanity, Friendship, and the Divine
Long before written history, human imagination sought to explain life, death, friendship, and our place in the universe. Two of the oldest surviving narratives—the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible —offer windows into these ancient explorations. Though separated by centuries and cultures, their stories intersect in profound ways, revealing shared motifs and timeless questions about what it means to be human. The Flood: Humanity’s Trial and Divine Warning In Mesopotamia, the gods decided that humanity had grown too noisy and unruly. To reset the world, they unleashed a great flood. But one man, Utnapishtim , was warned in secret. He built a vast ship, brought aboard his family and every living creature, and rode out the waters for seven days and nights. When the storm finally passed, he released birds to test whether the earth had re-emerged, and offered a sacred sacrifice that drew the gods to its sweet smell. Centuries later, a remarkably similar story appears in the Hebrew Bi...