Flood myth

A flood myth or a deluge myth is a narrative in which a great flood—usually sent by one or more deities—destroys civilization, typically as an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the floodwaters of these myths and the primordial cosmic ocean that appears in certain creation myths, because the floodwaters are described as a means of social cleansing or purifying humanity of its corruption, for example, in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also feature a culture hero who "represents the human craving for life". The oldest known narrative of a divinely initiated flood originates from the Sumerian culture in Mesopotamia, among others expressed in the Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic, which dates to the 18th century BCE. Comparable flood narratives appear in many other cultures, including the biblical Genesis flood narrative, manvantara-sandhya in Hinduism, Deucalion in Greek mythology, and in Indigenous North American cultures.

Mythologies

Ancient Near East

The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100–1800 BCE) tells the story of a massive flood from which only a single human family survives – a narrative that, according to current research, was largely borrowed from the Atra-Hasis epic. In it, a cross-group organisation of Sumerian gods begins to transform Mesopotamian's steppe 'Eden' into a fertile garden landscape, introducing agriculture on Earth, which is one of the hallmarks of the Neolithic Revolution. The hard labour provokes a revolt among the 'lower' gods. To end this strife, first humans were created in pairs to do the work in place of the gods and to reproduce themself. After a few thousand years, however, humans have multiplied to such an extent that they disturb the 'upper gods' with their noise, so Enlil, the highest of all gods, decides to unleash a mighty flood to wipe out humanity. The rebellious god Enki secretly warns his priest Atrahasis of the impending catastrophe. Giving him detailed instructions for building a boat, the Atrahasis-family survive, ensuring the continued existence of humanity.

The similar Eridu Genesis (c. 1600 BCE), known from tablets found in the ruins of Nippur in the late 1890s, was translated by assyriologist Arno Poebel. Academic Yi Samuel Chen analyzed various texts from the Early Dynastic III Period through to the Old Babylonian Period, and argues that the flood narrative was only added in texts written during the Old Babylonian Period. With regard to the Sumerian King List, expert observations have consistently indicated that the portion of the Sumerian King List discussing events before the flood differs stylistically from the King List Proper. Old Babylonian copies tend to represent a tradition of 'before the flood' apart from the actual King List, whereas the Ur III copy of the King List and the duplicate from the Brockmon collection indicate that the King List Proper once existed independent of mention of the flood and the tradition of before the flood. Chen provides evidence that the section preceding the flood and the flood references in the Sumerian King List were later additions from the Old Babylonian Period, as the Sumerian King List underwent updates and edits. The flood as a watershed in the early history of the world was probably a new historiographical concept emerging in the Mesopotamian literary traditions during the Old Babylonian Period, as evident by the fact that the flood motif did not show up in the Ur III copy and that earliest chronographical sources related to the flood show up in the Old Babylonian Period. Chen also concludes that the name of Ziusudra as a flood hero and the idea of the flood hinted at by that name in the Old Babylonian Version of "Instructions of Shuruppak" are only developments during that Old Babylonian Period, when also the didactic text was updated with information from the burgeoning Antediluvian Tradition. In the Genesis flood narrative in the Hebrew Bible (9th century BCE or 5th century BCE), the god Yahweh, who had created man out of the dust of the ground, decides to flood the earth because of the corrupted state of mankind. Yahweh then gives the protagonist, Noah, instructions to build an ark in order to preserve human and animal life. When the ark is completed, Noah, his family, and representatives of all the animals of the earth are called upon to enter the ark. When the destructive flood begins, all life outside of the ark perishes. After the waters recede, all those aboard the ark disembark and have Yahweh's promise that he will never again judge the earth with a flood. Yahweh made the rainbow the sign of this promise.

South Asia In Hinduism, texts such as the Satapatha Brahmana (c. 6th century BCE) and the Puranas contain the story of a great flood, manvantara-sandhya, wherein the Matsya avatar of Vishnu warns the first man, Manu, of the impending flood, and also advises him to build a giant boat. In Zoroastrianism, Ahriman tries to destroy the world with a drought that Mithra ends by shooting an arrow into a rock from which a flood springs; one man survives in an ark with his cattle. German academic Norbert Oettinger argues that the story of Yima and the Vara was originally a flood myth, and the harsh winter was added in due to the dry nature of Eastern Iran, as flood myths did not have as much of an effect as harsh winters. He has argued that the mention of melted water flowing in Videvdad 2.24 is a remnant of the flood myth, and notes that Indian flood myths originally had Yama as the protagonist, but this was later changed to Manu.

Ancient Greece In Plato's Timaeus, written c. 360 BCE, Timaeus describes a flood myth similar to the earlier versions. In it, the Bronze race of humans angers the high god Zeus with their constant warring. Zeus decides to punish humanity with a flood. The Titan Prometheus, who had created humans from clay, tells the secret plan to his son Deucalion, advising him to build an ark in order to be saved. After nine nights and days, the water starts receding, and the ark lands on a mountain.

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