Flood myth

A flood myth or deluge myth is a narrative in which a great flood,

usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act
of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood
waters of these myths and the primeval waters found in certain creation
myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing
of humanity, in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a
culture hero, who "represents the human craving for life".[1]

The flood myth motif is found among many cultures as seen in the
Mesopotamian flood stories, Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek
mythology, the Genesis flood narrative, Manu in Hinduism, the Gun-
Yu in Chinese mythology, Bergelmir in Norse mythology, in the lore of
the K'iche' and Maya peoples in Mesoamerica, the Lac Courte Oreilles
Ojibwa tribe of Native Americans in North America, the Muisca, and
Cañari Confederation, in South America, and the Aboriginal tribes in
southern Australia.

Contents "The Deluge", frontispiece toGustave Doré's

illustrated edition of the Bible. Based on the story
Mythologies of Noah's Ark, this shows humans and a tiger
Claims of historicity doomed by the flood futilely attempting to save
Art their children and cubs

See also
References
Bibliography

Mythologies
The Mesopotamian flood stories concern the epics ofZiusudra, Gilgamesh, and Atrahasis. The Sumerian King List relies on the flood
motif to divide its history into preflood (antediluvian) and postflood periods. The preflood kings had enormous lifespans, whereas
postflood lifespans were much reduced. TheSumerian flood myth found in the Deluge tablet was the epic of Ziusudra, who heard the
gods' plan to destroy humanity, in response to which he constructed a vessel that delivered him from great waters.[2] In the Atrahasis
version, the flood is a river flood.[3]

In the Genesis mythology of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh decides to flood the earth because of the depth of the sinful state of mankind.
Righteous Noah is given instructions to build an ark. 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 judge the earth with a flood again.
He causes a rainbow to form as the sign of this promise.[4]

In the 19th century, Assyriologist George Smith translated the Babylonian account of a great flood. Further discoveries produced
several versions of the Mesopotamian flood myth, with the account closest to that in Genesis found in a 700 BC Babylonian copy of
the Epic of Gilgamesh.[5]:20 In this work, the hero Gilgamesh meets the immortal man Utnapishtim, and the latter describes how the
god Ea instructed him to build a huge vessel in anticipation of a deity-created flood
that would destroy the world. The vessel would save Utnapishtim, his family, his
friends, and the animals.[6]

In Hindu mythology, texts such as the Satapatha Brahmana and the Puranas contain
the story of a great flood,[7] wherein the Matsya Avatar of Vishnu warns the first
man, Manu, of the impending flood, and also advises him to build a giant
boat.[8][9][10]

In Plato's Timaeus, Timaeus says that because the Bronze race of Humans had been
making wars constantly Zeus was angered and decided to punish humanity by a
flood. Prometheus the Titan knew of this and told the secret to Deucalion, advising
him to build an ark in order to be saved. After nine nights and days, the water started
receding and the ark was landed atMount Parnassus.[11]

Claims of historicity Mr. George Smith, the man who

transliterated and read the so-called
In ancient Mesopotamia, theSumerian King List reads "Babylonian Flood Story" of Tablet XI

After kingship came down from heaven .... the kingship was taken to
Shuruppak. In Shuruppak, Ubara-Tutu became king; he ruled for 5
sars and 1 ner. In 5 cities 8 kings; they ruled for 241,200 years. Then
the flood swept over.

Excavations in Iraq have revealed evidence of localized flooding at Shuruppak

(modern Tell Fara, Iraq) and various other Sumerian cities. A layer of riverine
sediments, radiocarbon dated to about 2900 BC, interrupts the continuity of
settlement, extending as far north as the city of Kish, which took over hegemony Tablet XI or the Flood Tablet of the
Epic of Gilgamesh, currently housed
after the flood. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period (3000–2900 BC)
in the British Museum in London
was discovered immediately below the Shuruppak flood stratum. Other sites, such as
Ur, Kish, Uruk, Lagash, and Ninevah, all present evidence of flooding. However,
this evidence comes from different time periods.[12] Geologically, the Shuruppak flood coincides with the 5.9 kiloyear event at the
end of the Older Peron. It would seem to have been a localised event caused through the damming of the Kurun through the spread of
dunes, flooding into the Tigris, and simultaneous heavy rainfall in the Nineveh region, spilling across into the Euphrates. In Israel,
there is no such evidence of a widespread flood.[13] Given the similarities in the Mesopotamian flood story and the Biblical account,
[14]
it would seem that they have a common origin in the memories of the Shuruppak account.

Floods in the wake of thelast glacial period may have inspired myths that survive to this
day.[15] It has been postulated that the deluge myth in North America may be based on a
sudden rise in sea levels caused by the rapid draining of prehistoric Lake Agassiz at the
end of the last Ice Age, about 8,400 years ago.[16]

The geography of the Mesopotamian area was considerably changed by the filling of the
Persian Gulf after sea waters rose following the last glacial period. Global sea levels
were about 120 m (390 ft) lower around 18,000 BP and rose until 8,000 BP when they
Earth's sea level rose
reached current levels, which are now an average 40 m (130 ft) above the floor of the
dramatically in the millennia after
Gulf, which was a huge (800 km × 200 km (500 mi × 120 mi)) low-lying and fertile the Last Glacial Maximum
region in Mesopotamia, in which human habitation is thought to have been strong
around the Gulf Oasis for 100,000 years. A sudden increase in settlements above the
present water level is recorded at around 7,500BP.[17][18]
Adrienne Mayor promoted the hypothesis that global flood stories were inspired by ancient observations of seashells and fish fossils
in inland and mountain areas. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all documented the discovery of such remains in these
locations; the Greeks hypothesized that Earth had been covered by water on several occasions, citing the seashells and fish fossils
.[19]
found on mountain tops as evidence of this history

Another hypothesis is that a meteor or comet crashed into the Indian Ocean around 3000–2800 BC, created the 30-kilometre (19 mi)
undersea Burckle Crater, and generated a gianttsunami that flooded coastal lands.[20]

In the late 17th century, there were famous speculations accounting for the Genesis flood by natural causes. Thomas Burnet’s Telluris
Theoria Sacra (Sacred Theory of the Earth) had water rising from the hollow earth. William Whiston's A New Theory of the Earth
postulated that major changes in the earth’s history could be attributed to the action of comets.

Speculation regarding theDeucalion myth has also been introduced, whereby a large tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea, caused by the
Thera eruption (with an approximate geological date of 1630–1600 BC), is the myth's historical basis. Although the tsunami hit the
South Aegean Sea and Crete, it did not affect cities in the mainland of Greece, such as Mycenae, Athens, and Thebes, which
fect.[21]
continued to prosper, indicating that it had a local rather than a regionwide ef

One of the latest, and quite controversial, hypotheses of long term flooding is the Black Sea deluge hypothesis, which argues for a
catastrophic deluge about 5600 BC from the Mediterranean Sea into the Black Sea. This has been the subject of considerable
discussion.[22][23]

A world-wide deluge, such as described in Genesis, is incompatible with modern scientific understanding of natural history,
especially geology and paleontology.[24][25] To compare: some of the largest tsunamis in history, resulting from the Chicxulub
impact, 66 million years ago, were thought to have affected roughly the entire Americas (or nearly all of the Western
Hemisphere).[26]

Art
"The Deluge", by John 18th century engraving of Matsya-avatara of Lord Nanabozho in Ojibwe
Martin, 1834. Oil on the great flood Vishnu pulls Manu's boat flood story from an
canvas. Yale University after having defeated the illustration by R.C.
demon Armour, in his book North
American Indian Fairy
Tales, Folklore and
Legends, (1905)

The Great Flood, by

anonymous painter, The
vom Rath bequest,
Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam

See also
List of flood myths Lake-bursts in Ireland and Wales
Ancient Greek flood myths Lemuria
Atlantis Lyonesse
Aztlán Mesoamerican flood myths
Bochica Monomyth
Cantre'r Gwaelod Immanuel Velikovsky
Finnish flood myth Viracocha
Gilgamesh flood myth Ys
Great Flood of China

References
1. Leeming, David (2004)."Flood | The Oxford Companion to World Mythology" (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=k
QFtlva3HaYC&pg=PA138). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
2. Bandstra 2009, p. 61, 62.
3. Atrahasis, lines 7–9, by Lambert and Millard
 4. Cotter, David W. (2003). Genesis (https://books.google.com/books?id=6lCVzr4cT9QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Gen
esis+David+W.+Cotter#v=onepage&q=great%20flood&f=false). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical press. p. 49.
ISBN 0814650406.
5. Cline, Eric H. (2007). From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible(https://books.google.com/books?id=bJ
W-zhffwk4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=From+Eden+to+Exile:+Unraveling+Mysteries+of+th e+Bible&hl=en&sa=X&ved
=0CCUQ6AEwAGoVChMIvPSQ6qf_yAIVUjuICh3wF AF2#v=onepage&q=From%20Eden%20to%20Exile%3A%20Un
raveling%20Mysteries%20of%20the%20Bible&f=false) . National Geographic.ISBN 978-1-4262-0084-7.
6. Pritchard, James B. (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1955, 1969).1950 1st edition at Google Books(https://books.google.com/books?id=885iAAAAMA
AJ). p.44: "...a flood [will sweep] over the cult-centers; to destroy the seed of mankind; is the decision, the word of
the assembly [of the gods]."
7. The great flood – Hindu style (Satapatha Brahmana)(http://www.vedanta-atlanta.org/stories/flood.html).
8. Matsya (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/369611/Matsya) Britannica.com
9. Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2007). A Survey of Hinduism (https://books.google.com/books?id=E_6-JbUiHB4C&pg=P
A97
&lpg=PA97&dq=the+great+flood+in+Hinduism#v=onepage&q=the%20great%20flood%20in%20Hinduism&f=false) .
SUNY Press. p. 97. ISBN 0-7914-7082-2.
10. Sehgal, Sunil (1999). Encyclopaedia of Hinduism: T–Z, Volume 5 (https://books.google.com/books?id=zWG64bgtf3s
C&pg=PA401&dq=Noah%27s+Ark+in+Hinduism#v=onepage&q=Noah%27s%20Ark%20in%20Hinduism&f=false) .
Sarup & Sons. p. 401.ISBN 81-7625-064-3.
11. Plato's Timaeus. Greek text: http://www.24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Platon-Timaios.pdf
12. Bandstra 2009, p. 61: (Parrot, 1955)
13. Bandstra 2009, p. 62.
14. Hendel, Ronald S.(1987), "Of Demigods and the Deluge: towards an interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4" (Journal of
Biblical Literature, Vol 186 No 1)
15. "Biblical-Type Floods Are Real, and They're Absolutely Enormous" (http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jul-aug/06-bib
lical-type-floods-real-absolutely-enormous). DiscoverMagazine.com. 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
16. Early days among the Cheyanne & Arapahoe Indians by John H. Seger
, page 135 ISBN 0-8061-1533-5
17. Lost Civilization Under Persian Gulf?(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101208151609.htm), Science
Daily, Dec 8, 2010
18. Rose, Jeffrey I. (December 2010),"New Light on Human Prehistory in the Arabo-Persian Gulf Oasis"(https://zenod
o.org/record/896327), Current Anthropology, 51 (6): 849–883, doi:10.1086/657397 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F6573
97), retrieved 2012-02-22
19. Mayor, Adrienne (2011). The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman iTmes: with a new introduction
by the author. Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN 0691058636.
20. Carney, Scott (November 7, 2007)."Did a comet cause the great flood?"(http://discovermagazine.com/2007/nov/did-
a-comet-cause-the-great-flood). Discover Magazine. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
21. Castleden, Rodney (2001) "Atlantis Destroyed" (Routledge).
22. "'Noah's Flood' Not Rooted in Reality, After All? (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090206-smaller-
noah-flood.html)" National Geographic News, February 6, 2009.
23. Sarah Hoyle (November 18, 2007)."Noah's flood kick-started European farming"(http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_rele
ases/2007-11/uoe-fk111507.php). University of Exeter. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
24. Montgomery, David R. (2012). The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood(https://books.google.co
m/books?id=92tuITDWvCYC#v=onepage&q=geology%20rocks%20creationism&f=false) . Norton.
25. Weber, Christopher Gregory (1980)."The Fatal Flaws of Flood Geology"(http://ncse.com/cej/1/1/fatal-flaws-flood-ge
ology). Creation Evolution Journal. 1 (1): 24–37.
26. Braun, David Maxwell (4 March 2010)."Asteroid terminated dinosaur era in a matter of days"(http://voices.nationalg
eographic.com/2010/03/04/asteroid_terminated_dinosaur_era_in_days/) . National Geographic Society (blogs).
Retrieved 29 July 2017.

Bibliography
Bandstra, Barry L. (2009).Reading the Old Testament : an introductionto the Hebrew Bible (4th ed.). Belmont, CA:
 Wadsworth/ Cengage Learning. pp. 59–62.ISBN 0495391050.
Bailey, Lloyd R. Noah, the Person and the Story, University of South Carolina Press, 1989.ISBN 0-87249-637-6
Best, Robert M. Noah's Ark and the Ziusudra Epic, Sumerian Origins of the Flood Myth
, 1999, ISBN 0-9667840-1-4.
Dundes, Alan (ed.) The Flood Myth, University of California Press, Berkeley
, 1988. ISBN 0-520-05973-5 /
0520059735
Faulkes, Anthony (trans.)Edda (Snorri Sturluson). Everyman's Library, 1987. ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
Greenway, John (ed.), The Primitive Reader, Folkways, 1965.
Grey, G. Polynesian Mythology. Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1956.
Lambert, W. G. and Millard, A. R., Atrahasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood, Eisenbrauns, 1999. ISBN 1-57506-
039-6.
Masse, W. B. "The Archaeology and Anthropology of Quaternary Period Cosmic Impact", in Bobrowsky , P., and
Rickman, H. (eds.) Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Berlin, Springer
Press, 2007. p. 25–70.
Reed, A. W. Treasury of Maori FolkloreA.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1963.
Reedy, Anaru (trans.), Nga Korero a Pita Kapiti: The Teachings of Pita Kapiti. Canterbury University Press,
Christchurch, 1997.

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