Flood myth

A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth 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 cosmic ocean which appear in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, for example in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who "represents the human craving for life".

The oldest known narrative of a divinely inititated 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.

The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100–1800 BCE) references an early flood myth. This story has some parallels to the 18th century BCE epic Atra-Hasis, in which a group of Sumerian gods begins to transform Mesopotamia into a fertile garden landscape. The hard labour leads to a revolt of the 'lower' gods, and to pacify it, a first pair of humans was created to do the work in place of the gods. After a few thousand years, however, the humans have multiplied to such an extent that they disturb the 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 Athrahasis of the impending catastrophe. Giving him detailed instructions for building a boat, Athrahasis and his family survive, ensuring continued existence of artificially constructed mankind.^{[failed verification]} In the Gilgamesh flood myth, the flood is survived by the man Utnapishtim. The similar Eridu Genesis flood myth (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, observations by experts have always indicated that the portion of the Sumerian King List talking about 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 gives evidence to prove that the section of before the flood and references to the flood in the Sumerian King List were all later additions added in during the Old Babylonian Period, as the Sumerian King List went through updates and edits. The flood as a watershed in 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 Hebrew Genesis (9th century BC), 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 judge the earth with a flood again. Yahweh causes a rainbow to form as the sign of this promise.

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 Zoroastrian Mazdaism, Ahriman tries to destroy the world with a drought, which 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 mentions that the Indian flood myths originally had their protagonist as Yama, but it was changed to Manu later.

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 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.

The Cheyenne, a North American Great Plains tribe, has a tradition where a flood altered the course of their history, perhaps occurring in the Missouri River Valley. The Blackfeet, another Great Plains tribe, have a story called "Language on a Mountain". In this story the deity Napi, referred to as Old Man, tells the story of a great flood that swept through the land. After the flood Old Man made the water different colors. He gathered the people on top of a large mountain where he gave them water of different colors. Old Man then told the people to drink the water, then speak, and so they did. Everyone was speaking a different language except those who received the black water; they were speaking the same language, and they consisted of the bands of the Blackfoot, the Piegan (Apatohsipikuni and Amskapipikuni), the Siksika, and the Blood (Kainai). This was said to have taken place in the highest mountain in the Montana reservation.