Every wonder why Flood Myths and Legends are found all over the world?
I made a documentary explaining legends from all over the world and why this legend type is so prevalent
👉 youtu.be/MWlJspvKG0E
And now we wait...
Sorry Sora AI video generator, it's going to be a no from me.
I'd love to be added if there's room.
Thanks. Yes I think there's a lot more museum collections of shady origin than people realise. For Moss, among her many titles I felt that was the capacity in which she was being interviewed. For R. Mazza, thanks, there's always a few little things in projects like this that slip through the cracks
If you haven't heard the wild story of an Oxford professor accused to stealing millions of dollars of artifacts and selling them to Hobby Lobby - then you should watch my latest video. It's done surprisingly well given that I've never posted a True Crime doc before.
youtu.be/mhgB5LgJuCs
But I don't want to focus on the Biblical story you all know back to front. In future threads I want to look at lesser known traditions that developed in India, Greece, Asia, the Baltics, the Americas, Africa, Oceania and more.
It is from this tradition that scholars believe the Noah's Ark flood story(ies) developed. The most literate Israelites after all were exiled in Babylon and would have become familiar with the traditions. I've already laid that out in depth in this video youtu.be/luNEexc6fbE?...
The authors of these works were not recounting a historical event that they were aware of, instead, they were reworking familiar literary tales, using earlier story beats and transforming them into new stories for new contexts.
What is clear is that rather than these all being separate flood stories - they are actually from the same literary tradition. The structure and literary elements of Eridu genesis was reworked in Atrahasis and Gilgamesh.
Utnapishtim, like Ziusudra was granted eternal life - and like in the Sumerian version, the gods swore not to do it again. So Gilgamesh is left empty-handed, but Utnapishtim tells him of a plant that could make him young again... but that's another story.
Scholars suggest that the Atrahasis flood story had been added to the Gilgamesh story by an editor. Curiously, in one line Utnapishtim is called Atrahasis. Either by accident or because the two had become conflated. Either way, it shows an awareness of the prior tradition.
To test if the waters had receded Utnapishtim sends out birds, a dove, a raven and a swallow. The vessel also lands atop of a mountain. Curiously, the vessel in Atrahasis was round, in Gilgamesh it becomes a cube but both have the same dimensions (14,400 cubits²).
On his journey, he meets Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim is the survivor of a great flood and he recounts to Gilgamesh what is essentially the Atrahasis flood story - but with the main character named Utnapishtim. There are a few new details however...
The most popular and well-known Mesopotamian flood myth is of course Gilgamesh. The version most people know is found in Tablet 11. It's actually a story about Gilgamesh's quest for eternal life after the death of his friend Enkidu causes him to contemplate his mortality.
Then the story continues as per Ziusudra. Atrahasis gets off after the flood and makes sacrifices to the gods. This time the gods curse the surviving humans with infertility and still-births to keep the population from growing too large.
In the main tablet there is no extended discussion about the dimensions of the ark. However, in a secondary tablet we find a discussion between Ea and Atrahasis about the dimensions of the Ark (14,400 cubits²) and instructions to bring animals on board "two by two" (interesting!)
Enlil couldn't sleep, so he tried to wipe out the humans with famine and drought before finally settling on flood. This time the god Ea (Enki by a different name) warns Atrahasis. This time there is no suggestion Atrahasis is a king or priest, just a guy.
This structure of the story would form the basis of the later traditions that reworked this material. The Akkadian version, Atrahasis mirrors the format closely. In Atrahasis we learn why the gods sent the flood, because the human population was too large and noisy.
The flood waters pour down for 7 days and nights. When the flood waters receded, Ziusudra exited the ark and sacrificed for the gods. Animals exit the vessel and Ziusudra is rewarded with ever-lasting life like that of the gods.
After that event, the gods swore that no human would be allowed to live forever.
The text of Eridu Genesis is a bit better. Enki warns the king/priest Ziusudra that the gods had decreed a great flood would destroy humanity. Then there is a textual gap, presumably instructions on building a boat.
The oldest flood stories in the world are both Sumerian in origin: 1) The Death of Gilgamesh and 2) The Sumerian Flood Story (aka Eridu Genesis).
The former is very fragmentary, but it preserves the god Enlil recounting how a great flood once destroyed humanity except for one man: Zi-ud-sura.
2) Only a few cultures have a truly ancient flood myth
3) Many flood stories around the world were influenced by Christian missionaries
4) Truly native flood stories vary so widely they cannot possibly be recording a historical event
First up, Mesopotamia
A THREAD: It is said "every culture around the world has a flood myth." This is often used to argue for the historicity of a global flood.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to share flood myths from around the world and we'll see a few things:
1) Not every culture has a flood myth...
I don't think there's a solid link, but if Lucian is the author of De Dea Syria then it's possible he knew of the Biblical tale. He shows an awareness of Revelation in "A True Story" so it's possible he was aware of the Hebrew Scriptures too.
With Combabos this also happens at the very last minute - as he his about to be executed... just like Tamar produces exonerating evidence before her death in Genesis 38.
INTERESTINGLY - there is also the 1st/2nd Century CE tale of Combabos (Kombabos) - who is advanced upon by the kings wife, rebuffs her, is sentenced to death and then produces his severed genitals to prove his innocence.
Though if the author was inspired by a specific legend, I think Gilgamesh is more likely. Given there is also a 7-year famine motif with the storing up of grain in Gilgamesh. And the fact that we know from the flood story that the Biblical authors were aware of Gilgamesh.
As you can see, both the spurned lover and the castration elements were widespread in the ANE. I think it's far more likely that the author of this episode of the Joseph Story is drawing upon a common motif than a specific legend.
In Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar makes an advance on Gilgamesh which he refuses. Spurned, Ishtar sends the Bull of Heaven to attack Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
