Comparing The Flood In The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Genesis

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1. Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis include stories about a great flood, with some similarities, however, there are also a few differences. Two ways the stories differ from each other is the boat’s shape and the people that got on the boat. In Utnapishtim’s story, the boat was square with “ten dozen cubits, the height of each of her sides, ten dozen cubits square, her outer dimensions” while Noah’s boat was rectangular (103). Then Utnapishtim let family as well as friends onto the boat while Noah only let family onto the boat, in addition to animals. The stories are similar in the way that they both include a righteous hero and both floods appeared to be a global catastrophe for all of mankind to endure. Considering that the floods are a result of mankind being so awful, Noah and Utnapishtim symbolize the good of humanity that God wanted to survive. In Genesis, God says to Noah “Come…show more content…
In the Iliad, Diomedes speaks of his family's traditions of hospitality. He says, “We have old ties of hospitality! My grandfather Oenues long ago entertained Bellerophon in his halls got twenty days, and they gave each other gifts of friendship.” (207). In the Odyssey, Odysseus’s wife is hospitable to the men that come to the house, even though they aren’t very good guests. While being hospitable to Athena, Telemachus explains their situation to her, “And all those with power on rock Ithaca are courting my mother and ruining our house. She refuses to make a marriage she hates. But can't stop it either. They are eating us. Out of house and home and will kill me someday” (297). The rules of hospitality include the hosts providing food and shelter while the guests are respectful and bring gifts. The symbolism is that if they don’t follow the rules of hospitality, it is disrespectful to the gods. Also, with god like Athena frequently taking the form of other people, you never know if you’re actually disrespecting a god until your maybe punished later for being a horrible
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    Although both the flood in Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh from Tablet XI are from different time eras, one is able to infer about the similarities about both stories and how they are altered to their own respected culture. These similarities and difference of both of these stories provide the reader with an understanding of how through analyzing both of these texts, one is able to see that the flood story gives one an understanding of not only during the respected society during this time, but

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