There are several myths that include accounts of a great flood. The common reason for the flood, as testified in most of these myths, is usually punishment upon mankind for their sins. Typically, an angry god seeking revenge administers the flood. Some of mankind may be spared through the building of some sort of protective boat, ark, or even a golden egg. Seeds from all animals and vegetation will be stored inside until the flood subsides. At this time, the world will begin again.
             The Bible contains a flood story in Genesis of Noah. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the Sumerian myth that tells the story of a flood. In India, The Creation, Death, and Rebirth of the Universe tells the Hindu story of the great flood. The Yoruba myth that tells a flood story is The Creation of the Universe and Ife. Each of these myths has similarities regarding the great flood. Each of these also has some conflicting details of the account.
             The Sumerians lived in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, hence the name, Mesopotamia that directly translates to "between the rivers." Today, this area is known as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but it was once occupied by one of the oldest known civilizations. This civilization is given credit to spreading the great myth, The Epic of Gilgamesh. This epic was written in cuneiform on clay tablets dating back to around 2100 B.C. Sin-leqi Unninni, a priest, has been given credit for writing the epic. It was discovered in Ninevah in 1845 in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal.
             In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is searching for Utanipishtim, the Faraway, to inquire about immortality. When Gilgamesh finds Utanipishtim, he is told of the great flood. In this account of the flood, Enlil, ruler of the Gods, decides to destroy the Earth. He assembles the other gods in a discussion of what is to be done. His reasons for desiring the destruction of mankind are...