Comparison of Epic of Gilgamesh to Old Testamanet

The Flood Stories: The Validity Debate Continues

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it articulates how, "For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts" (Sandars 111). Alternatively, in the Old Testament, it says, "All the fountains of the great deep [were] broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened . . . And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased; . . . and the ark went upon the face of the waters."(Holy Bible, Genesis 7:11b, 17a, 18b). In addition, the story of the Flood in Metamorphoses elaborates on the fact that, "Neptune called his river all, and told them, very briefly, to lose their violence, open their houses […] His trident struck the shuddering earth; it opened the way for the rush of waters" (Humphries 11). Which flood story should readers confide in with validity? Better yet, which flood story is the refinement of the other? Many critics s...