Mythology / babylonian-epic-of-atrahasis
Facts about Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis
- 05
Atrahasis, the flood hero of the epic, is warned by the god Enki to build a boat and save himself from the coming deluge.
- 04
Written in Akkadian, the Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis is preserved on clay tablets dated to around the Old Babylonian period, roughly 1700 BCE.
- 03
Among the oldest known flood narratives, the Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis predates the biblical flood story and shares striking parallels with the later Epic of Gilgamesh.
- 02
In the Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis, humans were created from clay mixed with the flesh and blood of a slain god to serve the lesser gods.
- 01
The Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis includes a great flood narrative in which the god Enlil sends the flood to reduce humanity's overpopulation and noise.