The Deluge by Gustave Doré.

The story of a Great Flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution is a widespread theme among many cultural myths. See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements Divine retribution is a supernatural punishment usually directed towards all or some portions of humanity by a Deity. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Though it is best known in modern times in the Western world through the Biblical story of Noah's Ark, it is also well known in other versions, such as stories of Matsya in the Hindu Puranas, Deucalion in Greek mythology and Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Noah's Ark, according to the Book of Genesis (chapters 6-9 is the story of a large vessel built at God 's command to save Noah, his family This article concerns the Hindu avatar For the ancient kingdom see Matsya Rajya. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" In Greek mythology, Deucalion (Δευκαλίων was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction.

Flood myths in various cultures

Ancient Near East

Fertile Crescent myth series
Mesopotamia
Levantine myth
Arabian myth
Yazidic religion
Mesopotamian mythology Topics
Gods Anu & 7 who decree fate Ishtar & astrology Tiamat & Tablets of Destiny Annunaki & fiction Marduk & Babylon Heroes Utnapishtim & world-flood Tammuz & new life Gilgamesh & Cedar Forest Enkidu, the man-beast Monsters Zu, the winged lion Qingu, mankind's blood Resheph, plague and war Namtar, deadly illness Related Me, divine decrees Ma, primeval land Irkalla, the underworld Mesopotamian religion The Fertile Crescent

Sumerian

Further information: Eridu Genesis

The earliest extant Flood myth is the fragmentary Sumerian Eridu Genesis, datable by its script to the 17th century BC. Ancient Semitic religion spans the Polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding In the Levantine pantheon the Elohim are the sons of El the ancient of days (olam assembled on the divine holy place Mount Zephon ( Jebel This is a sub-article to Pre-Islamic Arabia Arabian mythology comprises the ancient Pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs Prior to the The Yazidi (also Yezidi, Kurdish: ئزیدی or Êzidî, Arabic: يزيدي or ايزدي Assyrian/Syriac: ܓ̰ܠܟܝܐ is a Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian Akkadian Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians Anu (also An; (from Sumerian *An = sky heaven was a sky-god Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian Akkadian Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris Ishtar ( D IŠTAR 𒀭𒌋𒁯 is the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to The history of Astrology encompasses a great span of human history and many cultures In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is the sea personified as a Goddess, and a monstrous embodiment of Primordial chaos. In Mesopotamian Mythology, the Tablet of Destinies (not as frequently misquoted in general works the 'Tablets of Destiny' was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed The Anunna are the fifty great gods of Sumerian mythology. Some of them are associated with specific cities while others bear a strong resemblance to the functions of patron Zecharia Sitchin (born 1922 is an author of books promoting an Ancient astronaut theory of human origins Marduk ( Sumerian spelling in Akkadian: AMARUTU 𒀫 𒌓 "solar calf" perhaps from MERI Babylonian mythology is a set of stories depicting the activities of Babylonian deities, Heroes and Mythological creatures While these stories The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. The category life-death-rebirth deity also known as a "dying-and-rising" or "Resurrection" Deity is a convenient means of classifying the many divinities Gilgamesh was the son of Lugalbanda and the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II first dynasty of Uruk ruling circa 2600 BC according to the Sumerian king The Cedar Forest is the glorious realm of the gods of Mesopotamian mythology. First Tablet Enkidu is the quintessential savage person in the beginning of the epic The whole of his body was hairy and his (uncut locks were like a woman's or the hair of Therianthropy (from n therianthrope and adj therianthropic, part man and part beast from the Greek theríon, θηρίον meaning "wild Zu, or Anzu in Persian and Sumerian, (from An "heaven" and Zu "far" in the Sumerian language) is a The Sumerian word lama, which is rendered in Akkadian as lamassu, refers to a beneficient protective female deity Kingu, also spelled Qingu meaning unskilled laborer was a god in Babylonian mythology and — after the murder of his father — the consort of the goddess Tiamat A creation myth is a supernatural mytho-[[religion religious]] story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, Earth, life, and Resheph or Reshef (Canaanite/Hebrew sem-Latn ršp he רשף was a Canaanite deity of plague and war. In Mesopotamian mythology Namtar was a hellish Deity, god of death and the messenger of An, Ereshkigal, and Nergal. In Sumerian mythology, a me ( Sumerian, conventionally mɛ or ñe ( or parşu ( Akkadian) is Ma is a Sumerian word meaning "land" that in Sumerian mythology was also used to design the primeval land In Akkadian and Sumerian mythology, Irkalla (also Ir-Kalla, Irkalia) is the Hell -like Underworld from which there In the study of Mythology and Religion, the underworld (gr κάτω κόσμος) is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term Afterlife The Religions of the Ancient Near East were mostly Polytheistic, with some early examples of emerging Henotheism ( Atenism, early The Fertile Crescent is a Crescent -shaped region in the Middle East, originally incorporating the Levant and Ancient Mesopotamia, and often The Sumerian creation myth, the earliest account of the Sumerian creation and Flood myth, is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated Sumerian ( " native tongue " was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC The Sumerian creation myth, the earliest account of the Sumerian creation and Flood myth, is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated ^[1]

The Sumerian myth tells how the god Enki warns Zi-ud-sura (meaning "he saw life," in reference to the gift of immortality given him by the gods), of the gods' decision to destroy mankind in a flood - the passage describing why the gods have decided this is lost. Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Enki ( Sumerian: dENKI(G 𒂗𒆠 was a Deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology Enki instructs Ziusudra to build a large boat - the text describing the instructions is also lost. After a flood of seven days, Zi-ud-sura makes appropriate sacrifices and prostrations to Anu (sky-god) and Enlil (chief of the gods), and is given eternal life in Dilmun (the Sumerian Eden) by Anu and Enlil. In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians Anu (also An; (from Sumerian *An = sky heaven was a sky-god Enlil ( EN = Lord + LIL = Loft "Lord of the Open" or "Lord of the Wind" was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in ancient Sumerian Dilmun (sometimes transliterated Telmun) is a land mentioned by Mesopotamian Civilizations as a trade partner source of raw material copper and Entrepot

Akkadian (Atrahasis Epic)

Further information: Atra-Hasis

The Akkadian Atrahasis Epic (written no later than 1700 BC, the name Atrahasis means "exceedingly wise"), gives human overpopulation as the cause for the great flood. The 18th century BCE Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic, named after its human hero The 18th century BCE Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic, named after its human hero After 1200 years of human fertility, the god Enlil felt disturbed in his sleep due to the noise and ruckus caused by the growing population of mankind. Enlil ( EN = Lord + LIL = Loft "Lord of the Open" or "Lord of the Wind" was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in ancient Sumerian He turned for help to the divine assembly who then sent a plague, then a drought, then a famine, and then saline soil, all in an attempt to reduce the numbers of mankind. Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil Salt affected soils are caused by excess accumulation of salts typically most pronounced at the soil surface All these were temporary fixes. 1200 years after each solution, the original problem returned. When the gods decided on a final solution, to send a flood, the god Enki, who had a moral objection to this solution, disclosed the plan to Atrahasis, who then built a survival vessel according to divinely given measurements. Enki ( Sumerian: dENKI(G 𒂗𒆠 was a Deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology

To prevent the other gods from bringing such another harsh calamity, Enki created new solutions in the form of social phenomena such as non-marrying women, barrenness, miscarriages and infant mortality, to help keep the population from growing out of control.

Babylonian (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Further information: Epic of Gilgamesh

The "Deluge tablet" (tablet 11) of the Epic of Gilgamesh in Akkadian. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction.

In the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, toward the end of the He who saw the deep version by Sin-liqe-unninni, there are references to the great flood (tablet 11). The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. Sin-liqe-unninni was a scribe who lived in Babylonia between 1300 BC and 1000 BC This was a late addition to the Gilgamesh cycle, largely paraphrased or copied verbatim from the Epic of Atrahasis (see above).

The hero Gilgamesh, seeking immortality, searches out Utnapishtim (whose name is a direct translation into Akkadian of the Sumerian Zi-ud-sura) in Dilmun, a kind of paradise on earth. Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. The Sumerian creation myth, the earliest account of the Sumerian creation and Flood myth, is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated Dilmun (sometimes transliterated Telmun) is a land mentioned by Mesopotamian Civilizations as a trade partner source of raw material copper and Entrepot Utnapishtim tells how Ea (equivalent of the Sumerian Enki) warned him of the gods' plan to destroy all life through a great flood and instructed him to build a vessel in which he could save his family, his friends, and his wealth and cattle. Enki ( Sumerian: dENKI(G 𒂗𒆠 was a Deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology After the Deluge the gods repented their action and made Utnapishtim immortal.

Hebrew

The best-known version of the Hebrew flood-story is that in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 6-9), but the two non-canonical (non-Biblical) books of Enoch and Jubilees (both later than Genesis) contain elaborations on the Genesis story.

Genesis:

The record in the book of Genesis says, "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am grieved that I have made them. '"^[2]
God selects Noah who "found favor in the eyes of the Lord"^[3] and commands him to build an ark. Noah (or Noe, Noach;; Nūḥ; Arabic: نوح; "Rest") was according to the Bible, the tenth and last of A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size God instructed the ark's construction to be three hundred cubits (450 feet/137 m) long, fifty cubits (75 feet/23 m) wide, and thirty cubits (45 feet/14 m) high. ^[4][5] Then God commanded Noah to put one pair of unclean animals and seven pairs of clean animals. Unclean animals, in some Religions are Animals on whose consumption or handling is labelled a Taboo. Unclean animals, in some Religions are Animals on whose consumption or handling is labelled a Taboo. After Noah builds the ark, "all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened"^[6] by God. It rains for 40 days. "The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days. "^[7] The water recedes for 150 days. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark rests upon the mountains of Ararat. The Mountains of Ararat is the place named in the Book of Genesis where Noah's ark came to rest after the great flood (Genesis 84 After 40 days on the mountain, Noah opens up the ark. "Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 'Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives with you. '" Everyone and every animal exits the ark to fruitfully repopulate the Earth. See also Noah's Ark. Noah's Ark, according to the Book of Genesis (chapters 6-9 is the story of a large vessel built at God 's command to save Noah, his family

Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees:

The 2nd century BC 1st Book of Enoch is an apocryphon. The Book of Enoch is any of several works that attribute themselves to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah and son of Jared ( It adds to the Genesis flood story by saying that God sent the Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim, the titanic children of the Grigori, the "sons of God" mentioned in Genesis and of human females. Nephilim are beings who appear in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Genesis, and are also mentioned in other Biblical texts and in some non- The Grigori are a group of Fallen angels told of in Biblical apocrypha who mated with mortal women giving rise to a race of hybrids known as the Nephilim The Book of Enoch enjoyed great prestige around the time of Jesus and is quoted directly in the New Testament, but failed to gain admittance to the Jewish and Christian canon.

The Book of Jubilees, also from the early 2nd century BC found amongst the Dead Sea scrolls also elaborates on the story in Genesis; this book is largely concerned with chronology. The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1979 in eleven Caves

Asia-Pacific

China

There are many sources of flood myths in ancient Chinese literature. Some appear to refer to a worldwide deluge:

1) Shujing, or "Book of History", probably written around 700 BC or earlier, states in the opening chapters that Emperor Yao is facing the problem of flood waters that "reach to the Heavens". The Classic of History ( is a compilation of documentary records related to events in ancient history of China This is the backdrop for the intervention of the famous Da Yu, who succeeded in controlling the floods. Yǔ ( (21st century BCE born Sì Wénmìng) often regarded with legendary status as Yu the Great (大禹 Dà-Yǔ) was the first ruler and founder of He went on to found the first Chinese dynasty. (see: Shujing, Part 1 Tang Document, Yao Canon; James Legges translation) The translator of the 1904 edition dated the Chinese deluge to 2348 B. C. , calculating that this was the same year as the Biblical Flood^[8]. In fact, the Mideast Flood myth tradition (including the Biblical Flood) was erroneously linked to a flood mentioned in the Sumerian king list (see below), which was actually dated to 2900 BC.

2) Shanhaijing, "Classic of the Mountain & Seas", ends with the Chinese ruler Da Yu spending ten years to control a deluge whose "floodwaters overflowed [to] heaven". Shan Hai Jing ( is a Chinese classic text that is at least 2000 years old Yǔ ( (21st century BCE born Sì Wénmìng) often regarded with legendary status as Yu the Great (大禹 Dà-Yǔ) was the first ruler and founder of (see: Shanhaijing, chapter 18, second to last paragraph; Anne Birrells translation. note: Nuwa is not mentioned in this translation in the context of a flood)

3) Shiji, Chuci, Liezi, Huainanzi, Shuowen Jiezi, Siku Quanshu, Songsi Dashu, and others, as well as many folk myths, all contain references to a personage named Nüwa. The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name 史記 or Shiji, written from 109 BC to 91 BC Chu Ci ( also known as Songs of the South or Songs of Chu, is an anthology Note This article is about the Liezi text For the author Liezi please see Lie Yukou. The Huainanzi (淮南子 Pinyin Huáinánzǐ, Wade-Giles Huai-nan Tzu; literally "The Masters/Philosophers of Huainan" is a 2nd century The Shuōwén Jiězì ( "Explaining Simple and Analyzing Compound Characters" was an early 2nd century CE Chinese dictionary from the Han Dynasty The Siku Quanshu, variously translated as the Imperial Collection of Four, Emperor's Four Treasuries, Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature The Four Great Books of Song ( was compiled by Li Fang and others during the Song Dynasty ( 960 - 1279) In Chinese mythology, Nüwa ( Traditional Chinese: 女媧 Simplified Chinese: 女娲 Pinyin: nǚwā also Nügua is mythological character Nüwa is generally represented as a female (although not always) who repairs the broken heavens after a great flood or calamity, and repopulates the world with people. There are many versions of this myth. (see Nüwa for additional detail)

The ancient Chinese civilization concentrated at the bank of Yellow River near present day Xian also believed that the severe flooding along the river bank was caused by dragons (representing gods) living in the river being angered by the mistakes of the people. In Chinese mythology, Nüwa ( Traditional Chinese: 女媧 Simplified Chinese: 女娲 Pinyin: nǚwā also Nügua is mythological character China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho ( Hatan Gol Queen river) is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the UserEl_C --> Xi'an ( Postal map spelling: Sian is the Capital of the Shaanxi province in the The Chinese Dragon or Oriental dragon is a mythical creature in East Asian culture with a Chinese origin

India

Incarnation of Vishnu as a Fish, from a devotional text.

Matsya (Fish in Sanskrit) was the first Avatara of Vishnu. This article concerns the Hindu avatar For the ancient kingdom see Matsya Rajya. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific

According to the Matsya Purana and Shatapatha Brahmana (I-8, 1-6), the mantri to the king of pre-ancient Dravida, Satyavata who later becomes known as Manu was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and begged him to save its life. The Matsya Purana is the first and oldest of all the Puranas and Hindu scriptures and texts The Shatapatha Brahmana (sa शतपथ ब्राह्मण śatapatha brāhmaṇa, " Brahmana of one-hundred paths" abbreviated ŚB Mantri is a word of Sanskrit origin used in Asian cultures with a Hindu tradition (even those that later adopted Buddhism or Islam) For other uses of Manu see Manu In Hinduism, Manu is a title accorded the progenitor of mankind, first king to rule He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew; he successively moved it to a tank, a river and then the ocean. The fish then warned him that a deluge would occur in a week that would destroy all life. Manu therefore built a boat which the fish towed to a mountaintop when the flood came, and thus he survived along with some "seeds of life" to re-establish life on earth.

Archaeologist MS Dhingra links this myth to a possible meteor impact event in the Indian Ocean. This impact may have occurred in 2084 BC.

Andaman Islands

In myths of the aboriginal tribes inhabiting the Andaman Islands people became remiss of the commands given to them at the creation. The Andaman Islands are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India. Puluga, the god creator, ceased to visit them and then without further warning sent a devastating flood. Pūluga (or Puluga) is the creator in the Mythology of the indigenous inhabitants of the Andaman Islands. Only four people survived this flood: two men, Loralola and Poilola, and two women, Kalola and Rimalola. When they landed they found they had lost their fire and all living things had perished. Puluga then recreated the animals and plants but does not seem to have given any further instructions, nor did he return the fire to the survivors^[9].

Indonesia

In Batak traditions, the earth rests on a giant snake, Naga-Padoha. Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups found in the highlands of North Sumatra Indonesia. One day, the snake tired of its burden and shook the Earth off into the sea. However, the God Batara-Guru saved his daughter by sending a mountain into the sea, and the entire human race descended from her. The Earth was later placed back onto the head of the snake.

Australia

According to the Australian aborigines, in the Dreamtime a huge frog (Tidalik - this story originates from the Murray-Darling riverina of New South Wales and Victoria. Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. The traditions and lore of Australia's indigenous peoples belongs to what may be the oldest continuous culture on Earth (circa 50000 years The Murray-Darling frequently experiences drought-flood cycles lasting up to years at a time, linked to El Nino/La Nina events in the Pacific) drank all the water in the world and a drought swept across the land. The only way to finish the drought was to make the frog laugh. Animals from all over Australia gathered together and one by one attempted to make the frog laugh. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. When finally eel succeeded, the frog opened his sleepy eyes, his big body quivered, his face relaxed, and, at last, he burst into a laugh that sounded like rolling thunder. The water poured from his mouth in a flood. It filled the deepest rivers and covered the land. Only the highest mountain peaks were visible, like islands in the sea. Many men and animals were drowned. The pelican who was blackfellow at that time painted himself with white clay and went from island to island in a great canoe, rescuing other blackfellows. Since that time pelicans have been black and white in remembrance of the Great Flood^[10].

Europe

Greek

Greek mythology knows three floods. The flood of Ogyges, the flood of Deucalion and the flood of Dardanus, two of which ending two Ages of Man: the Ogygian Deluge ended the Silver Age, and the flood of Deucalion ended the First Brazen Age. Ogyges, Ogygus or Ogygos ( Greek:) is a primeval mythological ruler in ancient Greece, generally of Boeotia, In Greek mythology, Deucalion (Δευκαλίων was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia. In Greek mythology, Dardanus ( Greek: Δάρδανος English translation: "burned up" from the verb δαρδάπτω ( dardapto The Ages of Man are the stages of human existence on the Earth according to Classical mythology. The story of a Great Flood (also known as the Deluge) sent by a Deity or deities to destroy Civilization as an act of Divine retribution is a In Greek mythology, Deucalion (Δευκαλίων was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia.

Ogyges

The Ogygian flood is so called because it occurred in the time of Ogyges,^[11] a mythical king of Attica. Ogyges, Ogygus or Ogygos ( Greek:) is a primeval mythological ruler in ancient Greece, generally of Boeotia, Attica (Αττική Attikí;) is a periphery (subdivision in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece Ogyges is somewhat synonymous to "primeval", "primal", "earliest dawn". Others say he was founder and king of Thebes. Thebes ( Classic Greek Θῆβαι, Mod Θήβα) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range which divides In many traditions the Ogygian flood is said to have covered the whole world and was so devastating that Attica remained without kings until the reign of Cecrops. Cecrops (in Greek,, Kékrōps) was a mythical king of Athens. ^[12]

Plato in his Laws, Book III, estimates that this flood occurred 10,000 years before his time. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The Laws is Plato 's last and longest Dialogue. The question asked at the beginning is not "What is law?" as one would expect- that is the question Also in Timaeus (22) and in Critias (111-112) he describes the "great deluge of all" happening 9,000 years before the time of Solon, during the 10th millennium BC. Critias, one of Plato 's late Dialogues contains the story of the mighty island kingdom Atlantis and its attempt to conquer Athens, Solon ( ancient Greek:, c 638 BC&ndash558 BC was an Athenian Statesman, Lawmaker and Lyric poet. In addition, the texts report that "many great deluges have taken place during the nine thousand years" since Athens and Atlantis were preeminent. Atlantis (in Greek,, "island of Atlas " is the name of a Legendary Island, first mentioned in Plato 's dialogues ^[13]

Map of eastern Mediterranean and Greece during 10. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία 000 BC.

The theory of the flood in the Aegean Basin, proposed that a great flood occurred at the end of the Late Pleistocene or beginning of the Holocene. In the relatively recent geological past several great floods are widely suspected to have occurred with varying amounts of supporting evidence usually as a result of the last Ice The Late Pleistocene (also known as Upper Pleistocene or the Tarantian) is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC The Holocene is a geological period that began approximately 11,550 calendar years BP (or about 9600 BC) and continues to the present. This flood would coincide with the end of the last ice age, estimated approximately 10,000 years ago, when the sea level rose as much as 130 metres, particularly during Meltwater pulse 1A when sea level rose by about 25 metres in some parts of the northern hemisphere over a period of less than 500 years. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Sea-level rise is an increase in Sea level. Multiple complex factors may influence this change The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Meltwater pulse 1A was a period of rapid deglacialization that took place 14 Northern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is North of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' ^[14]

The map on the right shows how the region would look about 12,000 years ago, or 10,000 BC, when the sea level would have been 125 meters lower than today. The Peloponnese was connected to the mainland and the Corinthian Gulf was not formed. The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. Islands around Attica, such as Aegina, Salamis and Euboea, were part of the mainland. Attica (Αττική Attikí;) is a periphery (subdivision in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece Aegina ( Greek: Αίγινα ( Egina) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 17 miles (30 km from Salamis ( Greek, Modern: Σαλαμίνα Salamína, Ancient / Katharevousa: Σαλαμίς Salamís) is the largest For the mythological figure see Euboea (mythology Euboea ( Modern Greek, Εύβοια - Évia &mdash The Cyclades formed a big island known as Aegeis, while Bosporous and Hellespont was not formed yet. The CYCLADES Packet switching network was an extremely influential French network system in the early 1970s similar to the ARPANET. The Bosporus or Bosphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, (İstanbul Boğazı (Βόσπορος is a Strait that forms the boundary between the See also Dardanelles Hellespont ( Turkish, Greek; ie "Sea of Helle" variously named in classical literature Hellespontium Pelagus

These geological findings support the hypothesis that the Ogygian Deluge may well be based on a real event.

Deucalion

The Deucalion legend as told by Apollodorus in The Library has some similarity to Noah's Ark: Prometheus advised his son Deucalion to build a chest. In Greek mythology, Deucalion (Δευκαλίων was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia. In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Προμηθεύς "forethought" is a Titan known for his wily intelligence who stole Fire from Zeus All other men perished except for a few who escaped to high mountains. The mountains in Thessaly were parted, and all the world beyond the Isthmus and Peloponnese was overwhelmed. Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha, after floating in the chest for nine days and nights, landed on Parnassus. In Greek mythology, Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion Mythology Mount Parnassus is named after Parnassos the son of the Nymph Kleodora and the man Kleopompus. An older version of the story told by Hellanicus has Deucalion's "ark" landing on Mount Othrys in Thessaly. Nearest places Neraida, southwest Neochori, west Anavra, northwest Agia Triada, northeast Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. Another account has him landing on a peak, probably Phouka, in Argolis, later called Nemea. Argolis (Αργολίδα Argolída, aɾɣo̞ˈliða Argolís in Ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the fifty-one Prefectures of When the rains ceased, he sacrificed to Zeus. Then, at the bidding of Zeus, he threw stones behind him, and they became men, and the stones which Pyrrha threw became women. Appollodorus gives this as an etymology for Greek laos "people" as derived from laas "stone". Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time The Megarians told that Megarus, son of Zeus, escaped Deucalion's flood by swimming to the top of Mount Gerania, guided by the cries of cranes. Cranes are large long-legged and long-necked Birds of the order Gruiformes, and family Gruidae.

Dardanus

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Dardanus left Pheneus in Arcadia to colonize a land in the North-East Aegean Sea. Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Halicarnassus c 60 BC–after 7 BC was a Greek historian and teacher of Rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Arcadia or Arkadía ( Greek Αρκαδία is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. When the Dardanus' deluge occurred, the land was flooded and the mountain on which he and his family survived, formed the island of Samothrace. Samothrace (Σαμοθράκη is an island municipality in Greece, in the northern Aegean Sea. He left Samothrace on an inflated skin to the opposite shores of Asia Minor and settled at the foot of Mount Ida. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Due to the fear of another flood they didn't build a city, but lived in the open for fifty years. His grandson Tros eventually built a city, which was named Troy after him. TROS (originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting) is a Dutch television and radio organisation part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting. Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or

Germanic

In Norse mythology, there are two separate deluges. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland According to the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, the first occurred at the dawn of time before the world was formed. The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda ( Snorra Edda) or simply Edda, is an Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician Ymir, the first giant, was killed by the god Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve, and when he fell, so much blood flowed from his wounds that it drowned almost the entire race of giants with the exception of the frost giant Bergelmir and his wife. In Norse mythology, Ymir, also named Aurgelmir ( Old Norse gravel-yeller) among the giants themselves was the founder of the race of Jotun may refer to Jotun (company, a Norwegian company Jötunn, a giant in Norse mythology In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. For other meanings of Ve, see Ve (disambiguation. For other meanings of Vili, see Vili (disambiguation. In Norse mythology, Bergelmir ( Old Norse, "Mountain Yeller" or "Bear Yeller" was a frost giant, the son of Thrudgelmir They escaped in a ship and survived, becoming the progenitors of a new race of giants. Ymir's body was then used to form the earth while his blood became the sea.

The second, in the Norse mythological time cycle, is destined to occur in the future during the final battle between the gods and giants, known as Ragnarök. In Norse mythology, Ragnarök (rɑgnɑrɔk Old Norse "Final destiny of the gods" refers to a series of major events including a great battle foretold During this apocalyptic event, Jormungandr, the great World Serpent that lies beneath the sea surrounding Midgard, the realm of mortals, will rise up from the watery depths to join the conflict, resulting in a catastrophic flood that will drown the land. Jörmungandr, alternately referred to as the Midgardsormr or World Serpent, is a Sea serpent of the Norse mythology, the middle child of the Midgard (an Anglicized form of Old Norse Miðgarðr) is an old Germanic name for our World, the places inhabited by humans, However, following Ragnarök the earth will be reborn and a new age of humanity will begin.

The mythologist Brian Branston noted the similarities between this myth and an incident described in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, which had traditionally been associated with the Biblical flood, so there may have been a corresponding incident in the broader Germanic mythology as well as in Anglo-Saxon mythology. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between Anglo-Saxon paganism refers to the Migration Period religion practiced by the English in 5th to 7th century England.

Irish

According to the apocryphal history of Ireland Lebor Gabála Érenn, the first inhabitants of Ireland led by Noah's granddaughter Cessair were all except one wiped out by a flood 40 days after reaching the island. The Mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved shorn of its religious meanings Lebor Gabála Érenn ( The Book of the Taking of Ireland) is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of Poems and Prose narratives In Irish mythology, Cessair (or Ceasair) was the leader of the first inhabitants of Ireland before the Biblical Flood, in what may Later, after Partholon's and Nemed's people reached the island, another flood rose and killed all but thirty of the inhabitants, who scattered across the world. In Irish mythology Partholón was the leader of the second group of people to settle in Ireland, the first to arrive after the biblical Flood. In Irish mythology, Nemed ("holy" or "privileged" son of Agnoman of Scythia was the leader of the third group of inhabitants of Ireland

Finnish

In the beginning of Kalevala there are a couple of lines that describe a sea rise. The Kalevala is a book and epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian Folklore in the nineteenth

Americas

Aztec

There are several variants of the Aztec story, many of them are questionable in accuracy or authenticity. The Aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology which contained the many gods (over 100 and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs

When the Sun Age came, there had passed 400 years. Then came 200 years, then 76. Then all mankind was lost and drowned and turned to fishes. The water and the sky drew near each other. In a single day all was lost, and Four Flower consumed all that there was of our flesh. The very mountains were swallowed up in the flood, and the waters remained, lying tranquil during fifty and two springs. But before the flood began, Titlachahuan had warned the man Nota and his wife Nena, saying, 'Make no more pulque, but hollow a great cypress, into which you shall enter the month Tozoztli. The waters shall near the sky. ' They entered, and when Titlacahuan had shut them in he said to the man, 'Thou shalt eat but a single ear of maize, and thy wife but one also'. And when they had each eaten one ear of maize, they prepared to go forth, for the water was tranquil.

— Ancient Aztec document Codex Chimalpopoca, translated by Abbé Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg. Abbé Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg (8 September 1814 &ndash 8 January 1874 was a noted French writer Ethnographer, Historian and

Note: These Aztec translations are controversial. Many have no credible source and there is no proof of their authenticity. Some are based on the pictograph story of Coxcox, but other translations of this pictograph mention nothing of a flood. Most significantly, the time that these myths were heard from the local people was well after missionaries entered the region.

Inca

In Inca mythology, Viracocha destroyed the giants with a Great Flood, and two people repopulated the earth. Inca mythology includes a number of stories and legends that are mythological and helps explain or symbolizes Inca beliefs In Inca mythology, Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra, commonly known today as Con-Tici Viracocha or simply Viracocha, was the creator of Civilization Uniquely, they survived in sealed caves. See Unu Pachakuti. In Incan mythology, Unu Pachakuti is the name of a flood that Viracocha caused to destroy the people around Lake Titicaca, saving two to bring civilization

Chibcha and Muisca

In Colombian mythology, there are references to a great flood that nearly destroyed the whole of mankind and a savior, the god Bochica. Muisca mythology refers to the Precolumbian beliefs of the Muisca culture about the origin and organization of the universe Bochica is a figure in the mythology of the Muisca (Chibcha culture which existed during the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores in areas

Maya

In Maya mythology, from the Popol Vuh, Part 1, Chapter 3, Huracan ("one-legged") was a wind and storm god who caused the Great Flood (of resin) after the first humans (made of wood) angered the gods (by being unable to worship them). Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all those Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature deities and the heroes interacting with these play the main For other uses see Popol Vuh (disambiguation The Popol Vuh ( K'iche' for "Council Book" or "Book of the Community" See also Huracán (disambiguation Huracan (also Hurakan, from Mayan Jun Raqan "one legged" was a He supposedly lived in the windy mists above the floodwaters and spoke the word "earth" until land came up again from the seas.

Later, in Part 3, Chapter 3&4,

• Four men & four women repopulate the Quiche world after the flood
• all speaking the same language (but a confusing reference)
• and gather together in the same location
• where their speech is changed (affirmed several times)
• after which they disperse throughout the world.

Like many others, this account does not present an "Ark". A "Tower of Babel" depends upon the translation; some render the peoples arriving at a city, others, at a citadel.

Hopi

In Hopi mythology, the people moved away from Sotuknang, the creator, repeatedly. The Hopi maintain a complex religious and mythological tradition stretching back over centuries He destroyed the world by fire, and then by cold, and recreated it both times for the people that still followed the laws of creation, who survived by hiding underground. People became corrupt and warlike a third time. As a result, Sotuknang guided the people to Spider Woman, and she cut down giant reeds and sheltered the people in the hollow stems. Sotuknang then caused a great flood, and the people floated atop the water in their reeds. The reeds came to rest on a small piece of land, and the people emerged, with as much food as they started with. The people traveled on in their canoes, guided by their inner wisdom (which is said to come from Sotuknang, through the door at the top of their head). They travelled to the northeast, passing progressively larger islands, until they came to the Fourth World. When they reached the fourth world, the islands sank into the ocean.

Caddo

In Caddo mythology, four monsters grew in size and power until they touched the sky. The Caddo are a nation or group of tribes of Southeastern Native Americans who in the 16th century inhabited much of what is now East Texas, western At that time, a man heard a voice telling him to plant a hollow reed. He did so, and the reed grew very big very quickly. The man entered the reed with his wife and pairs of all good animals. Waters rose, and covered everything but the top of the reed and the heads of the monsters. A turtle then killed the monsters by digging under them and uprooting them. The waters subsided, and winds dried the earth.

Menominee

In Menominee mythology, Manabus, the trickster, "fired by his lust for revenge" shot two underground gods when the gods were at play. Some placenames use other spellings see also Menomonee and Menomonie. When they all dived into the water, a huge flood arose. "The water rose up . . . . It knew very well where Manabus had gone. " He runs, he runs; but the water, coming from Lake Michigan, chases him faster and faster, even as he runs up a mountain and climbs to the top of the lofty pine at its peak. Four times he begs the tree to grow just a little more, and four times it obliges until it can grow no more. But the water keeps climbing "up, up, right to his chin, and there it stopped": there was nothing but water stretching out to the horizon. And then Manabus, helped by diving animals, and especially the bravest of all, the Muskrat, creates the world as we know it today.

Mi'kmaq

In Mi'kmaq mythology, evil and wickedness among men causes them to kill each other. The Míkmaq or Mi'kmaq (miːgmax sometimes spelled Micmac in English and formerly Mìgmaq ( Mi'gmaq) in Míkmaw) are a This causes great sorrow to the creator-sun-god, who weeps tears that become rains sufficient to trigger a deluge. The people attempt to survive by traveling in bark canoes, but only a single old man and woman survive to populate the earth. ^[15]

Polynesian

Several different flood stories are recorded among the Polynesians. None of them approach the scale of the Biblical flood.

The people of Ra'iatea tell of two friends, Te-aho-aroa and Ro'o, who went fishing and accidentally awoke the ocean god Ruahatu with their fish hooks. Somewhat smaller than Tahiti, Raiatea is the second largest of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Māori mythology, Rongo is a major god the god of cultivated food especially the kūmara, a vital food crop Angered, he vowed to sink Ra'iatea below the sea. Te-aho-aroa and Ro'o begged for forgiveness, and Ruahatu warned them that they could escape only by bringing their families to the islet of Toamarama. These set sail, and during the night, the island slipped under the ocean, only to rise again the next morning. Nothing survived except for these families, who erected sacred marae (temples) dedicated to the god Ruahatu.

A similar legend is found on Tahiti. Tahiti is the largest Island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the Archipelago of Society Islands in the No reason for the tragedy is given, but the whole island sunk beneath the sea except for Mount Pitohiti. One human couple managed to flee there with their animals and survived.

In a tradition of the Ngāti Porou, a Māori tribe of the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, Ruatapu became angry when his father Uenuku elevated his younger half-brother Kahutia-te-rangi ahead of him. Ngāti Porou is a Māori Iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions on the North Island of New Zealand This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. In Māori tradition, Ruatapu was the second son of the great chief Uenuku, who belittled him for using the sacred comb of his elder brother Kahutia-te-rangi Ruatapu lured Kahutia-te-rangi and a large number of young men of high birth into his canoe, and took them out to sea where he drowned them. He called on the gods to destroy his enemies and threatened to return as the great waves of early summer. As he struggled for his life, Kahutia-te-rangi recited an incantation invoking the southern humpback whales (paikea in Māori) to carry him ashore. Accordingly, he was renamed Paikea, and was the only survivor (Reedy 1997:83-85). to Māori tradition, Paikea is an ancestor of Ngāti Porou, a Māori tribe of the east coast of New Zealand's North Island

Some versions of the Māori story of Tawhaki contain episodes where the hero causes a flood to destroy the village of his two jealous brothers-in-law. Māori mythology, Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with Lightning and Thunder. A comment in Grey's Polynesian Mythology may have given the Māori something they did not have before - as A. W Reed put it, "In Polynesian Mythology Grey said that when Tawhaki's ancestors released the floods of heaven, the earth was overwhelmed and all human beings perished - thus providing the Māori with his own version of the universal flood" (Reed 1963:165, in a footnote). Christian influence has led to the appearance of genealogies where Tawhaki's grandfather Hema is reinterpreted as Shem, son of Noah of the Biblical deluge.

In Hawaii, a human couple, Nu'u and Lili-noe, survived a flood on top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the In a Hawaiian mythology, Nu'u was a man who built an ark with which he escaped a Great Flood. Mauna Kea is a Dormant volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five volcanoes which together form the Island of Hawaii. Nu'u made sacrifices to the moon, to whom he mistakenly attributed his safety. Kāne, the creator god, descended to earth on a rainbow, explained Nu'u's mistake, and accepted his sacrifice. In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne Milohai is the father of Kamohoali{{okina}}i, Pele (whom he exiled to Hawai{{okina}}i) Kapo, Nāmaka

In the Marquesas, the great war god Tu was angered by critical remarks made by his sister Hii-hia. His tears tore through heaven's floor to the world below and created a torrent of rain carrying everything in its path. Only six people survived.

Hypotheses of origin of Flood myths

The publication of The First Fossil Hunters by Adrienne Mayor, followed by Fossil Legends of the First Americans, have caused the hypothesis that flood stories have been inspired by ancient observations of fossil seashells and fish inland and on mountains to gain ground. Indeed, there is much documentary evidence to support this view, as the Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Chinese all commented in ancient writings about seashells and/or impressions of fish that they found inland and/or in the mountains. The Greeks hypothesized that the earth had been covered by water several times, and noted the seashells and fish fossils that they found on mountain tops as the evidence for this belief. Native Americans also expressed this belief to early Europeans, though they had not written these ideas down previously.

Some geologists believe that quite dramatic, greater than normal flooding of rivers in the distant past might have influenced the myths. In the relatively recent geological past several great floods are widely suspected to have occurred with varying amounts of supporting evidence usually as a result of the last Ice One of the latest, and quite controversial, hypotheses of this type is the Ryan-Pitman Theory, which argues for a catastrophic deluge about 5600 BC from the Mediterranean Sea into the Black Sea. The Black Sea deluge is a hypothesized Prehistoric Flood that occurred when the Black Sea filled rapidly During the 6th millennium BC, Agriculture spreads from the Balkans to Italy and Eastern Europe and from Mesopotamia to Egypt. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey

There has also been speculation that a large tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea caused by the Thera eruption dated ca. A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when The Minoan eruption of Thera, also referred to as the Thera eruption or Santorini eruption was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption ( VEI 1630-1600 BC geologically, but to ca. 1500 BC archaeologically, was the historical basis for folklore that evolved into the Deucalion myth. One might argue that although the tsunami hit the South Aegean Sea, and Crete, it did not affect cities in the mainland of Greece such as Mycenae, Athens, Thebes which continued to prosper, therefore it had a local rather than a regionwide effect^[16]. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the "Lion Gate" redirects here For other uses see Lions' Gate (disambiguation. The History of Athens is one of the longest of any city in Europe and in the world Thebes ( Classic Greek Θῆβαι, Mod Θήβα) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range which divides

There is also a hypothesis that suggests an asteroid crashed into Earth and created a global flood. Asteroids, sometimes called Minor planets or planetoids', are bodies—primarily of the inner Solar System —that are smaller than planets but EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 The story of a Great Flood (also known as the Deluge) sent by a Deity or deities to destroy Civilization as an act of Divine retribution is a Archaeologist Bruce Masse of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico analyzed 175 flood myths from around the world. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL (previously known at various times as Site Y, Los Alamos Laboratory, and Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory) is a New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. He believes that if the stories reflect a single worldwide cataclysm, that the stories would be consistent with a single event. Masse finds that "only a globally catastrophic deep-water oceanic comet impact can account for all the environmental information encoded in the corpus of worldwide flood myths". He and other scientists believe the impact occurred around Madagascar. Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern

The majority of the myths had a sustained rainstorm along with a tsunami. A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when Masse has stated that an asteroid would throw 10 times its mass in water into the sky. The water droplets would circumnavigate the planet and it would take days for the rain to subside. When the durations of each of the myths were plotted, it formed a bell-shaped graph, with the majority occurring between 4 to 10 days. The normal distribution, also called the Gaussian distribution, is an important family of Continuous probability distributions applicable in many fields The survivors from the stories typically found safety between 150 and 300 meters above sea level. Multiple references to astronomical events during the flood lead him to believe the event occurred on or around May 10, 2807 BC. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. The 29th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2900 BC to 2801 BC

There are also references to a cosmic explosion in some myths, such as in the Mesopotamian flood myth. Gilgamesh describes seeing a pillar of black smoke in the horizon, followed by dark clouds and a flood. Gilgamesh was the son of Lugalbanda and the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II first dynasty of Uruk ruling circa 2600 BC according to the Sumerian king ^[17][18]

Hypotheses of origin of the Biblical Noah story

Flood geology

Proponents of flood geology contend that the Biblical account of the global Great Flood is to be taken literally in which most observed geological processes, like fossilization and sedimentary strata, are a later result of this perceived divine event. Flood geology (also creation geology or diluvial geology) is a prominent subset of beliefs under the umbrella of Creationism that assumes the literal ^[19]

While many people hold the belief there was a worldwide flood, flood geology itself has been unequivocally rejected by mainstream geologists, many of whom consider it a form of pseudoscience. The history of geology is concerned with the development of the natural science of geology Pseudoscience is defined as a body of knowledge methodology belief or practice that is claimed to be Scientific or made to appear scientific but does not adhere to the ^[20] Though at one time even prominent workers in Biblical archaeology were willing to argue support for flood geology,^[21][22] this view is no longer widely held. For the movement associated with William F Albright and known as Biblical archaeology see Biblical archaeology school. ^[23]

Sumerian king list flood

The Sumerian king list mentions a flood which divides older, possibly mythic kingships from more recent and possibly historic kingships in Sumer. The Sumerian king list is an ancient text in the Sumerian language that lists kings of Sumer from Sumerian and foreign dynasties Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar In the 1920's, archaeologists associated this historic flood with a layer of riverine deposits which interrupted Sumerian settlements over a wide area of southern Mesopotamia. This led to speculation at the time that "Noah's Flood" had been found, by trying to connect the Ancient Near East Flood myth tradition (beginning with the Sumerian Eridu Genesis and continuing with the later Atra-Hasis myth, the Utnapishtim episode in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Biblical story of Noah) with this historic flood. The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq The Sumerian creation myth, the earliest account of the Sumerian creation and Flood myth, is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated The 18th century BCE Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic, named after its human hero The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Noah (or Noe, Noach;; Nūḥ; Arabic: نوح; "Rest") was according to the Bible, the tenth and last of However, there is no evidence that the mythical Flood in the Eridu Genesis was the same as the historic flood mentioned in the king list, or that the Sumerians themselves ever linked them together. The Sumerian creation myth, the earliest account of the Sumerian creation and Flood myth, is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated

See also

• Deluge (prehistoric)
• Black Sea deluge theory
• Antediluvian
• Ziusudra
• Atrahasis
• Epic of Gilgamesh
• Matsya
• Noah
• Noah's Ark
• Atlantis
• Cantref Gwaelod
• Deucalion
• Lemuria
• Ys
• Immanuel Velikovsky

Notes

References

• Alan Dundes (editor), The Flood Myth, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988. ISBN 0-520-05973-5 / 0520059735
• Lloyd R. Bailey. Noah, the Person and the Story, University of South Carolina Press, 1989, ISBN 0-87249-637-6
• John Greenway (editor), The Primitive Reader, Folkways, 1965
• G. Grey, Polynesian Mythology, Illustrated edition, reprinted 1976. (Whitcombe and Tombs: Christchurch), 1956.
• A. W. Reed, Treasury of Maori Folklore (A. H. & A. W. Reed:Wellington), 1963.
• Anaru Reedy (translator), Ngā Kōrero a Pita Kāpiti: The Teachings of Pita Kāpiti. Canterbury University Press: Christchurch, 1997.
• W. G. Lambert and A. R. Millard, Atrahasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood, Eisenbrauns, 1999, ISBN 1-57506-039-6. Alan Ralph Millard (born 1937 is Rankin Professor Emeritus of Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages, and Honorary Senior Fellow at the School of Archaeology Classics
• Faulkes, Anthony (transl. ) (1987). Edda (Snorri Sturluson). Everyman. Everyman's Library is a series of reprinted classic literature currently published by Alfred A ISBN 0-460-87616-3.

External links

• The Great Flood All texts (Eridu Genesis, Atrahasis, Gilgamesh, Bible, Berossus), commentary, and a table with parallels
• Mark Isaak (1996-2002). Flood stories from around the world. Retrieved on 2007-06-27. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden

  Mirror from September 2002. Retrieved on 2007-06-27. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden

• Ballard & The Black Sea National Geographic
• The Flood: Myth and Science
• Flood Legends from Around the World