The Flood of Utnapishtim

Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, had lost his beloved friend Enkidu to death, and terror seized him. If even Enkidu could die, so could he. So he set out to find Utnapishtim, the one man granted eternal life.

At the edge of the world, across the Waters of Death, Gilgamesh found him — an old man, unremarkable. 'How did you win life without end?' the king demanded.

Utnapishtim told of a time when the gods, weary of humanity's noise, resolved to drown the world. But the god Ea warned him in secret: tear down your house, build a boat, save the seed of every living thing.

For six days and nights the deluge raged, until even the gods cowered like dogs. When the waters fell, the boat came to rest on a mountain, and Utnapishtim sent out a dove, a swallow, and a raven to find dry land.

'The gods granted me life for saving the world,' he said, 'but they will not gather again for you.' He set Gilgamesh a simple test — to stay awake six days. The king failed within moments, and understood at last: death is the lot of men, and a life well-lived is the only immortality within reach.