Uta-napishtim, also called Utnapishtim (Akkadian: 𒌓𒍣, "he has found life"), was a legendary king from the ancient city of Shuruppak in southern Iraq. According to the Gilgamesh flood myth, he survived a great flood by building and living on a boat.

Different traditions refer to him by various names. In the earliest Sumerian stories, he was called Ziusudra ("Life of long days"), later known as Xisuthros in writings by Berossus. In later Akkadian sources, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, he was named Atra-hasis ("exceeding wise") and later Uta-napishtim ("he has found life"). His father was the king Ubar-Tutu ("Friend of the god Tutu").

Uta-napishtim was the eighth king in Mesopotamian legends before the flood. He is believed to have lived around 2900 BC, during a time when a major flood occurred in Shuruppak.

In Mesopotamian stories, Uta-napishtim was chosen by the god Enki (Akkadian: Ea) to build a large ship called the "Preserver of Life" to save people and animals from a flood that would destroy all life. His story appears in Tablet XI of the Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which is part of Gilgamesh’s journey to find immortality. Scholars have noted that Uta-napishtim’s story shares similarities with the story of Noah in the Book of Genesis.

Story

Uta-napishtim was instructed by the god Enki to leave his belongings and build a large ship named the Preserver of Life. In the text Erra and Išum, Marduk is described as the cause of the flood and the creator of the Seven Sages.

The Preserver of Life was constructed from solid wood to block sunlight from entering, and its length and width were equal. Enki is said to have drawn the ship’s design on the ground. The ship’s frame was built in five days and measured 200 feet in length, width, and height, with a floor area of one acre. The interior had seven levels, each divided into nine sections, and the ship was completed on the seventh day. The entrance was closed once all passengers had boarded.

Uta-napishtim was also told to take his wife, family, relatives, village craftsmen, baby animals, and grains onto the ship. The flood would destroy all living beings not on the ship. After twelve days at sea, Uta-napishtim opened the ship’s hatch and saw Mount Nisir. He rested the ship there for seven days. On the seventh day, he released a dove, which returned because it found only water. He then sent a swallow, which also returned. Finally, he released a raven, which did not return because it found dry land. Uta-napishtim then released the animals and offered a sacrifice to the gods.

The gods arrived and granted Uta-napishtim and his wife immortality and a place among the heavenly gods because they had preserved humanity and remained faithful to the gods. Enki (also called Ea) stated that he did not directly inform Uta-napishtim (referred to as "Atrahasis") about the flood, but instead caused him to dream about it.

Role in the epic

In the story, after his friend Enkidu dies, the hero Gilgamesh begins a journey to find his ancestor, Uta-napishtim (also called Xisouthros), who lives near the place where rivers meet the sea and has been given eternal life.

Uta-napishtim advises Gilgamesh to stop searching for immortality but offers him a test: if Gilgamesh can stay awake for a long time, he might gain immortality. Gilgamesh fails the test. Then, Uta-napishtim tells him about a plant that can restore youth. Gilgamesh finds the plant at the bottom of the sea in Dilmun (a place often thought to be modern-day Bahrain). However, a serpent steals the plant, and Gilgamesh returns to the city of Uruk, giving up hope of achieving immortality or regaining youth.