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Originally Posted by Shameless Hussy
Wait... what? I thought Ziusudra was the hero/king of an older Sumerian legend which PRECEDED the Gilgamesh narrative (in which Ziusudra is featured), which in turn preceded the Noah narrative. No? Where's Jaan Puhvel when we need him?
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Well it looks like the names got changed around based on which version based upon which empire the copy is from. Both people seam to have been real Sumerians, though Gilgamesh is probably better substantiated. Ziusudra seams to be the more original of the sources, and oddly enough Gilgamesh is probably the more famous.
http://www.geocities.com/garyweb65/prehist.html
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The Larsa version is a rather faithful copy of the original with a couple of exceptions: Larsa was added so as to bring prestige to that city and Badtibira is called Badgurgurra. Some scholars believe that Ziusudra, the Sumerian Noah, was the son of the last king of Shuruppak. Zinsuddu is probably Ziusudra. The Babylonian version is worthless from an historical prospective. Not only is Babylon the first city, but the other cities and the rulers are unrecognizable in their Hellenized names.
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http://www.consciousevolution.com/Re...ischapter1.htm
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Sumerian Flood Myth - "The gods, angered at humankind, decide to destroy them with a flood. The god Enki, disagreeing with this decision, instructs a worthy man named Ziusudra to build a great boat in which to save himself, his family, and a few other people, as well as all animals. This myth dates from about the third millennium B.C.E." This story dates long before Noah yet is strikingly similar to the Bible's account. If all you were to do was insert the names Yahweh and Noah for Enki and Ziusudra you'd basically have the gist of it.
Babylonian Flood Myth - "The Gilgamesh epic contains a similar story [see Sumerian Flood Myth above], and it seems likely that this myth is based upon the Sumerian one. In the Babylonian myth the story is essentially the same as the Sumerian, but the names have been changed. Ziusudra (the Sumerian) is now Utnapishtim and Enki (the Sumerian god) is now Ea. This Babylonian myth seems very definitely to be the source of the biblical flood featuring Noah."
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08-25-2004, 03:05 PM
