Thousands of years before the story of Noah and the Ark, people in ancient Mesopotamia were already telling tales of a devastating divine flood. Written into the Epic of Atrahasis, this ancient story describes a man chosen to survive catastrophe by building a great boat and preserving life from destruction.

Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Sophus Helle to explore this legend from ancient Babylonian folklore. What does the story of Atrahasis reveal about ancient Babylonian beliefs? How similar is it to the biblical account of Noah? And why did the memory of a great flood become one of humanity’s most enduring stories?

MORE

Epic of Gilgamesh: Rise of Enkidu

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Babylon's Epic of Creation

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.