Catastrophic+Water+Event+and+Interpretations

=Floods of Fury=

Two best friends, Charlie Brown and Snoopy from //The Peanuts// depend on each other through thick and thin, and they will always survive as long as they have each other. As Charlie Brown says to Snoopy when things do not look very cheerful, “'Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don't worry...I'm here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you.'" As Charlie puts it, any catastrophe could come to them, but nothing will push them down because they will all diminish, but for ancient myths such as //Gilgamesh, Osiris// and The Bible, floods do destroy everything leaving only few left standing. The main focus of this page will be to explore how different cultures interpreted a catastrophic water event. The archeological evidence and theories about this flood will also be examined. This wiki will answer the question: Is there any archeological evidence for a water catastrophe that caused pandemonium among the places in which people inhabited, and if so, how did different cultures interpret it as a life ending flood?

Over the years, scientists have come up with many archeological and theoretical explanations for the great flood described in //The Bible// and the epic //Gilgamesh//. For instance, archaeologists have found the Sumerian King List, a collection of clay tablets written in about 2100 B.C, which divides the kings into two categories: those who ruled before the “great flood”, and those who ruled after the “great flood.” More archeological evidence was found in the fossil layers dating back to the time of Noah. One theory the fossils supported was that trapped water erupting through underwater and/or underground volcanoes, and could be explained by the abnormally large amount of volcanic rocks in the era’s fossil layers. This would provide the great amount of water //The Bible// and //Gilgamesh//. Another similar theory states that Earth’s plates may have lifted 6,500 feet because of a raised temperature caused by the acceleration of the plate’s horizantal movement. Such a movement could force seawater onto the land and create a flood, possibly that of biblical and mythical proportions. Another group of fossils that support the possibility of a flood comes from a core sample taken by a group of oceanographers in the Gulf of Mexico. They discovered, through the samples, that thousands of years ago the salinity of the water reduced significantly and suddenly. Such a change could only have occurred by a huge rush of fresh water. What could have caused such an event? Many believe it was caused by divine intervention. While the world has reached no definate conclusion, it appears oddly coincidental that many different cultures have included a flood story. The reasons why they do, and perhaps why they don’t include a flood story explains very much about each culture and their interactions.

A religion reveals much about its culture of origin. Through studying //The Bible//, one can find out about the views and culture of its Middle Eastern writers. One of the most dynamic and widely studied stories in //The Bible// tells the story of a great flood. In Genesis 6:5 to 9:17, the writers recount God’s wrath as he sends a flood for forty days and forty nights, destroying all life, and only sparing the great Noah, his family, and all of the animals on his ark. It must first be understood that the origin of many biblical stories stem from other earlier myths rooted in Mesopotamian culture. While the flood story did not originate in //The Bible//, the fact that //The Bible//’s writers chose to include it, and the extra details they added tell us a lot about their culture. In //The Bible//, God chooses to kill humans because he believes they are wicked, and he feels sorry that he has created them (6:5 to 6:6.) This detail reflects a cynical view of humanity; that we are inherently evil and cruel. The culture recognizes humans as fallible, and also seems to recognize God as fallible, seeing as that he states his mistake in creating humans. However, the flood story also recognizes human achievement and how we may please God through good deeds, as shown through Noah. In //The Bible//, Noah represents the good of humanity which seems, although rare, to make a difference. Because of Noah, the human race and all of the world’s creatures are still in existence. He was also the one that secured the covenant with God that such a flood would never happen again. //The Bible// writers are clearly communicating the value of being a good person, and that one with good faith will be saved.

In the myth, //Gilgamesh//, the survivor of the great flood, Utanapishtim, receives the honor of everlasting life after the god Enlil desires to eliminate humans because they, "'...become numerous beyond count, and they are too noisy.'" Therefore, he comes up with the plan of the great flood to wipe out the human race, but Ea does not agree. Ea then tells the king of Shuruppak, Untanapishtim, to build an ark and to take his family with him. Thus, he and his wife survive the flood. Because he survives when everyone else dies, the gods realize the mistake they made. The gods ask for forgiveness and give Utanapishtim immortality because of his accomplishment. As in almost every myth, there is a flood that wipes out the human race. One might ask the question, why? The story of //Gilgamesh// pertains to the category of flood catastrophes because of evidence that an actual flood occurred. Gilgamesh's reign was sometime between 2700 and 2500 B.C. in southern Mesopotamia. The myth has many translations and originally was written down in approximately 2100 B.C, including the later Akkadian version. Scholars believe that Sin-leqi-unninni, a priest who wrote the Akkadian version, integrated the Sumerian flood story into the epic. The Sumerians' believed that the gods had erratic dispositions, making Sumerians’ have the hesitant reflection of nature. Because the Sumerian priest integrated his beliefs into the story, //Gilgamesh// represents the havoc that people felt toward nature. The reason for this uncertainty emerged because of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers unpredictable and catastrophic floods. From season to season their paths would change, which must have caused a shattering reaction from the people living near it. Scholars believe that the flood in //Gilgamesh// occurred in 2900 B.C in southern Mesopotamia; this specific flood became a popular topic to write upon because it caused so much chaos. The epic tales flood did actually happen, and even though the flood does not seem life threatening to modern day humans, it probably felt as if pending death to human kind hurtled toward the ancient people of Mesopotamia. Unlike in //Gilgamesh, Osiris, Isis, and Horus// does not incorporate a deathly flood in it. In fact when Isis, the wife of Osiris, brings their child, Horus, to the Nile to nurse and raise him it shows a lack of fear of a place that regularly and naturally floods. One main reason that //Osiris, Isis, and Horus// does not contain a flood and //Gilgamesh// does is because of cultural differences at the time. Around 1700 B.C. huge religious, cultural, and economic differences existed between Mesopotamia and in Egypt. In Mesopotamia the Tigris and Euphrates would flood fiercely, destroying all in its path. However in Egypt the Nile would flood with predictability and regularity bringing joy and celebration for the water source. The differences between these two types of natural floods left the two peoples with a different outlook towards their Gods. Egyptians thought of more kindly and gentle Gods while Mesopotamians lived as more God fearing people. Flooding actually happened in Egypt where //Osiris, Isis, and Horus// originated, however these Egyptians did not have the need to put it into their stories because their floods did not hinder their lifestyle. Perhaps had the floods equalled those in Mesopotamia they would have used a flood to symbolize death in this particular story.

The flood story is one of the most common mythological themes in the world. It was written in famous texts like //Gilgamesh// and //The Bible//, and many other stories around the globe. Scientists have found legitimate evidence to suggest a flood, but many still remain skeptical as to its likelihood. Whether or not they are true, flood stories have shaped our understanding not only of God and divine intervention, but also of rebirth and restarts. While we can never be sure if the earth really was flooded, we do know that whether or not a society includes a flood story, and what they add onto it to make it their own can tell us a lot about their culture.



Questions to Consider


 * Of all the myths, why do flood catastrophes end human kind when other life threatening nature disasters could have been possible myth topics?
 * Does the ark depicted in many of the floods have any significant symbolism?
 * Were the floods in the ancient myths as extravagent as their myths describe them?
 * In other stories, how commonly do floods appear?
 * What significance does the area including the Tigris, Nile, and Euphrates have for religious text?
 * Why is water thought of as a sacred life source and also considered an ultimate destroyer?

Bibliography

"Flood." www.bom.gov.au. 16 Dec. 2007 .

"Gilgamesh." Fusionanomaly.Net. 16 Dec. 2007 .

"Global Flood." www.allaboutcreation.org. 16 Dec. 2007 .

Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology an Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. 3rd ed. Lincolnwood, Illonois: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1999. 12-57.

"The Fountains of the Great Deep." Christiananswers.Net. 16 Dec. 2007 .

The New Oxford Anotated Bible. Gen. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2007.