Ea, a god, warned Utnapishtim of the flood. He told him to build a large ark and to fill it with every kind of animal, male and female. Utnapishtim, his family, and the animals remained on the boat until the flood was over.
-Correction. They were warned, but warned to build a boat. The ark was built in the story of Noah's Ark. Also, only he, Utnapishism, and his wife were allowed to board the boat. No one else had entered.
Don't worry, I'm not guessing this, this came straight out of a text book, so the information provided is pretty accurate. :)
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim and his wife were the only survivors of the great flood, as they were warned by the god Ea to build an ark and take pairs of animals with them.
An assembly of gods started the flood in the Gilgamesh flood epic.
The story of the Great Flood in Genesis is closely related to the Epic of Gilgamesh. Both stories involve a catastrophic flood, a righteous individual chosen to survive, and the building of a boat to escape the flood. These similarities suggest a potential shared cultural heritage between the ancient Mesopotamian and Hebrew civilizations.
Certainly the story of Noah's Flood is remarkably similar to the Flood story of Umapishtim in the much older Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. On that evidence, the Epic of Gilgamesh is the most likely source for the story of Noah's Flood.
Utnapishtim was granted immortality by the gods after surviving the flood, making him the only witness with firsthand knowledge of the event. This allowed him to share the story with Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gods reveal the coming flood to Utnapishtim, a wise man who built an ark to save creations. Gilgamesh learns about the flood through dreams and seeks out Utnapishtim to learn the secret of immortality.
In the Gilgamesh flood story, it rained for six days and six nights continuously. This extreme rainfall was a crucial element in the flood that engulfed the world.
Enlil was angry because no man was meant to survive the destruction. Ea had heard the great gods decide to produce the flood and had told Utnapishtim to tear down his house and build a ship, and to take on the ship the seed of all living things.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim became immortal after surviving the great flood by the gods by building a boat and taking refuge with his family and various creatures. As a reward for his wisdom and craftiness, the god Ea granted Utnapishtim eternal life, making him one of the few immortal beings in Mesopotamian mythology.
Gilgamesh, in his search for immortality, sought and found Utnapishtim, whom they call the Faraway. Utnapishtim said he would tell Gilgamesh a hidden matter, a secret of the gods. Utnapishtim then proceeded to tell Gilgamesh about the flood.
The tale other than Gilgamesh's journey is the Flood Story. This is the story of Utnapishtim and how he survived the flood the gods sent.
Gilgamesh intends to gain immortality by seeking the advice of the immortal flood hero, Utnapishtim, who survived a great flood and was granted eternal life by the gods. He hopes to learn the secret of immortality from Utnapishtim and obtain it for himself.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it was Utnapishtim who built a large boat/ark to survive the great flood sent by the gods. This story bears similarities to the biblical account of Noah and the ark.