The Bible vs. "Gilgamesh".

When I came to this class the only flood that I had ever heard of was the flood from the bible, the one with Noah. All I knew was that he built a boat and took his family, as well as a female and a male of every living creature with him. So when I read Gilgamesh I was surprised when I reached the fifth chapter that was titled the story of the flood. It …

…a dove first, and she flies away, but later returns. Then he releases a swallow which also flies away but later returns. Finally, Gilgamesh releases a raven which noticed that "the waters had retreated," so she never returned back to the boat. Both accounts of the great flood have many similarities which could make it seem like the same story but they are not. These two great floods happened at two different periods of time.