This may seem like a silly question, but according to Tablet 11, who would you say the hero is? Also how did that hero react to the flood?
It would seem that Utnapishtim is the hero. Gilgamesh soon realizes that the old man he has been speaking to is in fact Utnapishtim. He is surprised that Utnapishtim appears as just another man, whereas Gilgamesh had expected to face a terrible demon. Gilgamesh asks Utnapishtim to explain how it came to be that he was allowed to live as an immortal, and how Gilgamesh can do the same.
Utnapishtim explains that long ago he was once the king of city called Shuruppak, a city that was situated on the Euphrates. The gods Anu, Enlil, Ninerta, Ea, and Ennugi met in council and decided to bring a flood to destroy the city. Ea whispers to Utnapishtim through his house walls to abandon his belongings and instead build a boat. Ea gave him dimensions for this boat. It would have six decks and be of an enormous size, about 180 feet high. On this boat, Ea said, Utnapishtim should bring his family and the seed of every species.
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