Before the advent of modern dams and water management on the flat plains of southern Mesopotamia, a rise of as little as a foot in the rivers or the sea covered miles of land with water. Cataclysmic floods were frequent and violent enough to become subjects for ancient Mesopotamian poets. Near Eastern archaeology does not confirm the historical occurrence of one major flood, and it is clear that for ancient Mesopotamians the stories about floods or storms represent no one actual event; rather the Flood is a metaphor for inescapable destruction.

The Epic of Atra-hasis
This story from the first half of the second millennium B.C.E. is concerned with the early history of mankind, in which the Flood is only one element. The tale begins with the minor gods complaining about their hard work. Enki, god of wisdom, provides the answer, advising...