Just plain Bill (talk | contribs) Reverted 1 edit by 85.237.224.54 (talk): Why? Tags: Twinkle Undo Disambiguation links added |
85.237.224.54 (talk) Deleted all references to the biblical flood, it has its own article. It is useless to have different articles writing about the same thing. Tag: Reverted |
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{{short description|Myth in which a great flood destroys civilization}} |
{{short description|Myth in which a great flood destroys civilization}} |
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{{Redirect|Great Flood}} |
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A '''flood myth''' or '''deluge myth''' is a [[myth]] in which a great [[flood]], usually sent by a [[deity]] or deities, destroys [[civilization]], often in an act of [[divine retribution]]. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these [[Mythology|myth]]s and the primaeval [[water (classical element)|water]]s which appear in certain [[creation myth]]s, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the [[social cleansing|cleansing]] of humanity, in preparation for [[rebirth (disambiguation)|rebirth]]. Most flood myths also contain a [[culture hero]], who "represents the human craving for life".<ref>{{cite book |title= Flood {{pipe}} The Oxford Companion to World Mythology | first= David |last= Leeming |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2004 |access-date= 17 September 2010 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kQFtlva3HaYC&pg=PA138 | isbn= 9780195156690 }}</ref> |
A '''flood myth''' or '''deluge myth''' is a [[myth]] in which a great [[flood]], usually sent by a [[deity]] or deities, destroys [[civilization]], often in an act of [[divine retribution]]. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these [[Mythology|myth]]s and the primaeval [[water (classical element)|water]]s which appear in certain [[creation myth]]s, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the [[social cleansing|cleansing]] of humanity, in preparation for [[rebirth (disambiguation)|rebirth]]. Most flood myths also contain a [[culture hero]], who "represents the human craving for life".<ref>{{cite book |title= Flood {{pipe}} The Oxford Companion to World Mythology | first= David |last= Leeming |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2004 |access-date= 17 September 2010 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kQFtlva3HaYC&pg=PA138 | isbn= 9780195156690 }}</ref> |
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The [[List of flood myths|flood-myth motif]] [[Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index|occurs in many cultures]] as seen in: the [[Mesopotamian]] flood stories, ''[[manvantara]]-sandhya'' in [[Hinduism]], the [[Great Flood (China)|Gun-Yu]] in [[Chinese mythology]], [[Deucalion]] and [[Pyrrha]] in [[Greek mythology |
The [[List of flood myths|flood-myth motif]] [[Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index|occurs in many cultures]] as seen in: the [[Mesopotamian]] flood stories, ''[[manvantara]]-sandhya'' in [[Hinduism]], the [[Great Flood (China)|Gun-Yu]] in [[Chinese mythology]], [[Deucalion]] and [[Pyrrha]] in [[Greek mythology]], [[Bergelmir]] in [[Norse mythology]], flood during the time of [[Noah in Islam|Nuh (Noah)]] of [[Quran|Qur'an]], the arrival of the first inhabitants of Ireland with [[Cessair]] in [[Irish mythology]], in parts of [[Polynesia]] such as [[Hawaii]], the lore of the [[K'iche' people|K'iche']] and [[Maya peoples]] in [[Mesoamerica]], the [[Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe|Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa]] tribe of Native Americans in North America, the [[Muisca people|Muisca]] and [[Cañari| Cañari Confederation]] in [[South America]], [[Africa]], and some [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal tribes]] in Australia. |
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==Mythologies== |
==Mythologies== |
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⚫ | One of examples is ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]''. Many scholars believe that this account was copied from the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''[[Atra-Hasis]]'',{{efn|The ''Atra-Hasis'' flood myth contains some material that the [[Gilgamesh flood myth]] does not.{{sfn|George|2003|p= xxx}}}} which dates to the 18th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |last= Tigay |first= Jeffrey H. | author-link= Jeffrey H. Tigay | title= The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic | publisher= Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers |year= 2002 |orig-year= 1982 |isbn= 9780865165465 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cxjuHTH6I2sC |pages= 23, 218, 224, 238}}</ref>{{efn|[[Andrew R. George]] points out that the modern version of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' was compiled by [[Sîn-lēqi-unninni]], who lived sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC.{{sfn|George|2003|pp= ii, xxiv–v}}}} In the [[Gilgamesh flood myth]], the highest god, [[Enlil]], decides to destroy the world with a flood because humans have become too noisy. The god [[Enki|Ea]], who had created humans out of clay and divine blood, secretly warns the hero [[Utnapishtim]] of the impending flood and gives him detailed instructions for building a boat so that life may survive.<ref>Finkel, Irving. ''The Ark Before Noah''. Doubleday, 2014.</ref><ref>[[James B. Pritchard|Pritchard, James B.]] (ed.), ''[[Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament]]'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1955, 1969). [https://books.google.com/books?id=885iAAAAMAAJ 1950 1st edition at Google Books]. p.44: "...a flood [will sweep] over the cult-centers; to destroy the seed of mankind; is the decision, the word of the assembly [of the gods]."</ref> Both the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' and ''Atra-Hasis'' are preceded by the similar [[Sumerian creation myth]] (c. 1600 BC)<ref> |
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[[File:Tablet XI or the Flood Tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, currently housed in the British Museum in London.jpg|thumb|[[Epic of Gilgamesh#Tablet eleven|Tablet XI]] of the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'']] |
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{{cite book |
{{cite book |
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| year = 2004 |
| year = 2004 |
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| isbn = 9780199296330 |
| isbn = 9780199296330 |
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| access-date = 5 February 2021 |
| access-date = 5 February 2021 |
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| quote = The Sumerian story of the universal Flood [...] resembles the longer version preserved in the Babylonian poems ''Atra-hasis'' and the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' |
| quote = The Sumerian story of the universal Flood [...] resembles the longer version preserved in the Babylonian poems ''Atra-hasis'' and the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. |
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}} |
}} |
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</ref>—the oldest surviving example of such a flood-myth narrative, known from tablets found in the ruins of [[Nippur]] in the late 1890s and translated by [[Arno Poebel]].<ref>Black, Jeremy, Cunningham, G. Robson, E. Zolyomi, G. ''The Literature of Ancient Sumer'', Oxford University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-19-926311-6}}{{Full citation needed|date=February 2021}}</ref> |
</ref>—the oldest surviving example of such a flood-myth narrative, known from tablets found in the ruins of [[Nippur]] in the late 1890s and translated by [[Arno Poebel]].<ref>Black, Jeremy, Cunningham, G. Robson, E. Zolyomi, G. ''The Literature of Ancient Sumer'', Oxford University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-19-926311-6}}{{Full citation needed|date=February 2021}}</ref> |
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Chen analyzed various texts from the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic III Period]] through to the Old Babylonian Period, and argues that the flood narrative was only added in texts written during the [[Old Babylonian Period]]. When it comes to the [[Sumerian King List]], observations by experts have always indicated that the portion of the Sumerian King List talking about before the flood is stylistically different from the King List Proper. Essentially Old Babylonian copies tend to represent a tradition of before the flood apart from the actual King List, whereas the [[Ur III]] copy of the King List and the duplicate from the Brockmon collection indicate that the King List Proper once existed independent of mention to the flood and the tradition of before the flood. Essentially, Chen gives evidence to prove that the section of before the flood and references to the flood in the Sumerian King List were all later additions added in during the Old Babylonian Period, as the Sumerian King List went through updates and edits. The Flood as a watershed in early History of the world was probably a new historiographical concept emerging in the Mesopotamian literary traditions during the Old Babylonian Period, as evident by the fact that the flood motif didn't show up in the [[Ur III]] copy and that earliest chronographical sources related to the flood show up in the Old Babylonian Period. Chen also concludes that the name of [[Ziusudra]] as a flood hero and the idea of the flood hinted by that name in the Old Babylonian Version of "[[Instructions of Shuruppak]]" are only developments during that Old Babylonian Period, when also the didactic text was updated with information from the burgeoning Antediluvian Tradition<ref>Chen, Yi Samuel. The Primeval Flood Catastrophe: Origins and Early Development in Mesopotamian Traditions. Oxford University Press, 2013.</ref> |
Chen analyzed various texts from the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic III Period]] through to the Old Babylonian Period, and argues that the flood narrative was only added in texts written during the [[Old Babylonian Period]]. When it comes to the [[Sumerian King List]], observations by experts have always indicated that the portion of the Sumerian King List talking about before the flood is stylistically different from the King List Proper. Essentially Old Babylonian copies tend to represent a tradition of before the flood apart from the actual King List, whereas the [[Ur III]] copy of the King List and the duplicate from the Brockmon collection indicate that the King List Proper once existed independent of mention to the flood and the tradition of before the flood. Essentially, Chen gives evidence to prove that the section of before the flood and references to the flood in the Sumerian King List were all later additions added in during the Old Babylonian Period, as the Sumerian King List went through updates and edits. The Flood as a watershed in early History of the world was probably a new historiographical concept emerging in the Mesopotamian literary traditions during the Old Babylonian Period, as evident by the fact that the flood motif didn't show up in the [[Ur III]] copy and that earliest chronographical sources related to the flood show up in the Old Babylonian Period. Chen also concludes that the name of [[Ziusudra]] as a flood hero and the idea of the flood hinted by that name in the Old Babylonian Version of "[[Instructions of Shuruppak]]" are only developments during that Old Babylonian Period, when also the didactic text was updated with information from the burgeoning Antediluvian Tradition<ref>Chen, Yi Samuel. The Primeval Flood Catastrophe: Origins and Early Development in Mesopotamian Traditions. Oxford University Press, 2013.</ref> |
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In Genesis, the god [[Yahweh]], who had created man out of the dust of the ground,<ref>{{cite book |
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| last = Davidson |
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| first = Robert |
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| title = Genesis 1–11 |
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| date = 1973 |
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| publisher = Cambridge University Press |
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| isbn = 9780521097604 |
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| pages = 30 |
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| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7cIb7DvR5BsC&q=genesis |
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}}</ref> decides to flood the earth because of the corrupted state of mankind. Yahweh then gives the protagonist, Noah, instructions to build [[Noah's Ark|an ark]] in order to preserve human and animal life. When the ark is completed, Noah, his family, and representatives of all the animals of the earth are called upon to enter the ark. When the destructive flood begins, all life outside of the ark perishes. After the waters recede, all those aboard the ark disembark and have Yahweh's promise that he will never judge the earth with a flood again. Yahweh causes a [[Rainbows in mythology|rainbow]] to form as the sign of this promise.<ref>{{cite book|last= Cotter|first= David W.|title= Genesis|year= 2003|publisher= Liturgical press|location= Collegeville, MN|isbn= 0814650406|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6lCVzr4cT9QC&q=great+flood|page= 49}}</ref> |
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In [[Hindu mythology]], texts such as the [[Satapatha Brahmana]]<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Eggeling |author-first=Julius |author-link=Julius Eggeling |title=Satapatha Brahmana, Part 1 |date=1882 |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe12/sbe1234.htm |pages=216–218 (1:8:1:1–6)}}</ref> ({{circa}} 6th century BC)<ref>[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/Erdosy1995.pdf "Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres."] in The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, edited by G. Erdosy (1995), p. 136</ref> and the [[Puranas]] contain the story of a great flood, "''[[manvantara]]-sandhya''",<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Gupta |author-first=Dr. S. V. |year=2010 |chapter=Ch. 1.2.4 Time Measurements |editor-last1=Hull |editor-first1=Prof. Robert |editor-last2=Osgood, Jr. |editor-first2=Prof. Richard M. |editor-link2=Richard M. Osgood Jr. |editor-last3=Parisi |editor-first3=Prof. Jurgen |editor-last4=Warlimont |editor-first4=Prof. Hans |title=Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHiKycrLmEQC&pg=PA7 |series=Springer Series in Materials Science: 122 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |pages=7–8 |isbn=9783642007378 |quote=Paraphrased: Mahayuga equals 12,000 Deva (divine) years (4,320,000 solar years). Manvantara equals 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 solar years). Kalpa (day of Brahma) equals an Adi Sandhya, 14 Manvantaras, and 14 Sandhya Kalas, where 1st Manvantara preceded by Adi Sandhya and each Manvantara followed by Sandhya Kala, each Sandhya lasting same duration as Satya yuga (1,728,000 solar years), during which the entire earth is submerged in water. Day of Brahma equals 1,000 Mahayugas, the same length for a night of Brahma (Bhagavad-gita 8.17). Brahma lifespan (311.04 trillion solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Parardha is 50 Brahma years and we are in the 2nd half of his life. After 100 years of Brahma, the universe starts with a new Brahma. We are currently in the 28th Kali yuga of the first day of the 51st year of the second Parardha in the reign of the 7th (Vaivasvata) Manu.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Krishnamurthy |author-first=Prof. V. |date=2019 |chapter=Ch. 20: The Cosmic Flow of Time as per Scriptures |title=Meet the Ancient Scriptures of Hinduism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HF2NDwAAQBAJ&q=%227th+manvantara%22+%2228th%22&pg=PT407 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=9781684669387 |quote=Each manvantara is preceded and followed by a period of 1,728,000 (= 4K) years when the entire earthly universe (bhu-loka) will submerge under water. The period of this deluge is known as manvantara-sandhya (sandhya meaning, twilight).}}</ref> wherein the [[Matsya]] [[Avatar]] of the [[Vishnu]] warns the first man, [[Sraddhadeva Manu|Manu]], of the impending flood, and also advises him to build a giant boat.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/369611/Matsya Matsya] ''[[Britannica.com]]''</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= A Survey of Hinduism |first= Klaus K.|last= Klostermaier|author-link= Klaus Klostermaier|publisher= SUNY Press|year= 2007|isbn= 978-0-7914-7082-4 |page= 97 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=E_6-JbUiHB4C&q=the+great+flood+in+Hinduism&pg=PA97 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Encyclopaedia of Hinduism: C–G, Volume 2|first= Sunil|last= Sehgal|publisher= Sarup & Sons|year= 1999|isbn= 81-7625-064-3 |pages= 401–402 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zWG64bgtf3sC&q=Noah%27s+Ark+in+Hinduism&pg=PA401}}</ref> In [[Zoroastrian]] [[Mazdaism]],<!-- later than 405 BC --> [[Ahriman]] tries to destroy the world with a drought, which [[Mithra]] ends by shooting an arrow into a rock, from which a flood springs; one man survives in an ark with his cattle.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Smith |first1= Homer W. |author-link1= Homer W. Smith |title= Man and His Gods |date= 1952 |publisher= [[Grosset & Dunlap]] |location= New York |pages= 128–29}}</ref> |
In [[Hindu mythology]], texts such as the [[Satapatha Brahmana]]<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Eggeling |author-first=Julius |author-link=Julius Eggeling |title=Satapatha Brahmana, Part 1 |date=1882 |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe12/sbe1234.htm |pages=216–218 (1:8:1:1–6)}}</ref> ({{circa}} 6th century BC)<ref>[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/Erdosy1995.pdf "Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres."] in The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, edited by G. Erdosy (1995), p. 136</ref> and the [[Puranas]] contain the story of a great flood, "''[[manvantara]]-sandhya''",<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Gupta |author-first=Dr. S. V. |year=2010 |chapter=Ch. 1.2.4 Time Measurements |editor-last1=Hull |editor-first1=Prof. Robert |editor-last2=Osgood, Jr. |editor-first2=Prof. Richard M. |editor-link2=Richard M. Osgood Jr. |editor-last3=Parisi |editor-first3=Prof. Jurgen |editor-last4=Warlimont |editor-first4=Prof. Hans |title=Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHiKycrLmEQC&pg=PA7 |series=Springer Series in Materials Science: 122 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |pages=7–8 |isbn=9783642007378 |quote=Paraphrased: Mahayuga equals 12,000 Deva (divine) years (4,320,000 solar years). Manvantara equals 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 solar years). Kalpa (day of Brahma) equals an Adi Sandhya, 14 Manvantaras, and 14 Sandhya Kalas, where 1st Manvantara preceded by Adi Sandhya and each Manvantara followed by Sandhya Kala, each Sandhya lasting same duration as Satya yuga (1,728,000 solar years), during which the entire earth is submerged in water. Day of Brahma equals 1,000 Mahayugas, the same length for a night of Brahma (Bhagavad-gita 8.17). Brahma lifespan (311.04 trillion solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Parardha is 50 Brahma years and we are in the 2nd half of his life. After 100 years of Brahma, the universe starts with a new Brahma. We are currently in the 28th Kali yuga of the first day of the 51st year of the second Parardha in the reign of the 7th (Vaivasvata) Manu.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Krishnamurthy |author-first=Prof. V. |date=2019 |chapter=Ch. 20: The Cosmic Flow of Time as per Scriptures |title=Meet the Ancient Scriptures of Hinduism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HF2NDwAAQBAJ&q=%227th+manvantara%22+%2228th%22&pg=PT407 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=9781684669387 |quote=Each manvantara is preceded and followed by a period of 1,728,000 (= 4K) years when the entire earthly universe (bhu-loka) will submerge under water. The period of this deluge is known as manvantara-sandhya (sandhya meaning, twilight).}}</ref> wherein the [[Matsya]] [[Avatar]] of the [[Vishnu]] warns the first man, [[Sraddhadeva Manu|Manu]], of the impending flood, and also advises him to build a giant boat.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/369611/Matsya Matsya] ''[[Britannica.com]]''</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= A Survey of Hinduism |first= Klaus K.|last= Klostermaier|author-link= Klaus Klostermaier|publisher= SUNY Press|year= 2007|isbn= 978-0-7914-7082-4 |page= 97 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=E_6-JbUiHB4C&q=the+great+flood+in+Hinduism&pg=PA97 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Encyclopaedia of Hinduism: C–G, Volume 2|first= Sunil|last= Sehgal|publisher= Sarup & Sons|year= 1999|isbn= 81-7625-064-3 |pages= 401–402 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zWG64bgtf3sC&q=Noah%27s+Ark+in+Hinduism&pg=PA401}}</ref> In [[Zoroastrian]] [[Mazdaism]],<!-- later than 405 BC --> [[Ahriman]] tries to destroy the world with a drought, which [[Mithra]] ends by shooting an arrow into a rock, from which a flood springs; one man survives in an ark with his cattle.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Smith |first1= Homer W. |author-link1= Homer W. Smith |title= Man and His Gods |date= 1952 |publisher= [[Grosset & Dunlap]] |location= New York |pages= 128–29}}</ref> |
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== Historicity == |
== Historicity == |
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{{See also|Outburst flood}} |
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A deluge of worldwide scope, such as the one apparently described in Genesis, is incompatible with modern scientific understanding of [[natural history]], especially [[geology]] and [[paleontology]].<ref>{{Cite book|last= Montgomery|first=David R.|title=The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood|publisher=Norton|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92tuITDWvCYC&q=geology+rocks+creationism|isbn=9780393082395}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Christopher Gregory |last=Weber |url= http://ncse.com/cej/1/1/fatal-flaws-flood-geology |title=The Fatal Flaws of Flood Geology |journal= Creation Evolution Journal |volume=1 |number=1 |pages=24–37|year=1980}}</ref> In an early example of [[ichnology]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) explains in his notebooks that the fossils of marine shells (such as those found on mountains in [[Lombardy]]) would have been scattered in such a deluge, and not gathered into groups—indicating deposits at different time periods. He theorized that mountains gradually rise from the ocean, anticipating [[plate tectonics]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sagan|first1=Carl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LhkoowKFaTsC|title=Comet|last2=Druyan|first2=Ann|publisher=Random House|year=1997|isbn=978-0-3078-0105-0|location=New York|page=280|author-link1=Carl Sagan|author-link2=Ann Druyan|name-list-style=amp}}</ref> He also doubts that the quantity of water needed to flood the Earth could have evaporated away.<ref>{{cite book |last= Da Vinci|first= Leonardo |editor-last=Taylor |editor-first=Pamela |title= The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci |publisher= New American Library|year=1971 |pages=136–38, 142–48}}</ref> |
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{{anchor|Sumerian floods}} |
{{anchor|Sumerian floods}} |
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[[Mesopotamia]], like other early sites of [[River valley civilization|riverine civilisation]], was flood-prone; and for those experiencing valley-wide inundations, flooding could destroy the whole of their known world.<ref>Compare:{{cite book | last1 = Peloubet | first1 = Francis Nathan | title = Select Notes on the International Sabbath School Lessons | year = 1880 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4TAXAAAAYAAJ | location = Boston | publisher = W. A. Wilde and Company | publication-date = 1880 | page = 157 | access-date = 29 April 2021 | quote = ... the flood ... extended to all ''the then known world''.}}</ref> According to the excavation report of the 1930s excavation at [[Shuruppak]] (modern Tell Fara, Iraq), the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic layers at the site were separated by a layer of sand and silt that was interpreted as a flood layer. However, more recently it has been suggested that the nature of this depost is more like that being created by [[Avulsion (river)|river avulsion]], a process that was very common in the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system]]. Similar layers have been recorded at other sites as well, all dating to different periods, which would be consistent with the nature of river avulsions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Morozova|first=Galina S.|date=2005|title=A review of Holocene avulsions of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and possible effects on the evolution of civilizations in lower Mesopotamia|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gea.20057|journal=Geoarchaeology|language=en|volume=20|issue=4|pages=401–423|doi=10.1002/gea.20057|issn=1520-6548}}</ref> |
[[Mesopotamia]], like other early sites of [[River valley civilization|riverine civilisation]], was flood-prone; and for those experiencing valley-wide inundations, flooding could destroy the whole of their known world.<ref>Compare:{{cite book | last1 = Peloubet | first1 = Francis Nathan | title = Select Notes on the International Sabbath School Lessons | year = 1880 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4TAXAAAAYAAJ | location = Boston | publisher = W. A. Wilde and Company | publication-date = 1880 | page = 157 | access-date = 29 April 2021 | quote = ... the flood ... extended to all ''the then known world''.}}</ref> According to the excavation report of the 1930s excavation at [[Shuruppak]] (modern Tell Fara, Iraq), the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic layers at the site were separated by a layer of sand and silt that was interpreted as a flood layer. However, more recently it has been suggested that the nature of this depost is more like that being created by [[Avulsion (river)|river avulsion]], a process that was very common in the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system]]. Similar layers have been recorded at other sites as well, all dating to different periods, which would be consistent with the nature of river avulsions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Morozova|first=Galina S.|date=2005|title=A review of Holocene avulsions of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and possible effects on the evolution of civilizations in lower Mesopotamia|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gea.20057|journal=Geoarchaeology|language=en|volume=20|issue=4|pages=401–423|doi=10.1002/gea.20057|issn=1520-6548}}</ref> |
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In [[Israel]], there is no such evidence of a widespread flood.{{sfn|Bandstra|2009|p= 62}} Given the similarities in the Mesopotamian flood stories and the Biblical account, researchers postulate that they have a common origin in folk memories of the Shuruppak account.<ref>Hendel, Ronald S.(1987), "Of Demigods and the Deluge: towards an interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4" (''Journal of Biblical Literature'', Vol 186 No 1)</ref>{{efn|Some of the later versions of the [[Sumerian King List]] (but not the oldest known version) include a reference to a flood: |
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<blockquote>After kingship came down from heaven ... the kingship was taken to Shuruppak. In Shuruppak, Ubara-Tutu became king; he ruled for 5 sars and 1 ner. In 5 cities 8 kings; they ruled for 241,200 years. Then the flood swept over.<ref>Langdon, S. (1923). The Weld-Blundell Collection, vol. II. Historical Inscriptions, Containing Principally the Chronological Prism, W-B. 444,. [PDF] Oxford University Press. Available at: http://etana.org/sites/default/files/coretexts/20340.pdf [Accessed 22 Sep. 2018].</ref></blockquote>}} |
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[[File:Post-Glacial Sea Level.png|thumb|Earth's [[sea level]] rose dramatically in the millennia after the [[Last Glacial Maximum]]]] |
[[File:Post-Glacial Sea Level.png|thumb|Earth's [[sea level]] rose dramatically in the millennia after the [[Last Glacial Maximum]]]] |
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Historian [[Adrienne Mayor]] theorizes that global flood stories may have been inspired by ancient observations of seashells and fish fossils in inland and mountain areas. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all documented the discovery of such remains in such locations; the Greeks hypothesized that Earth had been covered by water on several occasions, citing the seashells and fish fossils found on mountain tops as evidence of this idea.<ref>{{cite book|first=Adrienne|last= Mayor|title=The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times: with a new introduction by the author|location=Princeton|publisher= Princeton University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0691058634}}</ref> |
Historian [[Adrienne Mayor]] theorizes that global flood stories may have been inspired by ancient observations of seashells and fish fossils in inland and mountain areas. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all documented the discovery of such remains in such locations; the Greeks hypothesized that Earth had been covered by water on several occasions, citing the seashells and fish fossils found on mountain tops as evidence of this idea.<ref>{{cite book|first=Adrienne|last= Mayor|title=The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times: with a new introduction by the author|location=Princeton|publisher= Princeton University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0691058634}}</ref> |
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In the 17th and 18th centuries, some natural causes were theorized to explain the Genesis flood. [[Thomas Burnet]]'s ''Telluris Theoria Sacra'' (Sacred Theory of the Earth, published 1681–1689) had water rising from a [[hollow Earth]]. In 1694, [[Edmond Halley]] theorized that the flood could have been caused by a comet.<ref>V. Clube and B. Napier, ''The Cosmic Serpent'' London: Faber and Faber, 1982.</ref> [[William Whiston]]'s ''[[A New Theory of the Earth]]'' (1696) postulated that major changes in the planet's history, including a global flood, could be attributed to the action of comets. In [[Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens|his 1755 book]], [[Immanuel Kant]] argues that the Earth could have once had a ring around it like the [[rings of Saturn]], probably made of ice, and that this could have been the water of the deluge.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sagan|first1=Carl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LhkoowKFaTsC|title=Comet|last2=Druyan|first2=Ann|publisher=Random House|year=1997|isbn=978-0-3078-0105-0|location=New York|pages=83–84, 86|name-list-style=amp}}</ref> |
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Speculation regarding the [[Deucalion]] myth has postulated a large tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea, caused by the [[Thera eruption]] (with an approximate geological date of 1630–1600 BC), as the myth's historical basis. Although the tsunami hit the South [[Aegean Sea]] and [[Crete]], it did not affect cities in the mainland of Greece, such as [[Mycenae]], [[Athens]], and [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], which continued to prosper, indicating that it had a local rather than a region-wide effect.<ref>Castleden, Rodney (2001) "Atlantis Destroyed" (Routledge).</ref> |
Speculation regarding the [[Deucalion]] myth has postulated a large tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea, caused by the [[Thera eruption]] (with an approximate geological date of 1630–1600 BC), as the myth's historical basis. Although the tsunami hit the South [[Aegean Sea]] and [[Crete]], it did not affect cities in the mainland of Greece, such as [[Mycenae]], [[Athens]], and [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], which continued to prosper, indicating that it had a local rather than a region-wide effect.<ref>Castleden, Rodney (2001) "Atlantis Destroyed" (Routledge).</ref> |
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==Art== |
==Art== |
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<gallery> |
<gallery> |
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Image:The great flood - Biblical.jpg|18th-century engraving of the great flood |
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Image:Matsya Avatar, ca 1870.jpg|Matsya-[[avatara]] of Lord [[Vishnu]] pulls [[Sraddhadeva Manu|Manu]]'s boat after having defeated the demon |
Image:Matsya Avatar, ca 1870.jpg|Matsya-[[avatara]] of Lord [[Vishnu]] pulls [[Sraddhadeva Manu|Manu]]'s boat after having defeated the demon |
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Image:Manabozhointheflood.png|[[Nanabozho]] in [[Ojibwe]] flood story from an illustration by R. C. Armour, in his book ''North American Indian Fairy Tales, Folklore and Legends'' (1905) |
Image:Manabozhointheflood.png|[[Nanabozho]] in [[Ojibwe]] flood story from an illustration by R. C. Armour, in his book ''North American Indian Fairy Tales, Folklore and Legends'' (1905) |
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Image:Anoniem - De zondvloed.jpg|''The Great Flood'', by anonymous painter, ''The vom Rath bequest'', [[Rijksmuseum]] |
Image:Anoniem - De zondvloed.jpg|''The Great Flood'', by anonymous painter, ''The vom Rath bequest'', [[Rijksmuseum]] |
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File:Francis Danby deluge.jpg|''The Deluge'', by [[Francis Danby]], 1840. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery |
File:Francis Danby deluge.jpg|''The Deluge'', by [[Francis Danby]], 1840. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery |
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File:John Martin - The Eve of the Deluge - WGA14146.jpg|''The Eve of the Deluge'', by [[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]], 1840. Depicts a comet causing the [[Genesis flood narrative|Great Flood]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Martin (1789-1854) - The Eve of the Deluge |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/407176/the-eve-of-the-deluge |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429124834/https://www.rct.uk/collection/407176/the-eve-of-the-deluge |archive-date=2021-04-29 |access-date=2021-07-15 |website=[[Royal Collection Trust]] |language=en}}</ref> |
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</gallery> |
</gallery> |
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* {{cite book|translator=Andrew R. George|year=2003|orig-year=1999|title=The Epic of Gilgamesh|edition=reprinted|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|isbn=0-14-044919-1|ref={{harvid|George|2003}}}} |
* {{cite book|translator=Andrew R. George|year=2003|orig-year=1999|title=The Epic of Gilgamesh|edition=reprinted|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|isbn=0-14-044919-1|ref={{harvid|George|2003}}}} |
||
* {{cite book|last=Bandstra|first=Barry L.|title=Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible|year=2009|publisher=Wadsworth/ Cengage Learning|location=Belmont, CA|isbn=978-0495391050|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRY9mTUZKJcC&q=flood&pg=PA489|edition=4th|pages=59–62}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
Revision as of 13:22, 12 December 2021
A flood myth or deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval waters which appear in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who "represents the human craving for life".[1]
The flood-myth motif occurs in many cultures as seen in: the Mesopotamian flood stories, manvantara-sandhya in Hinduism, the Gun-Yu in Chinese mythology, Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek mythology, Bergelmir in Norse mythology, flood during the time of Nuh (Noah) of Qur'an, the arrival of the first inhabitants of Ireland with Cessair in Irish mythology, in parts of Polynesia such as Hawaii, the lore of the K'iche' and Maya peoples in Mesoamerica, the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa tribe of Native Americans in North America, the Muisca and Cañari Confederation in South America, Africa, and some Aboriginal tribes in Australia.
Mythologies
One of examples is Epic of Gilgamesh. Many scholars believe that this account was copied from the Akkadian Atra-Hasis,[a] which dates to the 18th century BC.[3][b] In the Gilgamesh flood myth, the highest god, Enlil, decides to destroy the world with a flood because humans have become too noisy. The god Ea, who had created humans out of clay and divine blood, secretly warns the hero Utnapishtim of the impending flood and gives him detailed instructions for building a boat so that life may survive.[5][6] Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and Atra-Hasis are preceded by the similar Sumerian creation myth (c. 1600 BC)[7]—the oldest surviving example of such a flood-myth narrative, known from tablets found in the ruins of Nippur in the late 1890s and translated by Arno Poebel.[8]
Chen analyzed various texts from the Early Dynastic III Period through to the Old Babylonian Period, and argues that the flood narrative was only added in texts written during the Old Babylonian Period. When it comes to the Sumerian King List, observations by experts have always indicated that the portion of the Sumerian King List talking about before the flood is stylistically different from the King List Proper. Essentially Old Babylonian copies tend to represent a tradition of before the flood apart from the actual King List, whereas the Ur III copy of the King List and the duplicate from the Brockmon collection indicate that the King List Proper once existed independent of mention to the flood and the tradition of before the flood. Essentially, Chen gives evidence to prove that the section of before the flood and references to the flood in the Sumerian King List were all later additions added in during the Old Babylonian Period, as the Sumerian King List went through updates and edits. The Flood as a watershed in early History of the world was probably a new historiographical concept emerging in the Mesopotamian literary traditions during the Old Babylonian Period, as evident by the fact that the flood motif didn't show up in the Ur III copy and that earliest chronographical sources related to the flood show up in the Old Babylonian Period. Chen also concludes that the name of Ziusudra as a flood hero and the idea of the flood hinted by that name in the Old Babylonian Version of "Instructions of Shuruppak" are only developments during that Old Babylonian Period, when also the didactic text was updated with information from the burgeoning Antediluvian Tradition[9]
In Hindu mythology, texts such as the Satapatha Brahmana[10] (c. 6th century BC)[11] and the Puranas contain the story of a great flood, "manvantara-sandhya",[12][13] wherein the Matsya Avatar of the Vishnu warns the first man, Manu, of the impending flood, and also advises him to build a giant boat.[14][15][16] In Zoroastrian Mazdaism, Ahriman tries to destroy the world with a drought, which Mithra ends by shooting an arrow into a rock, from which a flood springs; one man survives in an ark with his cattle.[17]
In Plato's Timaeus, written c. 360 BC, Timaeus describes a flood myth similar to the earlier versions. In it, the Bronze race of humans angers the high god Zeus with their constant warring. Zeus decides to punish humanity with a flood. The Titan Prometheus, who had created humans from clay, tells the secret plan to Deucalion, advising him to build an ark in order to be saved. After nine nights and days, the water starts receding and the ark lands on a mountain.[18]
Like many other folk-tale elements from around the world, the story of flood survival and human re-start (motif A 1021.0.2 and associated elements) appears in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature.[19]
Historicity
Mesopotamia, like other early sites of riverine civilisation, was flood-prone; and for those experiencing valley-wide inundations, flooding could destroy the whole of their known world.[20] According to the excavation report of the 1930s excavation at Shuruppak (modern Tell Fara, Iraq), the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic layers at the site were separated by a layer of sand and silt that was interpreted as a flood layer. However, more recently it has been suggested that the nature of this depost is more like that being created by river avulsion, a process that was very common in the Tigris–Euphrates river system. Similar layers have been recorded at other sites as well, all dating to different periods, which would be consistent with the nature of river avulsions.[21]
Floods in the wake of the last glacial period may have inspired myths that survive to this day.[22] It has been postulated that in North America, flood myths may be based on a sudden rise in sea levels caused by the rapid draining of prehistoric Lake Agassiz at the end of the last Ice Age, about 8,400 years ago.[23][need quotation to verify]
The geography of the Mesopotamian area changed considerably with the filling of the Persian Gulf after sea waters rose following the last glacial period. Global sea levels were about 120 m (390 ft) lower around 18,000 BP and rose until 8,000 BP when they reached current levels, which are now an average 40 m (130 ft) above the floor of the Gulf, which was a huge (800 km × 200 km, 500 mi × 120 mi) low-lying and fertile region in Mesopotamia, in which human habitation is thought[by whom?] to have been strong around the Gulf Oasis for 100,000 years. A sudden increase in settlements above the present-day water level is recorded at around 7,500 BP.[24][25]
One hypothesis suggests that a meteor or comet crashed into the Indian Ocean around 3000–2800 BC, creating the 30-kilometre (19 mi) undersea Burckle Crater, and generating a giant tsunami that flooded coastal lands.[26]
Historian Adrienne Mayor theorizes that global flood stories may have been inspired by ancient observations of seashells and fish fossils in inland and mountain areas. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all documented the discovery of such remains in such locations; the Greeks hypothesized that Earth had been covered by water on several occasions, citing the seashells and fish fossils found on mountain tops as evidence of this idea.[27]
Speculation regarding the Deucalion myth has postulated a large tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea, caused by the Thera eruption (with an approximate geological date of 1630–1600 BC), as the myth's historical basis. Although the tsunami hit the South Aegean Sea and Crete, it did not affect cities in the mainland of Greece, such as Mycenae, Athens, and Thebes, which continued to prosper, indicating that it had a local rather than a region-wide effect.[28]
The Black Sea deluge hypothesis offers a controversial account of long-term flooding; the hypothesis argues for a catastrophic irruption of water about 5600 BC from the Mediterranean Sea into the Black Sea basin. This has become the subject of considerable discussion.[29][30] The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis offers another proposed natural explanation for flood myths; this idea is similarly controversial.
Contrary to accepted archeology and Middle Eastern history, Yi Samuel Chen writes that the oldest versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh never mentioned the flood and simply narrated Gilgamesh's search for Utnapishtim and the secret of immortality. Chen theorizes that starting with the Old Babylonian Period, there were attempts to syncretize Utnapishtim with Ziusudra, even though they were previously seen as different figures. Gilgamesh meeting the flood hero Utnapishtim was first alluded to in the Old Babylonian Period in "The Death of Gilgamesh" and eventually was imported and standardized in the Epic of Gilgamesh probably in the Middle Babylonian Period.[31]
Art
-
The Great Flood, by anonymous painter, The vom Rath bequest, Rijksmuseum
-
The Deluge, by Francis Danby, 1840. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ The Atra-Hasis flood myth contains some material that the Gilgamesh flood myth does not.[2]
- ^ Andrew R. George points out that the modern version of the Epic of Gilgamesh was compiled by Sîn-lēqi-unninni, who lived sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC.[4]
Citations
- ^ Leeming, David (2004). Flood | The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195156690. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
- ^ George 2003, p. xxx.
- ^ Tigay, Jeffrey H. (2002) [1982]. The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. pp. 23, 218, 224, 238. ISBN 9780865165465.
- ^ George 2003, pp. ii, xxiv–v.
- ^ Finkel, Irving. The Ark Before Noah. Doubleday, 2014.
- ^ Pritchard, James B. (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1955, 1969). 1950 1st edition at Google Books. p.44: "...a flood [will sweep] over the cult-centers; to destroy the seed of mankind; is the decision, the word of the assembly [of the gods]."
- ^
Black, Jeremy A.; Cunningham, Graham; Robson, Eleanor; Zólyomi, Gábor, eds. (2004). "The Flood story". The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford: Oxford University Press (published 2006). p. 212. ISBN 9780199296330. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
The Sumerian story of the universal Flood [...] resembles the longer version preserved in the Babylonian poems Atra-hasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- ^ Black, Jeremy, Cunningham, G. Robson, E. Zolyomi, G. The Literature of Ancient Sumer, Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19-926311-6[full citation needed]
- ^ Chen, Yi Samuel. The Primeval Flood Catastrophe: Origins and Early Development in Mesopotamian Traditions. Oxford University Press, 2013.
- ^ Eggeling, Julius (1882). Satapatha Brahmana, Part 1. pp. 216–218 (1:8:1:1–6).
- ^ "Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres." in The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, edited by G. Erdosy (1995), p. 136
- ^ Gupta, Dr. S. V. (2010). "Ch. 1.2.4 Time Measurements". In Hull, Prof. Robert; Osgood, Jr., Prof. Richard M.; Parisi, Prof. Jurgen; Warlimont, Prof. Hans (eds.). Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units. Springer Series in Materials Science: 122. Springer. pp. 7–8. ISBN 9783642007378.
Paraphrased: Mahayuga equals 12,000 Deva (divine) years (4,320,000 solar years). Manvantara equals 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 solar years). Kalpa (day of Brahma) equals an Adi Sandhya, 14 Manvantaras, and 14 Sandhya Kalas, where 1st Manvantara preceded by Adi Sandhya and each Manvantara followed by Sandhya Kala, each Sandhya lasting same duration as Satya yuga (1,728,000 solar years), during which the entire earth is submerged in water. Day of Brahma equals 1,000 Mahayugas, the same length for a night of Brahma (Bhagavad-gita 8.17). Brahma lifespan (311.04 trillion solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Parardha is 50 Brahma years and we are in the 2nd half of his life. After 100 years of Brahma, the universe starts with a new Brahma. We are currently in the 28th Kali yuga of the first day of the 51st year of the second Parardha in the reign of the 7th (Vaivasvata) Manu.
- ^ Krishnamurthy, Prof. V. (2019). "Ch. 20: The Cosmic Flow of Time as per Scriptures". Meet the Ancient Scriptures of Hinduism. Notion Press. ISBN 9781684669387.
Each manvantara is preceded and followed by a period of 1,728,000 (= 4K) years when the entire earthly universe (bhu-loka) will submerge under water. The period of this deluge is known as manvantara-sandhya (sandhya meaning, twilight).
- ^ Matsya Britannica.com
- ^ Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2007). A Survey of Hinduism. SUNY Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7914-7082-4.
- ^ Sehgal, Sunil (1999). Encyclopaedia of Hinduism: C–G, Volume 2. Sarup & Sons. pp. 401–402. ISBN 81-7625-064-3.
- ^ Smith, Homer W. (1952). Man and His Gods. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. pp. 128–29.
- ^ Plato's Timaeus. Greek text: http://www.24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Platon-Timaios.pdf
- ^
Quoted in:
Lindell, Kristina; Swahn, Jan-Öjvind; Tayanin, Damrong (1988). "The Flood: Three Northern Kammu Versions of the Story of Creation". In Dundes, Alan (ed.). The Flood Myth. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 279. ISBN 9780520063532. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
A 1021.0.2 [...] Escape from deluge in wooden cask (drum)
- ^ Compare:Peloubet, Francis Nathan (1880). Select Notes on the International Sabbath School Lessons. Boston: W. A. Wilde and Company. p. 157. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
... the flood ... extended to all the then known world.
- ^ Morozova, Galina S. (2005). "A review of Holocene avulsions of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and possible effects on the evolution of civilizations in lower Mesopotamia". Geoarchaeology. 20 (4): 401–423. doi:10.1002/gea.20057. ISSN 1520-6548.
- ^ "Biblical-Type Floods Are Real, and They're Absolutely Enormous". DiscoverMagazine.com. 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
- ^ Early Days Among the Cheyenne & Arapahoe Indians by John H. Seger, p. 135 ISBN 0-8061-1533-5; originally published in 1934.
- ^ "Lost Civilization Under Persian Gulf?", Science Daily, December 8, 2010
- ^ Rose, Jeffrey I. (December 2010), "New Light on Human Prehistory in the Arabo-Persian Gulf Oasis", Current Anthropology, 51 (6): 849–883, doi:10.1086/657397, S2CID 144935980
- ^ Carney, Scott (November 7, 2007). "Did a comet cause the great flood?". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
- ^ Mayor, Adrienne (2011). The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times: with a new introduction by the author. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691058634.
- ^ Castleden, Rodney (2001) "Atlantis Destroyed" (Routledge).
- ^ "'Noah's Flood' Not Rooted in Reality, After All?" National Geographic News, February 6, 2009.
- ^ Sarah Hoyle (November 18, 2007). "Noah's flood kick-started European farming". University of Exeter. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
- ^ Chen, Yi Samuel. The Primeval Flood Catastrophe: Origins and Early Development in Mesopotamian Traditions. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Sources
- The Epic of Gilgamesh. Translated by Andrew R. George (reprinted ed.). London: Penguin Books. 2003 [1999]. ISBN 0-14-044919-1.
Further reading
- Bailey, Lloyd R. Noah, the Person and the Story, University of South Carolina Press, 1989. ISBN 0-87249-637-6
- Best, Robert M. Noah's Ark and the Ziusudra Epic, Sumerian Origins of the Flood Myth, 1999, ISBN 0-9667840-1-4.
- Dundes, Alan (ed.) The Flood Myth, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988. ISBN 0-520-05973-5 / 0520059735
- Faulkes, Anthony (trans.) Edda (Snorri Sturluson). Everyman's Library, 1987. ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
- Greenway, John (ed.), The Primitive Reader, Folkways, 1965.
- Grey, G. Polynesian Mythology. Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1956.
- Lambert, W. G. and Millard, A. R., Atra-hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood, Eisenbrauns, 1999. ISBN 1-57506-039-6.
- Masse, W. B. "The Archaeology and Anthropology of Quaternary Period Cosmic Impact", in Bobrowsky, P., and Rickman, H. (eds.) Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society: An Interdisciplinary Approach Berlin, Springer Press, 2007. p. 25–70.
- Reed, A. W. Treasury of Maori Folklore A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1963.
- Reedy, Anaru (trans.), Nga Korero a Pita Kapiti: The Teachings of Pita Kapiti. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch, 1997.