The eleventh tablet of the Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh contains the great Mesopotamian Flood narrative. Gilgamesh, broken by the death of his friend Enkidu and desperate to escape death himself, has journeyed to the ends of the earth to find Uta-napishti (Utnapishtim), the one man to whom the gods granted everlasting life. Asked how he gained it, Uta-napishti tells his story. The great gods resolved to destroy humankind by a flood, but the god Ea, sworn to secrecy, warned Uta-napishti by speaking to the reed wall of his house, telling him to tear down his dwelling and build a great boat.
Into it he took his family, craftsmen, and the seed of living creatures. For days the storm raged until all humanity had turned to clay; the boat grounded on Mount Nimush, and Uta-napishti sent out a dove, a swallow, and finally a raven, which did not return. Coming forth, he made a sacrifice, over which the hungry gods gathered, and was granted immortality, a gift he tells Gilgamesh cannot be repeated for him.