# Do other religions have a Great Flood myth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749 "2009-09-03T15:31:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/1 "2009-09-03T15:31:52Z")
I’ve had people try to tell me that Noah’s ark was real because “every religion has a Great Flood” myth. I’m sure every civilization has had a historic worst flood by definition. 1. Who has a great flood that covers all the land? 2. Anyone else have an ending with animals in a boat? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/2 "2009-09-03T15:47:37Z")
which other religion are you referring too? seems like a number of them. for what it is worth > **[Flood myth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_myth)** > > A flood myth or a 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". > The flood-... ---
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/3 "2009-09-03T16:19:02Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > which other religion are you referring too? seems like a number of them. Duh. Read the question again. I want to know about any such religions. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/4 "2009-09-03T17:22:57Z")
> [@Never\_Say\_Dice](#): > > Duh. Read the question again. I want to know about any such religions. Well, I read the question, and the posted link is directly responsive to the question. Have you read it? And be nice. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/5 "2009-09-03T17:26:30Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > which other religion are you referring too? seems like a number of them. > [@Never\_Say\_Dice](#): > > Duh. Read the question again. I want to know about any such religions. other means different from one you stated. you didn’t state any religion you were othering from. just a nit. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/6 "2009-09-03T19:54:41Z")
This is what happens when people answer based on the title instead of the OP. I sometimes wonder whether the rule requiring titles is a good one. Yes, I recall before we had that rule and people would title threads with a single question mark. But this feeling that the title is question strikes me like saying the cover is the book. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/7 "2009-09-03T21:00:00Z")
The Hindu story of Manu includes animals saved on the boat, as well as seeds. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/8 "2009-09-03T21:08:47Z")
It depends if you classify ‘mythology’ as ‘religion’. Many ancient cultures had a deluge myth (and I think they’re all listed in that wikipedia article). The Bablyonian one in particular is very close to the Biblical one. Of the religions that are around today, all the major ones do, but they’re all related to one another anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/9 "2009-09-03T21:29:40Z")
Gilgamesh from the Sumerian myths has the oldest account of the Deluge. [British Museum from Nineveh](http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/the_flood_tablet.aspx) The stories of [Gilgamesh](http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/) are interesting to read. I tried to find the British Museum hosted text of the Syrian Tablets. I read them years ago, but a year or two later the museum stopped hosting the translations. They still are not there as far as I can tell. I’ve pointed you in the dirrection to look and you will find the texts interesting to read. ---
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/10 "2009-09-03T22:03:12Z")
Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/11 "2009-09-03T23:04:17Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > It depends if you classify ‘mythology’ as ‘religion’. Many ancient cultures had a deluge myth (and I think they’re all listed in that wikipedia article). The Bablyonian one in particular is very close to the Biblical one. > Of the religions that are around today, all the major ones do, but they’re all related to one another anyway. Mythology is an aspect of religion: specifically, sacred narratives. Many of the so-called “deluge myths” listed are only tangentially related. The statement “Noah’s ark was real because ‘every religion has a Great Flood’ myth.” is untrue because 1. Every religion (by any definition) does not have such a myth. 2. Even if you limit it to the religions with flood myths, they don’t have much in common cross-culturally. 3. Even if they do have something in common (as with the Babylonian myth), you can explain that by other means that reference to history: common cultural origin, direct borrowing, etc. Mythology tells you a lot about people, but it doesn’t usually tell you much about history, and next to nothing about science. It’s not supposed to. It’s not the primitive equivalent of science, it’s a narrative phenomenon that is a part of the human cultural experience. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/12 "2009-09-03T23:33:46Z")
> **[Flood myth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_myth#Deucalion)** > > A flood myth or a 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 primeval cosmic ocean which appear in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, for example in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who "represents the human craving for l... > [@](#): > > The Deucalion legend as told by Apollodorus in The Library has some similarity to Noah’s Ark: Prometheus advised his son Deucalion to build a chest. All other men perished except for a few who escaped to high mountains. The mountains in Thessaly were parted, and all the world beyond the Isthmus and Peloponnese was overwhelmed. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha, after floating in the chest for nine days and nights, landed on Parnassus. An older version of the story told by Hellanicus has Deucalion’s “ark” landing on Mount Othrys in Thessaly. Another account has him landing on a peak, probably Phouka, in Argolis, later called Nemea. When the rains ceased, he sacrificed to Zeus. Then, at the bidding of Zeus, he threw stones behind him, and they became men, and the stones which Pyrrha threw became women. Appollodorus gives this as an etymology for Greek Laos “people” as derived from laas “stone”. The Megarians told that Megarus, son of Zeus, escaped Deucalion’s flood by swimming to the top of Mount Gerania, guided by the cries of cranes. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/13 "2009-09-04T02:18:12Z")
I think it’s more believable that Noah’s ark _wasn’t_ real because many religions have “Great Flood” myths. It’s like hearing the same urban legend (with slightly different variations) in different towns. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/14 "2009-09-06T13:12:52Z")
The flood myths were likely based on the fact that there were floods,but the Biblical flood could not have happened as written. The entire earth could not have been totally covered with 29,000 feet of water and if Noah’s ark landed on Ararat (it is 15,000 feet high); there are many reason’s to know it could not have happened as told or written. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/15 "2009-09-06T17:30:07Z")
By “other religions”, do you mean religions other than Christianity? If so, Judaism and Islam both feature pretty much the same story as Noah’s Ark, with the flood covering the whole world. Hinduism has a [great flood story](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_mythology#The_Deluge) as well, in which the flood also covered the whole world. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/16 "2009-09-08T19:40:33Z")
In my religion, we honor each rainfall with the statement, “Boy, we sure needed this rain”. However, we have no Great Flood Myth. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/17 "2009-09-08T21:53:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > In my religion, we honor each rainfall with the statement, “Boy, we sure needed this rain”. However, we have no Great Flood Myth. Lutheran? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/18 "2009-09-09T14:39:28Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Lutheran? 😉 No, I’m Navin R. Johnson.😕 ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/19 "2009-09-10T01:01:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No, I’m Navin R. Johnson.😕 Oh, that line just sounded like something a Norweigan bachelor farmer would say. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-religions-have-a-great-flood-myth/508749/20 "2009-09-10T17:36:27Z")
I have a better idea for god: Just tell somebody who’s already near Mt. Ararat to start a zoo there and wait for the seas to rise and recede. Somebody should write that down on stone tablets and send it up for the next time.