“The Days of Noah”', What Was It Really Like Before the Flood?

By Samuel C. Baxter:

Photo Illustration: Paula C. Rondeau/The Real Truth “Once upon a time, long ago…” Unless you are in primary school, this worn-out first line is usually a cue to zone out. A child’s story is sure to follow. The tale will likely include cookie-cutter heroes and villains, a damsel in distress, and maybe a giant or two. It is usually a highly implausible myth, legend or parable.
This is how most view the idea of a flood that covered the whole Earth. The storyline has captured the imaginations of nearly every culture for millennia. In Sumerian lore, imprinted on cuneiform tablets, Ziusudra rides it out in a huge boat. The ancient Babylonian tale has Utnapishtim in the lead role, with his wife and animals on the watercraft. In both instances, the main characters become immortal post-flood.
Aztec culture has a 52-year version with only one man and one woman—Tata and Nene—surviving by stowing away in a massive cypress tree. Afterward, the god Tezcatlipoca turns them into dogs for disobeying orders.
Over the years, the tale of the Flood (also called the Deluge) has been hashed and rehashed ad nauseam, with nearly every culture preserving a story of waters covering Earth, usually to destroy a wicked humanity. There is also the Greek myth of Deucalion and the Indian legend of Manu.
No two versions are exactly alike...Continue reading...