312 GEOLOGIES AND DELUGES 



For six days the flood lasted, and ceased on the seventh, 

 and then Sitnapistim is made to say 



" I looked on the sea and ca]led aloud, 

 Bat the whole of mankind was turned to clay. 

 I opened the air-hole, and the light fell on my face : 

 I bowed low, sat down, and wept, 

 Over my face flowed my tears." 



Sitnapistim then beheld the land, mount Nizir, on 

 which the ship grounded. It remained swinging there 

 for seven days ; on the seventh day Sitnapistim sent out 

 a dove, which returned, then a swallow, which flew to 

 and fro, but also returned, and finally a raven : " The 

 raven went, saw the going down of the waters, came 

 croaking nearer, but did not come back." Sitnapistim 

 then left the ship with his people, built an altar on the 

 summit of the mountain, and offered sacrifice. The poem 

 then runs 



" The gods smelt the savour, the gods smelt the sweet savour, 

 The gods gathered like flies over the sacrificer. 

 The mistress of the gods, Ishtar, lifted up the (bow ?) which Anu 

 had made according to her wish." 



A discussion then takes place among the gods, who all 

 through are very human, and in its course Ea suggests to 

 Bel, who seems to have been the prime mover in all the 

 mischief, that he should for the future destroy mankind 

 in a less undiscriminating manner by wild beasts, pesti- 

 lence, and famine. The scene ends happily with the 

 apotheosis of Sitnapistim and his wife. 



The surprising resemblance of the story to the biblical 

 narrative, extending into identity of words, as in the case 

 of the " gods smelt the sweet savour," points to direct 

 derivation or borrowing, and there can be very little 



