The great Flood: the story from the Bible

The  'flood tablet' from 

the Epic of Gilhameš (British Museum)

The Great Flood: mythological story about a great destruction that once befell the earth. There are several variants; the Biblical version is the most famous. The possibility that there is a historical event behind the story (a local flood in southern Babylonia in the twenty-eighth century BCE) can not be excluded.

Introduction

The famous story about the Great Flood is best known from the Bible (Genesis 6-9). It has always been known that there were similar stories from Greece and Rome (like the ones by Apollodorus, Ovid, and Hyginus), but in the nineteenth century, several texts from ancient Iraq were added. The first discovery was Tablet XI of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgameš (in 1872), the second the Sumerian original, now called the Eridu Genesis (1914), and the third the Epic of Atrahasis (1956). It is now clear that the Biblical account stays close to a Babylonian model.

Was the story of Noah's Ark true? Archaeologist who found the Titanic claims Biblical flood DID happen 12,000 years ago

• Acclaimed oceanographer Robert Ballard says he has found evidence
• Claims massive flood happened in Black Sea region around 5600BC
• Waters cascaded down Turkey's Straits of Bospurus and into sea
• It is believed to have started story of Noah, which was then passed on

A flood of Biblical proportions just like in the story of Noah's Ark may have actually happened, according to the oceanographer who found the Titanic.

Acclaimed underwater archaeologist Robert Ballard claims his team of researchers have uncovered evidence that suggests The Great Flood described in the Bible was actually based on real events.

Superstorm Sandy threatens to sink Noah's ark

Severe weather shuts down production on Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson

Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic Noah, starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson, may be the most high-profile film industry casualty of Superstorm Sandy.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the exterior sets for Noah – including the 450ft-long ark – were constructed directly in the storm's path in Oyster Bay on Long Island Sound; the damage to the area has made it impossible to fully assess what has survived Sandy's impact. The $115m budget film was due to have finished shooting on 9 November, but this will be pushed back as the production has been shut down since Sunday 28 October. (It is due to restart on Thursday 1 November.) However, studio Paramount is confident no delay to its planned release date of 28 March 2013 will occur, as any losses will be covered by insurance.

First look at “Noah’s” ark revealed

A behind-the-scenes photo reveals the ark from Darren Aronofsky's upcoming film.

This time it was Darren Aronofsky and not Noah who built the ark.

Vulture has snapped the first image of the still under construction ark from the upcoming biblical epic “Noah,” and it looks fantastic. Aronofsky is apparently hard at work building the massive set in Long Island, and it certainly does seem large enough to fit two of every animal in the world. At least Aronofsky felt the need to built the ship in person instead of relying on CGI like other directors might have done.

Brother of Noah’s Ark hunter finds personal items at his last known campsite

THE brother of a Scot who disappeared in Turkey while looking for Noah’s Ark has found items from his last known campsite.

Derick Mackenzie has just returned from Mount Ararat investigating his brother Donald’s disappearance two years ago.

The 47-year-old, from Stornoway on Lewis, had made several trips to the hazardous region in the hope of finding Noah’s mythical vessel on Mount Ararat.

'Baywatch' beauty Donna D’Errico on searching for Noah's Ark, and leaving her wild past far behind

"Baywatch" beauty Donna D’Errico made news recently when photos of her battered face, injured climbing Mount Ararat in her search for Noah’s Ark, went viral. The 44-year-old blonde was on a quest taking her even further from her past as the ex-wife of Motley Crue wild man Nikki Sixx and the September 1995 Playboy playmate. Today D'Errico is deeply committed to her Catholic faith, a mother of two... and searching for Noah's Ark?

FOX411: OK. How did a former 'Baywatch' gal get interested in Noah’s Ark?

Donna D’Errico: I got interested in the third grade. I went to a private Catholic school and we took a field trip to the local theater because there was a movie being played called ‘In Search of Noah’s Ark.’ When I saw it I was completely fascinated by it. That was the first time it crossed my mind that I want to someday climb Mount Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark.

Cuba zoo gets ready for Namibian wild animals

The National Zoological Park in Cuba's capital, Havana, is busy preparing for a delivery that it hopes will transform its fortunes: 146 wild animals, donated by the government of Namibia.

The operation is so large it has been dubbed Noah's Ark II.

The vast majority of the animals, which include lions, leopards and buffalo, will be flown from Africa at the end of September, followed several months later by 10 baby rhinos and five elephants.

Prima imagine cu Russell Crowe in ‘Noah’

O prima fotografie cu Russel Crowe in rolul profetului Noe a fost publicata in mediul online astazi. Castigatorul de premiu Oscar este surprins cu parul nearanjat deloc, barba foarte mare de culoare gri si purtand o roba alaturi de manusi fara degete.

“Noah” este un proiect pasional de care Aronfosky s-a ocupat cu foarte multa pasiune de foarte multa vreme. Regizorul lui “Black Swan” a inceput sa scrie scenariul in anul 2004. La putina vreme dupa ce au inceput filmarile din Islanda luna trecuta, acesta a scris foarte incantat pe Twitter: “Visez la asta de cand aveam 13 ani. Si acum a devenit realitate Genesis 6:14 #noah”.

Totusi, regizorul nominalizat la Oscar a spus ca interpretarea sa personala in privinta celui care a construit celebra arca este cu totul diferita de ceea ce este descris in Vechiul Testament. A declarat pentru Los Angeles Times ca Noe din filmul sau este un om care va fi distrus de vina faptului ca este singurul supravietuitor dupa o inundatie extrem de mare.

Baywatch star Donna D'Errico left bloody and bruised after 'major fall' as she searched for Noah's Ark in Turkey

Former Baywatch star Donna D'Errico has been left battered and bruised following a dangerous fall while hiking in Turkey.

The onetime Playboy Playmate Of The Month was fulfilling a lifelong dream to hunt for Noah's Ark on Mount Arat when she suffered a 'major fall'.

But despite her injuries the 44-year-old has vowed to complete the final two days of her trip.

It isn't the first problem she's encountered, with D'Errico warned she was in 'serious danger' from Kurdistani terrorist group the PKK at one point.

Prometheus in Greek Mythology

Prometheus is famous for a couple of seemingly unrelated stories: (1) the gift of fire to mankind and (2) being chained to a rock where every day an eagle came to eat his liver. There is a connection, however, and one that shows why Prometheus, the father of the Greek Noah, was called the benefactor of mankind.

Prometheus - Gift of Fire to Mankind

Zeus sent most of the Titans to Tartarus [see Hades' Realm] to punish them for fighting against him in the Titanomachy, but since second-generation Titan Prometheus had not sided with his aunts, uncles, and brother Atlas, Zeus spared him. Zeus then assigned Prometheus the task of forming man from water and earth, which Prometheus did, but in the process, became fonder of men than Zeus had anticipated. 

The antediluvian world

Although various ancient traditions refer to a lost antediluvian world, the one that stands out is the tradition in the early chapters of Genesis, because of its geographical detail, its monotheism (which has been shown to predate polytheism) and its historical (rather than epic) style of narration. These chapters describe a world very different from our own, either because the world really was different or because a later pre-scientific culture speculated about it in error. So what source of information did they draw upon?

Antediluvian Civilizations

"Antediluvian civilizations" are civilizations believed to have existed before the Great flood of Noah. If the fossil record is indeed the result of the Biblical flood as described in the Bible, then it is somewhat expected for evidence of antediluvian (pre-flood) civilizations to exist. It is assumed by many that humans reached advanced stages of technological development before the flood. Such presuppositions are usually based on the Biblical genealogy, which states that ancient people lived to approximately 10 times our current life span.  

Potopul lui Noe - la Marea Neagră

Legenda unui potop trimis de Dumnezeu sau de zei pentru a distruge o civilizaţie, ca un act de pedeapsă divină, este o temă care se regăseşte în miturile multor popoare.

Potopul apare de la sumerieni, în Epopeea lui Ghilgameş, până la egipteni (când lumea era inundată de Nun, zeul Nilului), de la Deucalion (atunci când Zeus și Poseidon au trimis potopul asupra lumii) până în Biblie.

Anthony Hopkins va juca alaturi de Russell Crowe in Noah, proiectul ambitios al lui Darren Aronofsky

Noah, proiectul de amploare cu care regizorul Darren Aronofsky vrea sa ii cucereasca din nou pe cinefili, si-a mai adaugat un nume mare in distributie. Alaturi de Russell Crowe va juca si Sir Anthony Hopkins. In acest moment au mai fost confirmati actori ca Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth, Logan Lerman.

Regizorul Darren Aronofsky a oferit vestea pe contul sau de Twitter si s-a aratat incantat de faptul ca Hopkins a ales sa faca parte din proiectul sau: "Sunt extrem de incantat si mandru ca marele Sir Anthony Hopkins a acceptat sa faca parte din distributia stelara a filmului Noah".