Great Flood [r]: Most stories in mythology, including Greek mythology as the Deucalion, as well as in the Bible (as Noah's Ark) as well as Mesopotamian sagas such as the Epic of Gilgamesh which had the Utnapishtim story, refer to an event known as the great flood which wiped out most living things. It is often thought to have been caused by a god or goddess as a form of punishment for mankind. Whether a great flood did, in fact, happen in prehistoric times is a matter of dispute. [e]