“After the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari
- Date of account
- Ancient material presented in a revised 1880 edition
- Source
- The Chaldean account of Genesis: Containing the description of the creation, the fall of man, the deluge, the tower of Babel, the times of the patriarchs
- Reference
- The Chaldean account of Genesis: Containing the description of the creation, the fall of man, the deluge, the tower of Babel, the times of the patriarchs · selected passage 3
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English translation and reconstruction from cuneiform sources
- Translation
- George Smith with later editorial material
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
“After the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention only“After the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari. In his time happened the great deluge; the history of which is thus described. The deity Kronos appeared to him in a vision, and warned him that upon the fifteenth day of the month Dæsius there would be a flood, by which mankind would be destroyed. He therefore enjoined him to write a history of the beginning, progress, and conclusion of all things, down to the present term, and to bury it in Sippara, the city of the Sun; and to build a vessel, and take with him into it his friends and relations; and to convey on board every thing necessary to sustain life, together with all the different animals, both birds and quadrupeds, and trust himself fearlessly to the deep. Having asked the Deity whither he was to sail, he was answered, ‘To the Gods;’ upon which he offered up a prayer for the good of mankind. He then obeyed the divine admonition, and built a vessel five stadia in length, and two in breadth.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis is a passage from a historical religious or interpretive text. Its genre, manuscript history, translation and place within its own tradition are part of the evidence and must remain visible.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyLattice can compare the passage's descriptive features with later reports, but resemblance does not turn a vision, angel, mythic creature or sacred narrative into a modern incident report.
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