The story of a great flood sent by a deity(神)to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution(天罰、報い)appears in many ancient cultural traditions. Though it is best known in the modern Western world through the Biblical story of Noah's ark, other versions, such as stories of Matsya in the Hindu Puranas, Deucalion in Greek mythology, and Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh, are also well known.