<P> As Gilgamesh is leaving, Utnapishtim's wife asks her husband to offer a parting gift . Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a boxthorn - like plant at the very bottom of the ocean that will make him young again . Gilgamesh obtains the plant by binding stones to his feet so he can walk on the bottom of the sea . He recovers the plant and plans to test it on an old man when he returns to Uruk . Unfortunately, when Gilgamesh stops to bathe it is stolen by a serpent that sheds its skin as it departs, apparently reborn . Gilgamesh, having failed both chances, returns to Uruk, where the sight of its massive walls provokes him to praise this enduring work of mortal men . The implication may be that mortals can achieve immortality through lasting works of civilization and culture . </P> <P> Lines 1 - 203, Tablet XI (note: with supplemental sub-titles and line numbers added for clarity) </P> <Ol> <Li> Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret story that begins in the old city of Shuruppak on the banks of the Euphrates River . </Li> <Li> The "great gods" Anu, Enlil, Ninurta, Ennugi, and Ea were sworn to secrecy about their plan to cause the flood . </Li> <Li> But the god Ea (Sumerian god Enki) repeated the plan to Utnapishtim through a reed wall in a reed house . </Li> <Li> Ea commanded Utnapishtim to demolish his house and build a boat, regardless of the cost, to keep living beings alive . </Li> <Li> The boat must have equal dimensions with corresponding width and length and be covered over like Apsu boats . </Li> <Li> Utnapishtim promised to do what Ea commanded . </Li> <Li> He asked Ea what he should say to the city elders and the population . </Li> <Li> Ea tells him to say that Enlil has rejected him and he can no longer reside in the city or set foot in Enlil's territory . </Li> <Li> He should also say that he will go down to the Apsu "to live with my lord Ea". </Li> <Li> Note:' Apsu' can refer to a fresh water marsh near the temple of Ea / Enki at the city of Eridu . </Li> <Li> Ea will provide abundant rain, a profusion of fowl and fish, and a wealthy harvest of wheat and bread . </Li> </Ol> <Li> Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret story that begins in the old city of Shuruppak on the banks of the Euphrates River . </Li>

Which character in gilgamesh was told by ea to build a boat