Tiamat

In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat (Akkadian: 𒀭𒋾𒀀𒆳 ^DTI.AMAT or 𒀭𒌓𒌈 ^DTAM.TUM, Ancient Greek: Θαλάττη, romanized: Thaláttē) is the primordial sea. She is a key figure in the Babylonian story called the Enûma Elish, meaning "when on high."

In the story, Tiamat mates with Abzû, also called Apsu, the groundwater. Together, they have the first gods.

When the young gods become loud, Apsu plans to harm them but is stopped by his own children. This makes Tiamat very angry. She decides to fight the younger gods. She makes many monsters to help her and picks a new partner, Qingu. She gives him the powerful Tablet of Destinies, which stands for divine power.

Tiamat is met by Marduk, the storm god and son of Enki. After a big battle, Marduk defeats Tiamat. He uses her body to help form the world, making the heavens and the earth from her parts. The tale of Tiamat matters because it tells how the ancient Babylonians believed the universe began.

Etymology

Scholars like Thorkild Jacobsen and Walter Burkert think the name Tiamat comes from the Akkadian word for sea, tâmtu. This links Tiamat to the ocean. Later Greek writers, such as Berossus, also connected her name to the Greek word for sea, thalassa.

In the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish, Tiamat is called the sea who mixed her waters with Abzu, the deep ocean below. This mixing shows how fresh and salty waters come together in the Persian Gulf, near Bahrain.

Appearance and nature

In the Enuma Elish, Tiamat has many body parts like a tail, a belly, ribs, and a neck. She is sometimes thought of as a sea serpent or dragon, but this is not certain.

Tiamat is known as a mother of monsters in the story, but she is also the mother of all the gods.

Mythology

Tiamat was an important figure in ancient Mesopotamian myths. She was the goddess of the sea. She mated with Abzu, the god of groundwater, and they had children named Lahmu and Lahamu. These children later became the parents of Anshar (the heavens) and Kishar (the earth). Anshar and Kishar then created Anu (Heaven) and Ki (Earth).

In the Babylonian story called the Enûma Elish, Tiamat became upset when her husband Abzu was captured by the god Enki. She made powerful monsters to fight the younger gods. The gods asked Marduk to help. Marduk fought Tiamat, and after a big battle, he defeated her. He used her body to help shape the world.

Interpretations

The myth of Tiamat is often seen as one of the earliest stories about a hero fighting a big monster. Similar stories include the Hittite myth of Illuyanka, the Greek tale of Apollo defeating the monster Python, and events described in Genesis.

Some writers, like Robert Graves, have thought that Tiamat's defeat by Marduk shows a change in ancient societies. They believe it might reflect a shift in how people lived long ago.

In popular culture

The idea of Tiamat as a multi-headed dragon became well-known in the 1970s through the game Dungeons & Dragons, a role-playing game that uses old stories.

In movies and comics, Tiamat appears as a huge water snake monster named "Titanus Tiamat" in the Godzilla: King of the Monsters series. She first appeared in a comic book called Godzilla Dominion and later appeared in the film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.