Before the gods, before the earth and sky, there was Tiamat—the primordial salt-water dragon whose body would become the cosmos and whose defeat would establish order from chaos. In Mesopotamian mythology, Tiamat represents the wild, untamed forces that existed before creation, the mother of the first gods and their ultimate enemy.
Origins in the Enuma Elish
The Babylonian creation epic, the Enuma Elish, tells of Tiamat's role in the beginning. When she (salt water) mingled with Apsu (fresh water), they gave birth to the first generation of gods. But when these noisy children disturbed Apsu, and he plotted their destruction, the young god Ea killed him. Tiamat, though initially peaceful, was eventually roused to war against her offspring.
Appearance
Tiamat's exact form is debated, but ancient texts describe:
- An enormous dragon or serpent
- A sea monster of terrifying size
- Sometimes depicted with four legs
- Associated with chaos and the primordial ocean
- Mother of monsters including dragons, scorpion-men, and other fearsome beings
The Battle with Marduk
When Tiamat raised an army of monsters to destroy the younger gods, none dared face her except Marduk, champion of Babylon. Armed with winds, a net, and a mace, Marduk challenged Tiamat:
- He cast his net to catch her
- When she opened her mouth to swallow him, he drove winds into her belly
- He shot an arrow through her distended body
- From her split corpse, he created the heavens and earth
Her eyes became the Tigris and Euphrates, her tail the Milky Way.
Significance
Tiamat represents more than a monster—she embodies the concept of primordial chaos from which order must be wrested. Her story became a template for later dragon-slaying myths throughout the ancient world, influencing stories from the Greek Typhon to the Norse Jörmungandr.
Related Creatures
Tiamat connects to chaos dragons across cultures: compare to the Egyptian Apophis, Hindu Vritra, and Persian Azhi Dahaka. In modern fantasy, Tiamat lives on as a famous multi-headed dragon in role-playing games.
