Is Tiamat the Queen of Monsters? The Mesopotamian Creation Story

Today we take a look at some Mesopotamian mythology with the goddess Tiamat and the creation story of the Enuma Elis. Was she the mother of monsters or the creator of life?

0:00 - Intro
1:02 - Babbel (Sponsor)
2:38 - Enūma Eliš Creation Story
11:43 Outro/Credits

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Artwork by Markus Stadlober -

#tiamat #mesopotamia #dragons

[kirbymarchbarcena]

GAIA: Motherhood is so chaotic in our mythology
TIAMAT: You should have seen ours.

[kevinnorwood]

I first heard Tiamat's name thanks to Dungeons And Dragons, but I really didn't know much about her save for the fact that she was supposedly the very first Dragon that ever existed, and all the races of Dragons that came after her were her children. It wasn't until she was added to the roster of the video game Smite that I really learned a lot more about her lore. She really is one of the most fascinating Dragons in all of mythology, and also Smite's design for her is absolutely stunning.

[andrewrawlings]

Tiamat: Originally wanted to *end* the chaos caused by her children, ended up being considered Chaos Incarnate.

[nicholaslienandjaja]

Tiamat was also featured in the MonsterVerse comic Godzilla: Dominion (she had previously been contained in Stone Mountain, Georgia in King of the Monsters until King Ghidorah awakened her). In the comic, she fought Godzilla and was defeated (but not without putting up a great fight and nearly killing Godzilla). And she had previously killed an ancient member of King Kong's species (who had previously defeated a younger Godzilla in ancient times).

[MythologyFictionExplained]

You can leave future Mesopotamian video ideas here!

[sarahhurst]

Primordial deities, like Tiamat, & in general, are so intriguing, across many cultures with creation mythos! Love the artwork in this! Wonderfully presented, my friend! Fabulously done!🌹💜🔥🌍

[jaguarking]

hey man, just wanted to say that I've been following your channel for 3 years and your videos have always brought me a very necessary escape. keep doing what you do!

[nicholasrobson]

What I find fascinating is how around the world the Dragon vs. The Thunder God is a recurring theme.

Thor vs. Jormungandr.
Zeus vs. Tython.
Susano vs. Orochi.
The Thunderbird vs. The Horned Serpent.

The list goes on.

[andreeapopovici]

Mythology should also remember how her children killed her husband, their own father. Monster as she may be she's nowhere near as monstrous as her vile children who killed their own father or the child of those children that killed his grandmother only to be glorified as a king of gods instead of a killer of his creator. Her rage came from losing her other half, that's what history should remember to highlight when speaking of her.

[benjackson]

I always saw Tiamat as an Earth Mother like Gaia

[xerxes_sama]

Amazing how I don't really notice Tiamat in a lot fantasy stories. Thanks a lot for the video.

[yakshakingu]

Great video!! Finally this goddess gets a video.

[SlothinAintEasy]

Split second I thought this was from the d&d lore channels I subscribed to.

[theScrupulousBerserker]

No one ever references *Kur* as being an older mythological monster than Tiamat. Why? *Kur* pre-dates Tiamat.
🐾

[R_SENAL]

This is Very cool! Very in line w/some research I did myself a decade ago for a work of fiction.
I would like to know more about Tiamat's spawn as it was really difficult to find out more than their names and vague descriptions: Kusarikku (the bull man), Ugallu (wild demon dog), Uma Dabrutu (violent storm), Uridimmu (mad lion man), Mushmahhu (seven headed serpent), Basmu (dragon 60 leagues long), Girtablulu (scorpion man), Mushussu (wyrm dragon), Ushumgallu (great serpent), Kulullu (fish man), and Lahmu (the heroic warrior).

[jajsem]

Poor Tiamat. She just wanted to have some quiet time, so her husband had to be killed and herself as well... :(

[greyworld]

Interesting that I watched a video in the masopatamian creation story yesterday.

And now i watch a video Tiamat the next day. Cool!



Please do a video on Ahora Mazda and Angra Mainyu.

[readyfireaim]

Yam, also known as Yaw (YHW from Mt Ebal curse tablet), is the Ugaritic god of rivers and the sea.

Also known as Judge Nahar ("Judge River"), he is also one of the *Elohim* or *sons of El, * the name given to the Levantine pantheon.

Others dispute the existence of the alternative names for Yam/Yaw, claiming it is a mistranslation of a damaged tablet. Despite linguistic overlap, *theologically this god is not a part of the later sub regional monotheistic theology, but rather is part of a broader Levantine polytheism.*

He is also known from Egyptian sources, which present him as an enemy of Set (at the time viewed as a heroic *slayer of monsters* and similar to Levantine and Anatolian weather gods).

YHW is mentioned 41 times in the Rig Veda.

Yam is the deity of primordial chaos and represents the power of the sea, untamed and raging; he is seen as ruling storms and the disasters they wreak.

The *seven-headed dragon* Lotan is associated closely with him and *the serpent* is frequently used to describe him.

Despite his antagonistic role in myths, YHW was sometimes invoked in theophoric names, indicating some degree of cult, which sets him apart from another similar figure, Tiamat.

As Yam's myth is generally believed to be older than the Enuma Elish, it's possible Tiamat was partially patterned *after* him.

Of all the gods, despite being the *champion of El, * YHW holds special hostility against *Baal Hadad, son of Dagon (or El).*

Yam is a deity of the sea and his palace is in the *abyss* associated with the depths, or Biblical tehom, of the oceans. (This is not to be confused with the abode of Mot, the ruler of the netherworld.)

In Ugaritic texts, Yahweh's special enemy Hadad is also known as the *"king of heaven" and the "first born son" of El, * whom ancient Greeks identified with their god Cronus, just as Baal was identified with Zeus, Yam with Poseidon and Mot with Hades.
(Trinity of Sons of God under God motif)

While Baal Hadad was the lead god in Ugarit, in the Baal cycle it is Yaw who is favored by El, and he even briefly rules over the other gods. Baal only rises to power after vanquishing him with the help of his allies Kothar-wa-Khasis, Astarte and Anat.

Yam's ultimate fate is unclear, as the text makes references to both death and captivity, and in later sections of the myth Baal talks about Yam/Yaw as if he was *still alive and a possible threat.*

While in the past researchers, especially those belonging to the myth-ritual tradition, interpreted the myths of Baal, Yhw and Mot as a representation of the cycle of seasons and thus related to fertility rites, this view is challenged in more recent scholarship as incorrect or simplistic.

His name comes from the Canaanite (Israelite) word Yam, meaning "Sea."

[johngronholm]

The Kalevala has some pretty wild stories. Swan eggs creating the stars, a mill that creates gold and a mother who travels into hell, does the pieces of her dead hero son together and brings him to life. And, of course, accidental incest. Fin times for all the family.

[robbabcock_]

Great video, and neat that two of my favorite channels released Tiamat videos the same day! As I related there, as a kid that started playing AD&D in the late 70s or early 80s, I'll always think of Tiamat as the queen of the evil dragons.🐉⚔🧙