Tiamat
/ˈtiːəmət/noun
In Babylonian mythology, the primordial saltwater goddess and dragon-like embodiment of the sea.
Did you know?In the Babylonian creation epic Enūma Eliš, Tiamat’s defeated body is split apart to form the heavens and the earth—a cosmic creation myth built from divine dismemberment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic (proposed)
Proto-Semitic
*yamm-
“Sea or deep waters; the proposed ancestral root behind several ancient Semitic words for the sea.”
Early 2nd Millennium BCE
Sumerian/Akkadian
tiamtum
“Sea; an early form associated with the name later written as Tiamat.”
Old Babylonian Period
Akkadian
tāmtu
“Sea; the related Akkadian noun that helps explain Tiamat’s aquatic identity.”
Late 2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Tiamat
“Primordial saltwater power or goddess in Babylonian myth.”
7th Century BCE
Akkadian
Tiamat
“The cosmic sea-dragon and enemy of the storm god Marduk in the Enūma Eliš.”
Modern English
English
Tiamat
“A Babylonian primordial sea goddess, commonly portrayed in modern retellings as a dragon or monstrous embodiment of chaos.”