Tiamat was a goddess of Sumerian and Babylonian peoples. Because of the meaning of her name -- Tiamat, Ti = Life, and Ama = Mother, in the Sumerian language, suggesting her original name may have been "the mother of all life".
The following information from
en.wikipedia.org explains the association that the Hebrew Bible's Adam and Eve.
"The Battle between Marduk and Tiamat" Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar.), pp. 104-108.) This title was given to the divinised 1st King of the 3rd Dynasty of Kish, Kubau, who reappears in Hurrian mythology as Kheba (identified with the "mother of the Gods" — Hannahannah) and with the Hebrew cognate Havva (Eve), also called "the mother of all living" in Genesis). ("Adam and Eve in Babylonian Literature". American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature Vol 15 (1899), pp.193-214)"
Apsu, whose name signifies ruler of the waters, was the "mate" of Tiamat, whose children were the Elder gods Lahmu and Laham, gatekeepers of the Enki Abzu temple in Eridu. Lahmu and Lahamu, in turn, were the parents of the gods of the heavens Anshar and Kishar. Anshar and Kishar were considered to meet on the horizon, becoming thereby the parents of Anu and Ki.
"Tiamat was the "shining" goddess of salt water who roared and smote in the chaos of original creation. She and Apsu filled the cosmic abyss with the primeval waters. She is "Ummu-Hubur who formed all things".
en.wikipedia.org Tiamat, was therefore known as a goddess of the sea.
The god Enki, knew that Apsu, was upset with the chaos they created and was planning to murder the younger gods; and so slew him. This angered Kingu, their son, who reported the event to Tiamat, whereupon she rose an army of monsters to battle the gods. These were her children. Great creatures of might and fear. Creatures such as giant sea serpents, storm demons, fish-men, and scorpion-men.
"Tiamat possessed the Tablets of Destiny, and in the primordial battle she gave them to Kingu, the god she had chosen as her lover and the leader of her host. The Gods gathered in terror, but Anu, (replaced later first by Enlil and after the 1st Dynasty of Babylon, by Marduk, the son of Ea, in the late version that has survived), first extracting a promise that he would be revered as "king of the Gods", overcame her, armed with the arrows of the winds, a net, a club, and an invincible spear."
en.wikipedia.orgAnu (formally known as Aspu), battled Tiamit, slicing her in half. He made from her ribs the vault of heaven and earth. Her tears then became the source of the two of the great rivers of that time, the Tigris and the Euphrates. With the approval of the elder gods, he took from Kingu the Tablets of Destiny, installing himself as the head of the Babylonian pantheon. Kingu was captured and was later slain with his red blood mixed with the red clay of the Earth to make the body of humankind, created to act as the servant of the younger Igigi Gods.
What does all of this say? Well this is the exact opposite of what I have so often posted here lately of the dominance of the female in mythology and human beliefs. Tiamat was a revered goddess to start. According to the above, the Sumerians believed that she was the mother of all life. And that was all good and fine as long as she was at the side of Anu. As long as her power was adjoined with his, she was no threat. But once she had a power that Anu did not have, the Tablets of Destiny, then it she was a threat to him. A female was not to have more power than the male of the deities.
Why is that? What is it that makes a man feel threatened by a woman or goddess, in this case, who has more power that he does? I can't really explain that to you, personally. A woman that has more power, whether that be, a higher salary, more prestigious career or more dominance, is not a threat. If a woman's skills and intelligence take her further than a man, she should not be punished for her ambition. But sadly that happens many times.
Just think of the day that we will have a woman president. That seems pretty unbelievable. But the only thing that is holding that possible reality back is the insecurities of men.
"Some feminist theorists interpret the slaying of Tiamat as the installation of male patriarchy and the suppression of a theorized earlier matrifocal partnership culture characterised by a degree of gender equality."
en.wikipedia.orgMale patriarchy? Just check the Old Testament.
May U Live 2 See The Dawn
"Yip-e-kia mother-fuckers!"
