Bible Dictionaries
Tiamat

Holman Bible Dictionary

(tee' uh mat) A Sumerian-Akkadian goddess viewed by the Babylonians as one of the major gods of their pantheon. She controlled the salt waters and was seen as a capricious goddess because of the destructive yet beneficial nature of the rivers and seas. In the creation epic, Enuma Elish , Tiamat and her consort, Apsu, gave birth to Anshar and Kishar, the universe above and below. According to the epic, the creation of the earth was the result of Tiamat's defeat by the god Marduk, who split Tiamat in two to form heaven and earth, a picture of the primordial sea being driven back and giving way to the land.