Back to Myth Atlas

Dragons & Serpents · Babylonia

Tiamat

The Babylonian primordial sea figure defeated by Marduk in the creation epic.

Legend File

Tiamat is best known from the Enuma Elish as a primordial salt-sea power and motherly source turned cosmic opponent. Her exact appearance is not securely fixed, which is why she should be handled as a mythic sea/chaos figure rather than a simple dragon illustration. Marduk's victory over her body becomes the architecture of the world.

Source Framing

Babylonian Enuma Elish tradition around Tiamat as primordial sea/chaos figure; her exact form is uncertain in Mesopotamian evidence.

Archive reference plate of Tiamat as a primordial sea and chaos figure with wave, scale, and shell studies.
Source reference Tiamat reference plate Babylonian Enuma Elish tradition around Tiamat as primordial sea/chaos figure; her exact form is uncertain in Mesopotamian evidence. Codex art session / Myth Atlas