Tiamat

In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat (Akkadian: 𒀭𒋾𒀀𒆳 DTI.AMAT or 𒀭𒌓𒌈 DTAM.TUM, Ancient Greek: Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) represents the primordial sea who, according to the Babylonian creation epic Enûma Elish ("when on high"), mated with Abzû (Apsu), the primordial freshwater, to produce the gods. Throughout the epic, she is described as feminine, possessing both anthropomorphic features (such as breasts) and theriomorphic characteristics (including a tail).

The Enûma Elish tells how Tiamat bore the first generation of deities after her waters mingled with those of her consort Apsu. As these divine offspring continued to reproduce, their growing numbers and noise disturbed Apsu, who plotted to destroy them. After Apsu's plan was discovered and he was killed, Tiamat became enraged and declared war against her own children who had slain her consort. To wage this war, she created a series of monstrous creatures as weapons. She also took a new consort, Qingu, upon whom she bestowed the Tablet of Destinies—the symbol of legitimate divine authority.

Ultimately, Tiamat was defeated and killed by the storm-god Marduk (son of Enki), but not before she created monsters whose bodies she filled with "poison instead of blood." After his victory, Marduk dismembered Tiamat's body and used the pieces to construct various elements of the cosmos.

Some sources have questionably associated Tiamat with images of sea serpents or dragons, though such identifications remain dubious.