Before the world as we know it was created, said the Babylonians, there was only Tiamat, the dragon goddess of salt waters and Her consort Apsu, god of the fresh sweet water. Both represent the idea of chaos that precedes form and order, which are the foundation of upon which civilization rests. Tiamat and Apsu are the parents of all the Great Gods and Goddesses of Babylon, who came forth from Tiamat´s almighty womb.

She is a great Dragoness, the very personification of the primeval forces of the universe. We also know that as Her young offspring of gods and goddesses grew up, they became so noisy to the extent that Apsu could find rest at night.

He proposed to slay them and a great battle began, with Apsu and Tiamat struggling with their children.

The greatest of these was the hero Marduk, offspring of the god Enki -- he who cast a spell on Apsu and killed him so that his brother and sister goddesses might live. Marduk was a child of wonder, perfect in form and strength, and blessed by all gods and goddesses of the land.

Mother becomes Avenger and Tiamat does battle with Marduk. He kills her and uses her body to form the world. The parts of Tiamat´s body created the universe as we know it, and the divine fashioner was Marduk. Tiamat´s body fell into the lower universe; one half became the dome of heaven, her eyes became the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Tiamat´s and Marduk´s Mystery was celebrated every year in Babylon especially during the New Year´s or the Akitu Festival, where Life was seen as the taming of primeval Chaos, a task that indeed never ends. Marduk is the first heroic dragon-slayer in world history.

But don't think Tiamat is forgotten, for Marduk's glory was built upon the remains of the Great Dragoness, to become the majesty that was Babylon.