fandomhigh | World Mythology, Monday, Period 3

"Today, we start at the very beginning," Ghanima announced crisply. "Or as close to the beginning as such a young planet can get. Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from parts of the fertile crescent, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq."

"The Sumerians practiced a polytheistic religion, with anthropomorphic gods or goddesses representing forces or presences in the world, in much the same way as later Greek mythology. According to said mythology, the gods originally created humans as servant and freed them when they became too much to handle. Many stories in Sumerian religion appear similar to stories in other Middle-Eastern religions. Gods and Goddesses from Sumer have similar representations in the religions of the Akkadians, Canaanites, and others."

"Today we look at one of the first primordial goddesses of this world: Tiamat. Tiamat is considered the embodiment of primordial chaos. Although there are no early precedents for it, some sources identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon. In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, she gives birth to the first generation of deities; she later makes war upon them and is killed by the storm-god Marduk. The heavens and the earth are formed from her divided body."

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"Though Tiamat is often described by modern authors as a sea serpent or dragon, no ancient texts exist in which there is a clear association with those kinds of creatures. The Enûma Elish specifically states that Tiamat did give birth to dragons and serpents, but they are included among a larger and more general list of monsters including scorpion men and merpeople, none of which imply that any of the children resemble the mother or are even limited to aquatic creatures. Within the Enûma Elish her physical description includes a tail, a thigh, "lower parts" which shake together, a belly, an udder, ribs, a neck, a head, a skull, eyes, nostrils, a mouth, and lips. She has a heart, arteries, and blood."

"Tiamat was the "shining" personification 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". In the myth recorded on cuneiform tablets, the deity Enki -- later Ea -- believed correctly that Apsu, upset with the chaos they created, was planning to murder the younger deities; and so slew him. This angered Tiamat, whereupon she fashioned monsters to battle the deities in order to avenge Apsu's death. These were her own offspring: giant sea serpents, storm demons, fish-men, scorpion-men and many others. As often happens, she was overcome by a younger god -- Marduk, son of Ea. Slicing Tiamat in half, he made from her ribs the vault of heaven and earth. Her weeping eyes became the source of the Tigris and the Euphrates. With the approval of the elder deities, he took from Kingu the Tablets of Destiny, installing himself as the head of the Babylonian pantheon. Kingu, Tiamat's new, second husband, was captured and later was slain: his red blood mixed with the red clay of the Earth would make the body of humankind, created to act as the servant of the younger Igigi deities."

"I'd like you to make up your own creation stories today, and then share them with a friend. Either a story you are familiar with from your own homeworld, or how you, personally, think the world came into being. Or, if neither of those suit your fancy, why do you think Tiamat is so often portrayed as a dragon? What sort of connotations do dragons have in your culture? Are they creatures of chaos, creation, or both?"

Hyacinthe knew the stories of the Hellenes and wondered why the theme of gods making war upon their children seemed so prevalent in many mythologies.

If they covered that, perhaps he'd ask Lady Ghanima.

For now, though, he'd puzzle over the various creation myths he knew. There were the stories of the Habiru scholars, for one.

"Right, so you're normal-ish," Paris aid. "Talk mythology to me."

"I don't know whether to be more offended by the normal or the ish," Hyacinthe said with a laugh. "Though I can speak of mythology, do you wish. I've heard tales of the ancient Hellenes, the Menekhet, the Tiberium Empire, and even some Skaldic stories, as well as the Habiru and some few Cruithne tales. You?"

"I went through a major Greek mythology phase as a kid," she replied, "and have read about the Romans, and the Egyptians, plus everything I had to memorize for my bat mitzvah."

"Bat mitzvah..." Hyacinthe frowned, trying to place the phrase. "Oh! You are Habiru, then?" He grinned. "We had a Habiru family living in our building growing up and there are always a few Habiru scholars studying the stories of Elua and how it relates to the Tanakh."

"I'm more used to the word Jewish," Paris said. "And we study the Talmud, but I can see what you're talking about if I squint."

Hyacinthe shrugged. "'Habiru' is what they call themselves in Terre D'Ange--" which she'd be more used to calling France, a name lacking in all poetry Hyacinthe would say, "--though I will use Jewish do you wish?"

On that, he had little opinion. The Habiru were generally quiet and kept to themselves, fewer in number than their Yeshuite brethren.

"You do not see Yeshua ben Yosef as the meshiach, correct?"

"Correct," Paris said, "Yes to Hanukkah, no to Christmas."

"...I don't know who those are," Hyacinthe said, propping his chin on his palm and giving Paris his undivided attention. "Pray, share?"

"They're holidays," Paris explained, smiling. "Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birthday. Hanukkah is the festival of lights that comes at roughly the same time and has become a much bigger deal because little Jewish kids wanted in on the presents, too."

"Jesus...is your version of Yeshua, as Jewish is Habiru, yes?" Hyacinthe asked, smiling back. His most charming smile, of course. "We've no such holidays in Terre D'Ange, though it's possible the Yeshuites and Habiru do and simply don't tell the rest of us."

"I find it hard to believe anyone forgetting to invite you to a party," Paris said a little archly. "so you must not have them. Do you have any celebrations?"

Hyacinthe chuckled, rich and smooth like chocolate. "'Tis a kindness of you to say so," he said. "For D'Angelines, the biggest holiday is the Longest Night. 'Tis our new year, a night of celebration and pageantry. Growing up in Night's Doorstep, we were right at the foot of the hill where the Night Court hosts their yearly masque and every year, their celebration spills down to us, for those looking a rougher kind of fun."

"A dragon is a wonderful image," Sidon said happily, with a little bit of a wistful sigh. "Back home in Hyrule, we have a legend of three dragons, and they all serve the ancient goddesses and come forth from ancient springs. It seems that water and dragons and creation are quite often joined together, which I'm sure you all can imagine I enjoy immensely. Water truly is life for my people, so that also makes me wonder how closely related the Zora may be to these ancient dragons! Borne from water, with a much longer lifespan than the other races of my world." Here, he couldn't help laugh. "I never thought of that before! Perhaps I do share something in common with these spectacular dragons, and, in a different world, with Tiamet herself! Imagine that! To the old Sumatrans, I would have very likely seemed to have come straight from her! It would be most interesting to see how they might have received me...and how i might have interacted with them, as well!"

World Mythology, Monday, Period 3

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