Can All Monsters Be Traced Back to Tiamat?

Don’t miss future episodes of Monstrum, subscribe! http://bit.ly/pbsstoried_sub Across multiple mythologies, the term “mother of monsters” is used frequently on the likes of women such as Echidna, Lamia, and Angrboda. But in Mesopotamian mythology, the mother of monsters is Tiamat, who’s less of a woman, and more of an ocean, specifically, the source of all salt water. She also happens to be the mother of a lot of gods, which doesn’t do her any favors when the family reunion turns very violent. For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateStoried ***** Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Producer: Thomas Fernandes Editor/Animator: Jordyn Buckland Illustrator: Samuel Allan Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Additional Footage: Shutterstock Music: APM Music Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. Follow us on Instagram:   / monstrumpbs   ________________________ Bibliography Gilmore, David D. Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. Higgins, Ryan S. “The Good, the God, and the Ugly: The Role of the Beloved Monster in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible.” Interpretation (Richmond), vol. 74, no. 2, 2020, pp. 132–45. Katz, Dina. “Reconstructing Babylon: Recycling Mythological Traditions Toward a New Theology.” Babylon, vol. 1, 2011, pp. 123–34. Lenzi, Alan. Reading Akkadian Prayers and Hymns: an Introduction. SBL Press, 2011. Marangudakis, Manussos. “The Social Sources and Environmental Consequences of Axial Thinking: Mesopotamia, China, and Greece in Comparative Perspective.” Archives Européennes de Sociologie. European Journal of Sociology., vol. 47, no. 1, 2006, pp. 59–91. Miller, Robert D. "Tracking the Dragon Across the Ancient Near East." Archiv Orientalni, vol. 82, no. 2, 2014, pp. 225-245. Sax, Boria. “The Mermaid and Her Sisters: From Archaic Goddess to Consumer Society.” Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, vol. 7, no. 2, Summer 2000, pp. 43–54. Seri, Andrea. “The Role of Creation in Enūma Eliš.” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions, vol. 12, no. 1, 2012, pp. 4–29. “Tiamat.” Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions, 2006, pp. 1095–1095. “Tiamat.” The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters, Edited by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock. Taylor & Francis, 2014, pp. 532–533. Women in Antiquity: Real Women Across the Ancient World, edited by Stephanie Lynn Budin, and Jean MacIntosh Turfa, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. Xiang, Zairong. “Below Either/Or: Rereading Femininity and Monstrosity Inside Enuma Elish.” Feminist Theology, vol. 26, no. 2, 2018, pp. 115–32.