Tiamat vs Yam (Yammu)

The primordial goddess of the salt sea and chaos dragon. Tiamat is the mother of the first gods and, after being slain by Marduk, became the raw material from which the universe was fashioned.

In the beginning, there was only salt water (Tiamat) and sweet water (Apsu), mingling together in the primordial void. From their union emerged the first gods. When the younger gods grew noisy, Apsu sought to destroy them but was killed by Ea. Tiamat mourned but was eventually persuaded to avenge him, transforming into a chaos dragon and creating an army of monsters.

Tiamat represents the salt water of the primeval ocean, complementing her consort Apsu who embodied fresh water. Their mingling produced the first generation of gods. She is both creative and destructive, nurturing mother and terrifying dragon, embodying the ambivalent power of the primordial chaos from which order emerged.

The Sea as a god, 'Prince Sea, Judge River', El's favourite, who demands that Baal be handed over as his captive and is struck down by Baal's clubs.

Yam, whose name simply means "sea", is always paired in poetic parallelism with "River": he is "Prince Sea" and "Judge River". He is "beloved of El", and in the fragmentary first tablet of the Baal Cycle El proclaims his name and gives him a house built by Kothar-wa-Khasis (KTU 1.1-1.2). His power over the waters is also a claim to kingship among the gods.