Tiamat... Dagon? Options Rating

I know this question may be some off, but is the Mesopatamian Goddess "Tiamat" the same as "Dagon" from the Necronomicon?

It is said that Tiamat was slain by Marduk, as I was doing research on Mesopatamian Mythology. From my understanding, Dagon was known as a female as well, if not, androgynous, but not fully a male Old one.

Is Tiamat really the same as Dagon?

Greetings,

Yeah, it appears that Enlil was originally the slayer of Tiamat (called Kur in the earlier versions) and was replaced by Marduk later (8th C. BCE) in the Enuma Elish. This evidence comes from incomplete cuneiform tablets uncovered at Nippur that are several centuries older than the tablets of the Enuma Elish. Ashnook, you speak the truth, as with all other cultures names of deities were often interchangeable to fit political agendas. It should be noted that Enlil was the major deity of Nippur, thus his role as principle deity is to be expected.

Interestingly, in the Enuma Elish you can still find traces of the earlier myth.

As the fierce winds charged her belly,
Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open.
He released the arrow, it tore her belly,
It cut through her insides, splitting the heart.
Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life.
He cast down her carcass to stand upon it...

Here is a slightly different version of the above passage:

And the evil wind that was behind him he let loose in her face.
As Tiamat opened her mouth to its full extent,
He drove in the evil wind, while as yet she had not shut her lips.
The terrible winds filled her belly,
And her courage was taken from her, and her mouth she opened wide.
He seized the spear and burst her belly,
He severed her inward parts, he pierced her heart.
He overcame her and cut off her life;

In both these passages Marduk kills Tiamat with the help of the winds. Among Enlil's epiphets is "Lord of the Wind”. So while Enlil was replaced by Marduk, his role is still present (albeit in a more symbolic sense) in the slaying of Tiamat.

Additional Note:

In some versions it is Enki who slays Kur in revenge for Kur swallowing Ereshkigal. Clearly the archetypal "slaying of the dragon" was a common theme in Mesopotamian mythology centuries before the Enuma Elish.

This post has been edited by Faustopheles: Dec 21 2006, 04:06 AM