Editing Tiamat (section)

==Interpretations==
It was once thought that the myth of Tiamat was one of the earliest recorded versions of a ''[[Chaoskampf]]'', a mythological motif that generally involves the battle between a culture hero and a [[chthonic]] or aquatic monster, serpent, or dragon.{{sfn|Jacobsen|1968|pp=104-108}} ''Chaoskampf'' motifs in other mythologies perhaps linked to the Tiamat myth include: the Hittite [[Illuyanka]] myth; the Greek lore of [[Apollo]]'s killing of the [[Python (mythology)|Python]] as a necessary action to take over the [[Delphic Oracle]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://martikheel.com/pdf/heroic-holistic-ethics.pdf|title=Martikheel}}</ref> and to [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] in the Hebrew Bible.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gunkel |first=Hermann |title=Schöpfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit. Eine religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung über Gen 1 und Ap Joh 12 |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |location=Göttingen |publication-date=1895}}</ref>

A number of writers have put forth ideas about Tiamat: [[Robert Graves]],<ref>Graves, ''The Greek Myths'', rev. ed. 1960:§4.5.</ref> for example, considered Tiamat's death by Marduk as evidence for his hypothesis of an ancient shift in power from a [[matriarchy|matriarchal]] society to a [[patriarchy]]. The theory suggested that Tiamat and other ancient monster figures were depictions of former supreme deities of peaceful, woman-centered religions. Their defeat at the hands of a male hero corresponded to the overthrow of these matristic religions and societies by male-dominated ones.