Lahamu- Mesopotamian PrimordialPrimordial
Also known as: Laḫamu
Description
Born where the fresh waters of Apsu met the salt waters of Tiamat, Lahamu and her brother Lahmu were the first named beings in the cosmos. Primordial silt given form. From them came Anshar and Kishar, the cosmic horizons, and from those the gods who would shape heaven and earth.
Mythology & Lore
The Silt Between the Waters
When the fresh waters of Apsu mingled with the salt waters of Tiamat at the beginning of all things, the first beings emerged from where the two met. The Enūma Eliš names them: "Lahmu and Lahamu were brought forth, by name they were called." They were silt and sediment, the mud that forms where different waters converge. The first named things in existence.
From Lahmu and Lahamu came Anshar and Kishar, the sky and earth horizons. From those came Anu, and from Anu the great gods. Each generation grew louder and more restless than the last.
The Crisis They Could Not Solve
When Tiamat rose in rebellion against the younger gods, Anshar summoned the divine assembly. Lahmu and Lahamu came. They kissed the assembled gods and sat down to the banquet, distressed by the threat but unable to face it. The chaos from which they had emerged was beyond them now.
Only Marduk, youngest of the gods, proved willing to confront Tiamat. Lahamu and Lahmu sat in the assembly as he went out to fight. They were the oldest things in the cosmos, and the crisis had passed them by.