Leviathan
thumb|upright=1.1|The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Doré (1865) thumb|upright=1.4|The circular salt sea Tiamat (green) and sphere of cosmic freshwater ocean [[Abzu are pre-existent deities in Sumerian myths, from whose mating Earth was created, so the sketch's side view shows the same as Babylon's map. Referring to the Atra-Hasis epic, Abzu is the celestial reservoir from which an organisation of younger gods triggers the Flood in order to consume humanity – also a source for the dangerous cosmic sea monster Leviathan.]]
AI overview
Leviathan is a dangerous cosmic sea monster from ancient mythological traditions, particularly connected to Mesopotamian myths about primordial waters and divine conflict. The creature appears in stories influenced by earlier Sumerian and Babylonian cosmology, where it relates to themes of chaos, divine power, and humanity's relationship to catastrophic forces like floods.
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Article
12 sectionsContents
- Etymology and origins
- Tanakh
- Judaism
- Christianity
- Satanism
- Gnosticism
- Secular use
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Cited sources
- External links
thumb|upright=1.1|The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Doré (1865) thumb|upright=1.4|The circular salt sea Tiamat (green) and sphere of cosmic freshwater ocean [[Abzu are pre-existent deities in Sumerian myths, from whose mating Earth was created, so the sketch's side view shows the same as Babylon's map. Referring to the Atra-Hasis epic, Abzu is the celestial reservoir from which an organisation of younger gods triggers the Flood in order to consume humanity – also a source for the dangerous cosmic sea monster Leviathan.]]
Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a giant sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in the Hebrew Bible, as a metaphor for a powerful enemy, notably Babylon. It is referred to in Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the Book of Enoch. Leviathan is often an embodiment of chaos, threatening to eat the damned when their lives are over. In the end, it is annihilated. Christian theologians identified Leviathan with the demon of the deadly sin envy. According to Ophite Diagrams, Leviathan encapsulates the space of the material world.