One of the oldest myths relating to the genesis is the one recorded with cuneiform on clay tablets from the ancient Sumerian civilization. According to a legend a large water abyss (Apsu) was always present and in it lived daemons and gods, until the intervention of the two deities Anshar and Kishar the grand gods of Babylon were created, among others Anu, Bal and Ea which started the creation of the world as we know it today. Apsu, god of chaos, along with goddess Tiamat "the mother of everything", was strictly opposed to this creative endeavour. Even though Tiamat is considered to be a personification of evil the title of mother is not taken away from her which creates a confusion when it comes to the understanding of this myth. Tiamat is also the guardian of the Tablet of destiny, which additionally confirms that she was a being of great power and position. It is believed that she was a hermaphrodite or a being with two bodies, since legends claimed that she had her male part called Kingu. Thanks to such a specific state Tiamat gave birth to numerous demons' out of which an army against the gods of creation was established. But, despite that Tiamat was defeated by Marduk who created the firmament and the world ocean by gutting her body, while they created humans out of her male part i.e. its blood.
In this myth which is based on the creative intervention of primordial gods, it is easily concluded that the creation of the world and humans from the body of Tiamat and its male counterpart has taken a central place. Tiamat - "the mother of everything" as a symbol that united the male and female principles inside it, represents a universal symbol of genesis and fertility. Without her sacrifice nothing would exist and she deservedly holds the title of "mother of everything". With this myth the human civilization received its first official name for the "grand" mother, the same one which in other cultures is known as Astarta, Izida, Demetra.
The cult of the Grand Mother (Magna Mater) according to the archaeological evidence dates from the beginning of human civilization and as such it became the first mass religious movement on earth. The earliest depictions of the goddess date from the Stone Age where it was depicted on the walls of the caves through symbols of a shield or a triangle, which represents her vagina according to the archaeologists. From that period we also have numerous stone and clay figures of the Grand Mother depicted as a large woman with big breasts and belly as well as pronounced hips.
A lot of religious historians agree the thesis that her cult of fertility probably arose somewhere on the territory of today's Syria, Turkey and Iraq from where it spread throughout the entire Mediterranean. It certainly is supported by an interesting find in southern Anatolia where the archaeologists found numerous miniature statues which depicted the goddess in three life stages: girl or virgin, mother i.e. a woman giving birth to a child or a bull and old lady. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there are several important archaeological localities where traces of Neolithic villages were found as well as life inside them, such as the locality Lug in the outskirts of Goražde where archaeologists, among others, found a couple of sculptures made out of baked clay for which it is believed that they manifest the cult of Grand Mother.
In this myth which is based on the creative intervention of primordial gods, it is easily concluded that the creation of the world and humans from the body of Tiamat and its male counterpart has taken a central place. Tiamat - "the mother of everything" as a symbol that united the male and female principles inside it, represents a universal symbol of genesis and fertility. Without her sacrifice nothing would exist and she deservedly holds the title of "mother of everything". With this myth the human civilization received its first official name for the "grand" mother, the same one which in other cultures is known as Astarta, Izida, Demetra.
The cult of the Grand Mother (Magna Mater) according to the archaeological evidence dates from the beginning of human civilization and as such it became the first mass religious movement on earth. The earliest depictions of the goddess date from the Stone Age where it was depicted on the walls of the caves through symbols of a shield or a triangle, which represents her vagina according to the archaeologists. From that period we also have numerous stone and clay figures of the Grand Mother depicted as a large woman with big breasts and belly as well as pronounced hips.
A lot of religious historians agree the thesis that her cult of fertility probably arose somewhere on the territory of today's Syria, Turkey and Iraq from where it spread throughout the entire Mediterranean. It certainly is supported by an interesting find in southern Anatolia where the archaeologists found numerous miniature statues which depicted the goddess in three life stages: girl or virgin, mother i.e. a woman giving birth to a child or a bull and old lady. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there are several important archaeological localities where traces of Neolithic villages were found as well as life inside them, such as the locality Lug in the outskirts of Goražde where archaeologists, among others, found a couple of sculptures made out of baked clay for which it is believed that they manifest the cult of Grand Mother.
