Leviathan Age Of Mythology
Simone Whitmeyer
It is also possible that Leviathan was adapted into Christian religion as a way of making it easier for people from other cultures to convert to Christianity. This is a popular theory because of ancient myths and legends from cultures that predate Christianity and tell of a mighty sea serpent that is overcome by a benevolent protective deity. This also causes some to wonder if the tale was inspired by a real creature that was interpreted differently in various religions and cultures.
To preserve the lives of his other creations, Yahweh descended to the earth to destroy the female Leviathan. There was a great struggle between Yahweh and the female Leviathan because of her great strength. However, because Yahweh was all powerful, he was eventually able to kill the female and save the rest of his creations from destruction. The male Leviathan is bitter because of the loss of his companion and awaits the end times when he will battle with Yahweh.
Many creation tales that reference the Leviathan say that Yahweh made the creature (along with Ziz and Behemoth) as a way of demonstrating his mighty power. By creating the most powerful creatures on land, in the seas, and in the skies, Yahweh showed his great power, which helped to humble the rest of his creations.
The Leviathan, however, posed a special sort of problem for many early peoples. It was the only one of the three creatures that was known to have a destructive nature and was largely regarded as an evil being. In addition to being extremely dangerous, the Leviathan was known to be impossible for man alone to defeat.
Legend tells us that the Leviathan was at least 300 miles in length. The exact size of the creature was unknown because the size of the Leviathan was too big to be comprehended by man. This mighty sea creature was known to have a hot temper that was feared by all and armored scales that made it impossible to kill the beast.
In fact, the scales of the Leviathan are said to be one of the most impressive qualities of the creature. Many creation myths claim that the Leviathan had a double layer of armored scales that protected its flesh. These scales were layered so closely together that not even air could get through! Though these details tell us that the beast was mighty, it does not give much insight into what type of animal the Leviathan might mimic. Many theorize that the beast is likely a large serpent or dragon. Others believe that the Leviathan could be a large whale.
Although many Christian scholars would maintain that the tale of Leviathan is true and that it was original to their religion, there are several earlier stories from other cultures that make this questionable. Because of the overlap between the following tales, many have come to one of two conclusions.
The first conclusion is that Christians used the tale of sea serpents being overcome by an all-powerful deity to help people from other cultures have an easier time converting to Christianity. This is a likely conclusion because there are many similarities between the stories. Additionally, Christianity is known to have used this technique before to convert non-believers.
The second conclusion is that there was a sea creature that lived during the time of these ancient cultures that inspired these tales. While some theorize that the Leviathan was inspired by a creature that no longer exists on this earth, others believe that the monster may be an exaggeration of creatures that can be found in modern day.
Hadad (also known as Baal) was a storm god that served as a protector to society similar to the way Zeus and Marduk were known to protect their people. Because the storm god was able to protect the people and the earth by sending them rains to grow their crops, he was associated with being a benevolent deity.
The serpent god, however, was seen in the opposite manner. A seven-headed dragon creature named Lotan was known to lurk in the depths of the ocean and was seen as a threat to creation. However, because Hadad is known to have great powers, he is able to defeat the mighty Lotan.
After he defeats his enemy, it is said that he used the body of the creature to create the world that the humans now live on. Similar themes can be found in other versions of the struggle against Leviathan in many cultures.
Tiamat was known to sabotage the work of young gods who attempted make life. There were many attempts to create life that was separate from the gods, but Tiamat destroyed all these new worlds. Finally, Marduk (a young god) was able to defeat the evil Tiamat in a terrible battle. When the battle was finished, he used her corpse to create the heavens and the earth.
Typhon was a terrible serpent creature that was known to have incredible powers. The beast was known to have a terrible appearance that struck fear into the hearts of anyone (mortal or otherwise) who saw him. Like Leviathan, Typhon was said to be able to spit streams of fire from his mouth.
In Norse mythology, Thor encounters a beast known as Jormungandr (also known as the Midgard Serpent) when he is challenged by Loki to three feats. In the second feat, Thor is challenged to lift a cat. Try as he might, he is unable to lift more than the paw of the cat and he becomes frustrated. His frustration is decreased when he realizes that the kitten is actually a serpent that was large enough to circle the entire world of Midgard (the middle world where humans live). This description is very similar to the description that was provided by Abraham Isaac Kook, leading some scholars to believe the Midgard Serpent could be another depiction of Leviathan.
It appears that early Christianity may have referenced the Leviathan as an evil entity (almost equivalent to a god). This powerful entity could only be conquered by the mighty Yahweh. From this point, Leviathan eventually became a demon beast that could only be conquered by Yahweh. Finally, Leviathan is recognized as a ferocious beast. While this beast was terrifying, it was not as powerful as an entity or demon would be and was easily tamed and defeated by Yahweh.
It is partially because of the changes in the Leviathan narrative that many people believe Leviathan was adapted from other religions or cultural mythology. It is thought that Leviathan would have remained the same throughout Christian storytelling tradition if it was a legend that originated with their religion.
However, Leviathan has also adopted other meanings through the Christian religion. It is thought that the creature may also be one of the seven deadly sins. Those who follow this interpretation believe that Leviathan is the demon of envy. There are also those who go a step further and claim that Leviathan is an alternative image for Satan himself.
One of the first references to the Leviathan tells us that the creature is a female dragon who lives in the depths of the ocean (sometimes referred to as a watery abyss). This beast will be served up at the end of time and feasted on by the righteous.
Other versions of Leviathan claim that the beast is male. Like Christianity, this version tells us that there was once a male and female Leviathan, but the female was killed to prevent the two from creating offspring and devouring the earth. It is thought that the flesh of the female Leviathan was given in part to the Hebrews as food in the wilderness.
Interestingly enough, the Leviathan is also commonly associated with the Baphomet (a deity supposedly worshiped by the Knights Templar). It is shown in the Satanic Bible that each of the points on the Sigil of Baphomet was a representation of Leviathan.
Those who believe Leviathan is associated with this creature claim that after the damned have disappeared into its mouth, Yahweh will descend upon the earth to have a final battle with the Leviathan. After this battle, its flesh will be served to the righteous.
Another possibility for the similarities between myths is that the creature that inspired the myths was faced by all cultures and religions, leading to similar mythology. Some scholars suggest that the creation of Leviathan was simply an exaggeration of the crocodile. While this does have some credit in scholarly circles because of the nature of the crocodile (its armored skin made it difficult to kill) it is unlikely that this was the true inspiration. This is because while difficult to overcome, a crocodile was not impossible for ancient man to kill. In fact, many records show that crocodiles were hunted by groups of men who would force the mouth of the beast open to deliver a fatal blow. The mighty Leviathan could never be conquered by man, making the crocodile an unlikely candidate.
The Leviathan of the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite Lotan, a primeval monster defeated by the god Baal Hadad.[1][2] Parallels to the role of Mesopotamian Tiamat defeated by Marduk have long been drawn in comparative mythology, as have been wider comparisons to dragon and world serpent narratives, such as Indra slaying Vrtra or Thor slaying Jrmungandr.[3] Leviathan also figures in the Hebrew Bible as a metaphor for a powerful enemy, notably Babylon (Isaiah 27:1). Some 19th-century scholars pragmatically interpreted it as referring to large aquatic creatures, such as the crocodile.[4] The word later came to be used as a term for great whale and for sea monsters in general.
Sea serpents feature prominently in the mythology of the ancient Near East.[12] They are attested by the 3rd millennium BC in Sumerian iconography depicting the god Ninurta overcoming a seven-headed serpent. It was common for Near Eastern religions to include a Chaoskampf: a cosmic battle between a sea monster representing the forces of chaos and a creator god or culture hero who imposes order by force.[13] The Babylonian creation myth describes Marduk's defeat of the serpent goddess Tiamat, whose body was used to create the heavens and the earth.[14]
The mention of the Tannins in the Genesis creation narrative[16] (translated as "great whales" in the King James Version),[17] in Job, and in the Psalm[18] do not describe them as harmful but as ocean creatures who are part of God's creation. The element of competition between God and the sea monster and the use of Leviathan to describe the powerful enemies of Israel[19] may reflect the influence of the Mesopotamian and Canaanite legends or the contest in Egyptian mythology between the Apep snake and the sun god Ra. Alternatively, the removal of such competition may have reflected an attempt to naturalize Leviathan in a process that demoted it from deity to demon to monster.[20][21][page needed]
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