Kingu
Encyclopedia
Kingu, also spelled Qingu, meaning "unskilled laborer," was a god in Babylonian mythology, and — after the murder of his father Apsu — the consort of the goddess Tiamat
, his mother, who wanted to establish him as ruler and leader of all gods before she was slain by Marduk
. Tiamat gave Kingu the 3 Tablets of Destiny
, which he wore as a breastplate and which gave him great power. She placed him as the general of her army. Eventually, he was killed by the god Marduk
to prevent his rise and his blood was used to create humankind. With his death, Marduk took the Tablets of Destiny and became ruler of the gods. Kingu's pivotal role is further described in the Babylonian creation myth, Enûma Elish
.
Tiamat
In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,...
, his mother, who wanted to establish him as ruler and leader of all gods before she was slain by Marduk
Marduk
Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...
. Tiamat gave Kingu the 3 Tablets of Destiny
Tablets of Destiny
In Mesopotamian mythology, the Tablet of Destinies - Dup Shimati in Sumerian - was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform writing, also impressed with cylinder seals, which, as a permanent legal document, conferred upon the god Enlil his supreme authority as ruler of the universe.In...
, which he wore as a breastplate and which gave him great power. She placed him as the general of her army. Eventually, he was killed by the god Marduk
Marduk
Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...
to prevent his rise and his blood was used to create humankind. With his death, Marduk took the Tablets of Destiny and became ruler of the gods. Kingu's pivotal role is further described in the Babylonian creation myth, Enûma Elish
Enûma Elish
The is the Babylonian creation myth . It was recovered by Austen Henry Layard in 1849 in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh , and published by George Smith in 1876.The Enûma Eliš has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding...
.