Tiamat

"The queen of all dragons."

Tiamat (ヴェスタ, Vesta) is a Summon of the Mars element. It is one of sixteen summons that is automatically available as soon as the player acquires the necessary Djinn.

Basic Mechanics

For a successful summoning of Tiamat, the player must have three Mars Djinn on Standby. Cybele has a base Mars power of 120 and also does additional damage equivalent to 9% of the enemy’s maximum HP. In addition, the summoner's Mars Power will be increased by 60 points.

Tiamat's appearance in Dark Dawn

In Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Tiamat's summon sequence a large purple dragon with tiny wings that drops in along with several balls of fire, waits a moment, and then breathes fire onto the enemy party. In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Tiamat's sequence shows Tiamat, redesigned to be a slender purple dragon with large wings, come shooting out of a tall tower. Tiamat lands on the ground as a huge ball of blue flame, assumes its real form, then breathing out blue flames onto the enemy party before disappearing.

Analysis

Tiamat is the first truly useful Mars summon sequence. It is twice as powerful as Kirin and uses only 1.5 times the amount of Djinn on standby. In Golden Sun, it can be very effective in the boss fight against the Hydros Statue in Altin Peak. In The Lost Age, it has fewer opportunities to be useful, as the main bosses that are weak towards Mars come after the player has gained access to Meteor. In Dark Dawn, Tiamat is temporarily available during the tutorial dungeon, as Isaac and Garet will lend Matthew and Karis three Mars Djinn. Later on, the player can gain access to Tiamat prior to the battle with Ku-Tsung and Ku-Embra, where it can be very useful.

Cultural references

Origin: Babylonia/ Sumeria

Tiamat was a monster and/or primal goddess in Babylonian and Sumerian mythology, associated with salt water and chaos. She was incited by her son Kingu to kill the gods for the assassination of her husband Apsu, but was instead slain by Marduk, who formed heaven and earth from the components of her body. Though not a fire-based creature as shown in Golden Sun and other RPGs, the original myths speak of Tiamat generating pillars of fire along with other disasters when she prepared for battle against Marduk. She is often portrayed in the form of a sea serpent or dragon, although this is only done in modern times. Early Sumerian seals do, however, depict horned serpents or griffin-like creatures that may be associated with her.

Origin: Rome

In the Japanese version, the summon is known as Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth, home, and family. Vesta's presence was symbolized by the sacred fire that burned at her hearth and temples. Her Greek equivalent is Hestia, eldest of the Olympians who gave up her Golden Seat in order to tend the hearth.

Trivia

Tiamat breathing blue flames in Dark Dawn might be a reference to the dragon from Summoning Wind.

Extended Gallery

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  Tiamat separated sprite

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  Tiamat full sequence

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  Concept art of Tiamat from Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

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  Early concept design sketches of Tiamat for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn