The meaning of the name Marduk is unknown. By a species of word-play the name was interpreted as "the son of the chamber," with reference perhaps to the sacred chamber of fate in which he sat in judgment on the New Year's festival. Ideographically he is represented by two signs signifying "child of the day" (or "of the sun") which is a distinct allusion to his original solar character. Other ideographic signs describe him as the "strong and universal ruler." The name of his consort was Sarpanit, i.e. the shining or brilliant one--again an allusion to Marduk's solar traits--and this name was playfully twisted by the Babylonian priests to mean "the seed-producing" (as though compounded of _zer_, seed, and _banit_, producing), which was regarded as an appropriate appellation for the female counterpart of the creator of mankind and of life in general. The punning etymology betrays the evident desire of the priests to see in Marduk's consort a form or manifestation of the great mother-goddess Ishtar (q.v.), just as in Assyria Ishtar frequently appears as the consort of the chief god of Assyria, known as Assur (q.v.). (M. JA.) FOOTNOTE: [1] The name Mordecai denotes "belonging to Marduk." MARE, the English term for the female of any animal of the family _Equidae_, of the ass, or zebra, but particularly of the horse. It is also used of the camel. To find a "mare's nest" is an old proverbial saying for a purely imaginary discovery. In "night-mare," an oppressive or terrifying dream, the termination is a word appearing as _mar_, _maer_ and _mara_ in various Teutonic languages for a goblin, supposed to sit on a sleeper's chest and cause these dreams: cf. elf. This Teutonic word also appears in the French _cauchemar_, the first part being from _caucher_, to tread or trample upon, Lat. _calcare_. MARE CLAUSUM and MARE LIBERUM (Lat. for "closed sea" and "free sea"), in international law, terms associated with the historic controversy which arose out of demands on the part of different states to assert exclusive dominion over areas of the open or high sea. Thus Spain laid claim to exclusive dominion over whole oceans, Great Britain to all her environing narrow seas and so on. These claims gave rise to vigorous opposition by other powers and led to the publication of Grotius's work (1609) called _Mare liberum_. In _Mare clausum_ (1635) John Selden endeavoured to prove that the sea was practically as capable of appropriation as territory. Owing to the conflict of claims which grew out of the controversy, maritime states had to moderate their demands and base their pretensions to maritime dominion on the principle that it extended seawards from land.