The Tree of Life: An Archaeological Study |
Contents
I The Sacred Tree and the Water of Life | 1 |
II The Cult of the Sacred Tree and Stones | 32 |
III The Tree of Life in Paradise | 66 |
IV The Tree of Life and the Sacral Kingship | 93 |
V The Cosmic Tree | 129 |
Common terms and phrases
abode afterlife Anat ancient Apsu Asherah associated Astarte Attis Baal Babylonian baetylic became Canaanite celestial centre century B.C. Chap Cosmic Tree cosmogony creation creative Creator Crete cult cultus dead death deity Demeter depicted Dilmun Dionysus divine earth Egypt Egyptian Enki Enlil fecundity female fertility Festival figure fruit functions goddess gods grave Greece Greek Hathor heaven Hebrew Helladic Hittite Homeric Horus imagery immortality Isis Israel king kingship land life-giving Lord Magna Mater Marduk megalithic Mesopotamia millennium B.C. Minoan Minoan-Mycenaean mortuary Mother Mother-goddess motifs Mycenae Mycenaean Mysteries myth mythology Nile Nilsson Ninhursaga originally Orphic Osirian Osiris Palestine paradise personified Pharaoh pillar plants primeval regarded Religion renewal represented resurrection rites ritual sacral sacral king sacred marriage sacred tree sanctuary seasonal Semitic shrine soul spring stone Sumerian Sun-god symbolism Syria Tammuz temple Teshub Texts theme Tiamat tomb tradition Ugaritic vegetation waters Weather-god Western Asia worship Yahweh Zeus