The tree at the navel of the earth

Description

The branches and fruit of the Tree of Life and World Tree appear in the art and myths of Greece, but its roots are in Asia. This book accordingly pursues its enquiry rather more in ancient Asia than in Greece, paying especial attention to the Mediterranean fringe of the continent (but ex-cluding Asia Minor and Egypt), to Mesopotamia and, leaping over Iran, to India. As readers of Dr. E. O. James's valuable survey, The Tree of Life, will know, the symbol is to be found Over a great part of Europe and Asia, but in this book its interpretation is attempted in an aspect which demands intensive concentration within narrower bounds. The region is still very large. The relevance of the subject to the background of Christianity is not wholly left out of sight, and the final chapter considers the meaning of the engraving of the crucified Christ on the Lotharkreuz at Aachen in its connection with the ancient symbol. Chapter I. The Mountain, the Pillar and the Tree - 1 Chapter II. The Central Symbols in the Mediterranean World and Beyond - 18 Chapter III. The Twin Mountains, the Twin Stars and the Dioscuri - 53 Chapter IV. In the Garden of Eden - 73 Chapter VI. The Assouciated Symbols: I. The Lunar Crescent and the Bowl - 101 Chapter VII. The Symbols of Ecstasy in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Myths of Etana and the Indian Prince Jimutavahana - 138 Chapter VIII. Some Signs of the Practice of Yoga in Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean - 162 Chapter IX. The Tales Odysseus told Alkinoos, and an Akkadian Seal - 172 Chapter X. Some Origins - 185 Chapter XI. The Crucifixion on the Lotharkreuz at Aachen - 208 Index 228 Plates 241