Texts in Conversation
Enmerkar praises the king as a world tree uniting heaven and earth, its crown reaching the sky and trunk in the ground. The Christian author Pseudo-Hippolytus uses a similar image for the cross, its top touching heaven and feet on earth.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
Ancient Near East
‘This is what my master has spoken, this is what he has said. My king is like a huge mes tree, … son of Enlil; this tree has grown high, uniting heaven and earth; its crown reaches heaven, its trunk is set upon the earth. He who is made to shine forth in lordship and kingship, Enmerkar, the son of Utu, has given me a clay tablet.
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Pseudo Hippolytus Easter Homily 1:5
Early Christian
1 This tree is heavenly. It sprouted from earth toward heaven, an immortal plant set fast between heaven and earth. 2 It is the support of all things and the resting place of all things, the foundation of the inhabited world, the bond that binds the cosmos. 3 It holds together within itself every variation of human nature. 4 It is fastened by the invisible nails of the Spirit, that it may not break away from the divine. 5 Its top touches the heights of heaven; its feet are fixed in the earth; its measureless arms embrace the air between. 6 It was wholly in all places and through all things.
Date: 200-300 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Tags:
Search:
Notes and References
“... These lines describe no ordinary tree. The tree depicted is a cosmic tree, filling the universe. It is broad as the sea, tall as the highest heavens, and rooted in the earth deeper than even the Netherworld. Similar descriptions apply in Mesopotamian literature to temples, divine paraphernalia, and gods. ...”
Hurowitz, Victor Avigdor
"What Can Go Wrong with an Idol?" in May, Natalie Naomi (ed.) Iconoclasm and Text Destruction in the Ancient Near East and Beyond
(pp. 280-282) The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2012
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.