Evidence
Each row links back to the complete public-domain source text and the structured extraction record.
| Tradition | Source | Passage | Confidence | Evidence | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biblical | Genesis | Genesis 28:10-17 | medium | He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. | record |
| Biblical | Genesis | Genesis 3:1-7 | medium | Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field... She took some of its fruit, and ate. | record |
| Biblical | Numbers | Numbers 21:4-9 | low | Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole... when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived. | record |
| Norse | The Poetic Edda | VOLUSPO / THE WISE-WOMANS PROPHECY / INTRODUCTORY NOTE / NOTES; lines 1629-1639 | medium | The note identifies Nithhogg as the dragon at the roots of Yggdrasil (with cross-reference to earlier stanza and note). | record |
| Norse | The Poetic Edda | INTRODUCTORY NOTE / NOTES / PRONOUNCING INDEX OF PROPER NAMES / PRONOUNCING INDEX; lines 23008-23324 | medium | "Ygg-dras-il, the world-ash" | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK THIRD / THE STORY OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WANDERING / BOOK FOURTH / THE LOVE OF DIDO, AND HER END; lines 2542-2634 | high | Dido tells Anna of a Massylian priestess from the far Aethiopian region of Atlas, associated with the Hesperides, a dragon, and holy boughs on a tree. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK SIXTH / THE VISION OF THE UNDER WORLD / BOOK SEVENTH / THE LANDING IN LATIUM, AND THE ROLL OF THE ARMIES OF ITALY; lines 4267-4357 | medium | A sacred laurel in the palace, dedicated to Phoebus, is covered by a sudden swarm of bees; a prophet says a foreigner and army will come and reign in the fortress. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK EIGHTH / THE EMBASSAGE TO EVANDER / BOOK NINTH / THE SIEGE OF THE TROJAN CAMP; lines 6150-6229 | low | Pandarus and Bitias, sons of Alcanor and Iaera, born in Jupiter's grove and tall as ancestral pines and hills, open the gates and stand like twin oaks beside streams as Rutulians enter. | record |
| Ainu | Aino Folk-Tales | AINO FOLK-LORE. / I.--TALES ACCOUNTING FOR THE ORIGIN OF PHENOMENA. / II.--MORAL TALES. / IV.--MISCELLANEOUS TALES.; lines 1719-1809 | high | He looks at his body, finds himself transformed into a serpent, and his cries and groans become serpent hisses. | record |
| Islamicate Folklore | The Arabian Nights Entertainments | The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 3631-3726 | low | On the isle of Rohat, camphor trees are enormous; sap drawn through an incision hardens into camphor, and the treated tree withers and dies. | record |
| Indigenous Australian | Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the Piccaninnies | CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 1341-1440 | high | The two Meamei strike separate pine trees with their combos. The trees rise, carrying them upward until their tops touch the sky. The five sisters in the sky call to them and draw them in to live there forever. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | END OF THE STORY OF THE BULL WHO WON THE BET. / END OF THE STORY OF THE WISE BIRD AND THE FOOLS. / END OF BOOK I. CHAPTER IV. / INDEX.; lines 14324-14688 | low | “Lumbini grove, where the Buddha was born.” | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | END OF THE STORY OF THE BULL WHO WON THE BET. / END OF THE STORY OF THE WISE BIRD AND THE FOOLS. / END OF BOOK I. CHAPTER IV. / INDEX.; lines 15042-15226 | medium | “Trees pay homage to Mahā Māyā, 66; to the Buddha, 75, 102” | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | END OF THE STORY OF THE BULL WHO WON THE BET. / END OF THE STORY OF THE WISE BIRD AND THE FOOLS. / END OF BOOK I. CHAPTER IV. / INDEX.; lines 15042-15226 | medium | “Tree of Wisdom (Bo- or Bodhi-tree), 95” | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 3549-3662 | high | The prophecy describes Gotama’s departure, austerities, rice-milk or rice-pottage meal, Neranjarā riverbank, approach to the Bodhi-tree, salutation of the Bodhi throne, and Buddhahood beneath an Indian fig tree called Assattha. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 3800-3919 | medium | If Sumedha gives away wealth, fame, family, and goods to all who ask until nothing remains, he will sit at the foot of the tree of Bodhi and become a Buddha. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4293-4363 | medium | Dīpankara’s city is Rammavatī; his parents, disciples, servitor, female disciples, and Pipphali Bodhi-tree are named; he is eighty cubits high and compared to a deodar pine or sal-tree in bloom. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4522-4607 | medium | An unnamed figure is ordained, embraces ascetic life, learns the word of Buddha, attains supernatural faculties and attainments, and is reborn in the Brahma heavens. Mangala Buddha’s details are listed, including a Nāga Bodhi-tree, an eighty-eight-cubit body, a ninety-thousand-year life, and death accompanied by darkness in ten thousand worlds and lamentation. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4609-4690 | medium | Paduma has three assemblies and dwells in a forest grove; the Bodisat as a lion venerates him in trance, attends seven days without seeking prey, puts faith in the Order, and receives a prophecy of future Buddhahood. Paduma's city, kin, disciples, Bo-tree, height, and age are listed. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4692-4781 | medium | Sujāta has three assemblies; the Bodisat as universal monarch hears the Law, gives his kingdom with seven treasures to the Order, takes vows, and receives prophecy. Sujāta's city, family, disciples, Bambu Bo-tree, body height, and lifespan are listed. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4783-4873 | medium | Tissa appears ninety-two world-cycles ago. The Bodisat is born as warrior-chief Sujāta, takes vows, gains rishi powers, offers a heaven-grown lotus and Pāricchattaka flowers to Tissa, spreads a flower awning in the sky, and receives a prophecy that he will become a Buddha. Tissa’s city, family, disciples, Asana Bo-tree, height, and lifespan are listed. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4875-4993 | low | Kakusandha has one assembly of forty thousand monks. The Bodisat as King Kshema gives robes, bowls, collyriums, and drugs to the Order, hears the Law, takes vows, and receives prophecy; Kakusandha’s city, family, disciples, Sirīsa Bo-tree, height, and age are listed. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 5434-5543 | medium | At the Bodisat's birth in Lumbini, the mother of Rāhula, Channa, Kāḷudāyi, Kanthaka, the Bo-tree, and four treasure vases also come into being and are called the Connatal Ones. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 5545-5653 | high | The king takes his son to the festival site and has the child's couch placed under a dense Jambu-tree shade, with a star-inlaid golden canopy and curtain. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 6163-6257 | medium | Sujātā tells Puṇṇā to watch the holy place. The Bodisat, after five dreams, concludes that he will become a Buddha that day and sits at the foot of the tree, lighting it with his glory. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 6259-6359 | high | The Bodisat spends the day in a sāla grove and proceeds toward the Tree of Wisdom along a divinely adorned path, while superhuman beings offer flowers and heavenly songs. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 6477-6591 | medium | Heavenly hosts announce that the Tempter is overcome and that Siddhattha has prevailed; Nāgas, Winged Ones, Angels, Brahma Gods, and other gods rejoice and honor him at the Bo-tree. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 6593-6700 | medium | For the fourth week angels create a house of gems northwest of the Bo-tree; the Master sits there cross-legged and thinks out the Abhidhamma Pitaka. Abhidhammikas give two explanations of the House of Gems. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 6702-6791 | medium | At the Mucalinda-tree, Mucalinda the snake-king shields the Blessed One during a storm with seven folds of his hood. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 7220-7330 | medium | Rāhula follows the Blessed One asking for his inheritance. The Blessed One reflects that worldly wealth perishes and says, “I will give him the sevenfold wealth of the Arahats which I obtained under the Bo-tree, and make him the heir of a spiritual inheritance!” He then tells Sāriputta to receive Rāhula into the Order. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 7445-7470 | medium | The Blessed One lived at that spot from attaining omniscience under the Bo-tree until his death. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Gods and Fighting Men | CHAPTER XII. THE RED WOMAN / CHAPTER XIII. FINN AND THE PHANTOMS / CHAPTER XIV. THE PIGS OF ANGUS / CHAPTER XV. THE HUNT OF SLIEVE CUILINN; lines 10297-10305 | medium | Finn drinks all that is in the vessel; it slips from his hand into the loosened earth and disappears from sight. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Gods and Fighting Men | CHAPTER I. THE FLIGHT FROM TEAMHAIR / CHAPTER II. THE PURSUIT / CHAPTER III. THE GREEN CHAMPIONS / CHAPTER IV. THE WOOD OF DUBHROS; lines 12055-12156 | medium | The Men of Dea bring crimson nuts, apples, and sweet-smelling rowan berries from the Land of Promise; a berry falls in Ui Fiachrach by the Muaidh, and a tree grows from it. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Gods and Fighting Men | GODS AND FIGHTING MEN. / PART ONE: THE GODS. / BOOK ONE: THE COMING OF THE TUATHA DE DANAAN. / CHAPTER I. THE FIGHT WITH THE FIRBOLGS; lines 648-746 | high | A well below the sea contains nine hazels of wisdom; their nuts fall into the well, five salmon eat them, and eating a salmon gives all wisdom and poetry; seven streams of wisdom run from and return to the well. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1128-1210 | medium | In the Moluccas during public calamity, a slave is placed under a bamboo-tree representing heaven, eats and drinks heaven’s sacrificial portion, and thereafter represents heaven and receives offerings at festivals. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11393-11550 | low | Several notes cite Mannhardt's Baumkultus alongside German, Schwabian, Saxon, Thuringian, and Bohemian folklore and festival-calendar sources. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1528-1605 | high | Frazer cites Grimm’s argument that the oldest German sanctuaries were natural woods and states that tree-worship is attested for all great European families of the Aryan stock. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1528-1605 | high | Among ancient Prussians the sacred oaks are central, especially the chief oak at Romove, where priests keep a perpetual fire of oak-wood in a holy grove. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1528-1605 | high | Frazer says tree-worship was prominent among Lithuanians, abundant in ancient Greece and Italy, and preserved in Rome through worship of the fig-tree of Romulus and reverence for a Palatine cornel-tree whose drooping prompted people to rush with water. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1685-1753 | medium | Frazer states that spirits may be viewed as incorporated in trees, or, in another view, as dwelling in trees and able to leave them; Pelew Islanders conjure the tree-spirit to leave a tree being felled and settle on another. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1755-1830 | medium | Frazer describes a shift from trees as bodies of tree-spirits to trees as dwellings of separable spirits; the spirit can move among trees, becomes a forest god, and may be represented in human shape with a branch or similar woodland symbol. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 | medium | At a Lhoosai harvest festival in South-East India, the chief and people fell a large tree, bring it into the village, set it up, offer sacrifice, pour spirits and rice over it, and end with a feast and dance by unmarried men and girls. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 | medium | After the Gilgit sacrifice, each man takes a cedar spray home; when his wife asks what he has brought, he answers that he has brought children, food, cattle, or whatever is wanted. The wife uses cedar leaves with wine, water, fire, flour, and a ceiling suspension, and addresses the cedar as Shiri Bagerthum. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 | high | Among the Bechuanas the hack-thorn is very sacred; when corn is ripe men bring home branches to repair the cattle-yard. Frazer also reports South-East African restrictions on cutting timber while corn is green, lest crops be harmed by blight, hail, or frost. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1926-2010 | medium | Some Esthonians believe in Metsik, a mischievous forest spirit with power over cattle welfare; villagers annually make a straw-man image, clothe it, take it to common pasture, and fasten it to a high tree while dancing around it. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1926-2010 | high | Frazer explains May-tree and May-pole customs as widespread because people cut trees or branches from woods in spring, early summer, or Midsummer and bring them to villages or houses to receive blessings in the tree-spirit's power. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1926-2010 | medium | Frazer says the May Day green bush before a beloved maiden's house probably came from belief in the fertilising power of the tree-spirit; Kara-Kirgiz barren women roll under a solitary apple-tree to obtain offspring. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1926-2010 | high | Sir Henry Piers reports that on May-eve every family in Westmeath sets a green bush with yellow flowers before the door, or tall slender trees where timber is plentiful. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2013-2063 | medium | Russian villagers before Whitsunday go to the woods, sing, weave garlands, cut a young birch-tree, and dress it in woman’s clothes or adorn it with colored shreds and ribbons. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 | medium | The chief Swedish event is setting up a tall stripped spruce-pine May-pole, decorated with leaves, flowers, cloth, gilt eggshells, hoops or crosspieces, and topped by a vane or flag; village maidens decorate it and people dance around it in a ring. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | CONTENTS / DEDICATION. / WILLIAM ROBERTSON SMITH / PREFACE.; lines 213-254 | low | The cover drawing of the Golden Bough is credited to J. H. Middleton, whose interest and sympathy helped the author. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 | high | In Russian Lithuania on May 1, a green tree is set up, the prettiest girl is crowned and swathed in birch branches, and people dance, sing, and shout beside the May-tree. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 | medium | In some Altmark villages at Whitsuntide, boys carry a May-tree or lead a boy covered in leaves and flowers, while girls lead a May Bride dressed as a bride with a nosegay; she sings for gifts and links giving with household abundance. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 256-353 | medium | At Nemi no branch of the certain tree might be broken except by a runaway slave; if he succeeded, he could fight the priest and, by killing him, reign as King of the Wood. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2602-2647 | medium | At the Little Daedala, the Boeotians of Plataea go to an ancient oak forest, place boiled meat for birds, follow a raven to an oak, cut it down, make a bride-dressed image from the wood, place it on a bullock-cart with a bridesmaid, and process it to the river Asopus and back with piping and dancing. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2602-2647 | high | Frazer says the festival resembles European spring and midsummer festivals, including a Russian Whitsuntide custom where villagers fell a birch, dress it in women's clothes, carry it with dance and song, and throw it into water on the third day. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2715-2793 | medium | Diana’s attributes are said to be those of a tree-spirit or sylvan deity; her sanctuaries were in groves, she is associated with Silvanus, helped women in travail, and was patroness of wild animals. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2715-2793 | high | Frazer states that European folk-custom shows a tree-spirit often represented by a living person regarded as its embodiment and possessed of fertilising powers. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2715-2793 | high | The King of the Wood could only be assailed by someone who had plucked the Golden Bough, and his life was safe while the bough or its tree remained uninjured. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 355-440 | medium | Frazer states two questions: why the priest had to slay his predecessor and why he had to pluck the Golden Bough before doing so. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4667-4748 | medium | The old Prussian ruler called God’s Mouth governs in the gods’ name; when weak and ill, he may mount a thorn-and-straw heap, exhort the people, promise to go to the gods and speak for them, take perpetual fire from before the holy oak-tree, light the pile, and burn himself to death. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6236-6295 | medium | Thammuz is described as dwelling in "a great tree at the centre of the earth." | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519 | high | Attis is called a fair youth beloved by Cybele. One account says he was killed by a boar like Adonis; another says he mutilated himself under a pine-tree and died from loss of blood, a local Pessinus story. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6597-6671 | medium | Isis mourns and searches, finds the body at Byblus, where an erica tree has grown around the coffer and been made into a palace pillar; she obtains leave to open the trunk and remove the coffer. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 | high | Osiris is presented as corn-spirit and tree-spirit; a pine is cut, hollowed, used to make an Osiris image, the image is placed in the tree hollow, kept for a year, and burned like the Attis image attached to a pine-tree. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6957-7045 | medium | Dionysus or Bacchus is described as god of the vine and of trees in general, with Greek sacrifices to 'Dionysus of the tree' and a Boeotian title 'Dionysus in the tree.' | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 85-116 | medium | Chapter I is “The King Of The Wood,” with subsections: “The Arician Grove,” “Primitive man and the supernatural,” “Incarnate gods,” “Tree-worship,” and “Tree-worship in antiquity.” | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10197-10420 | medium | The King of the Wood is indexed as an incarnation of the tree spirit, similar to North European personages, a personification of the oak, probably formerly slain annually, and probably burned in a fire of oak wood. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10422-10627 | medium | Entries list May bride, May Day carols and customs, May king, May poles, May queen, sleeping bridegroom of May, and May trees. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10629-10848 | medium | Mistletoe is indexed as worshipped by the Celts, gathered by the Druids, gathered at Midsummer Eve and at midsummer and Christmas, possessing qualities, viewed as the seat of life, holding the life of the oak, kept from touching the ground, protective against witchcraft, and identified with the Golden Bough. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 | medium | Osiris is indexed under myth, ritual, dead-body representation, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, vegetation god, rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis, possible human-victim representation, mysteries, pig form, death, annual pig sacrifice, and bull form. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11072-11304 | medium | Prussia entries include reverence for oak, high trees worshipped, funeral custom, self-immolation of supreme ruler, spring ploughing, corn drenching, gardens of Adonis, harvest custom, winter-corn sowing, and midsummer fire festival. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11722-11964 | medium | Entries mention the sacred grove at Upsala, sacred groves of the Wotjaks, Wanika belief in souls of trees, women and tree-spirits, Wends dancing round the oak-tree, and Zeus represented by an oak at Dodona. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12549-12690 | medium | Among the Cherokees, an arbour of green boughs is made in the sacred square; a shade-tree is planted at the centre; every man provides a green bough. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 14703-14846 | high | Some serpents worshipped by old Prussians lived in hollow oaks; oaks were sacred among the Prussians; serpents also played an important part in Demeter’s worship, though they should not simply be assumed to embody her. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 14703-14846 | high | In Siam, the spirit of the takhien tree is believed to appear sometimes as a woman and sometimes as a serpent. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 14703-14846 | medium | “It is still a folk-lore rule not to cut the mistletoe with iron; some say it should be cut with gold.” | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 15521-15650 | medium | A cited Latin couplet says that one may not enter the hidden places of the earth before plucking a golden-haired growth from a tree. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 2528-2574 | medium | The Gilyak bear is teased, tied to a peg, shot with arrows, decapitated, decorated with shavings, placed on the feast table, asked pardon and worshiped; its flesh, brain, and entrails are eaten, its skull is placed on a tree, and people sing and dance as bears. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 3200-3287 | medium | Once yearly, Toda adult males kill a very young male calf in the village wood with a club made from the sacred tûde tree, roast it on a sacred fire made by rubbing sticks, and eat it without women present. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 5068-5164 | medium | Frazer asks what the Golden Bough was and why each candidate for the Arician priesthood had to pluck it before slaying the priest. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 6175-6255 | medium | Gigantic osier or grass-covered images are said to enclose Druidic victims and are compared with leafy frameworks around human representatives of the tree-spirit. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 6257-6324 | high | Frazer introduces Pliny’s description of Druidic mistletoe gathering; Pliny says Druids esteem mistletoe and the oak on which it grows, choose oak-woods as sacred groves, and perform no sacred rites without oak-leaves. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 6449-6496 | medium | The passage states that an essential feature of primitive fire-festivals was the burning of a man representing the tree-spirit, and argues that the represented tree was originally the oak. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8043-8129 | medium | Frazer says the Golden Bough has been identified with mistletoe; Virgil compares it to mistletoe, describes it growing on an oak, and has two doves guide Aeneas to the place where it shines with golden leaves. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8131-8195 | medium | The King of the Wood is said to personify the tree or oak-spirit; his life or death is in the mistletoe on the oak, and, like Balder, he cannot die while it remains intact. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8131-8195 | medium | The King of the Wood is said to personify the tree or oak-spirit; his life or death is in the mistletoe on the oak, and, like Balder, he cannot die while it remains intact. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8131-8195 | low | Frazer compares the annual fiery tragedy at Nemi with rites among Celts of Gaul and northern Aryans and says it was probably an essential feature in primitive Aryan oak worship. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8197-8275 | high | Frazer says midsummer bonfires were probably sun-charms meant to supply the sun with fresh fire, and that this fire was elicited by friction of oak wood. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8197-8275 | medium | The oak is described as the storehouse or reservoir of fire; since the oak’s life was conceived to be in the mistletoe, the mistletoe contained the seed or germ of the fire drawn from oak wood. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8197-8275 | high | Frazer says the sun’s fire was regarded as an emanation of mistletoe, explaining why mistletoe shone with golden splendour and was called the Golden Bough, especially at midsummer. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8197-8275 | medium | Frazer argues that Virbius was a tree-spirit, the spirit of the oak bearing the Golden Bough, the first King of the Wood, and therefore an oak-spirit who rekindled the sun’s fire and could be confused with the sun. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8197-8275 | medium | Frazer concludes that primitive Aryan worship survived in the sacred grove at Nemi and that the King of the Wood lived and died as an incarnation of the supreme Aryan god whose life was in the mistletoe or Golden Bough. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 8277-8286 | medium | The lake and surroundings at Nemi are described as little changed from the days when Diana and Virbius received worshippers’ homage in the sacred grove. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 | medium | Index entries mention Cambodia's sacred tree, life bound up with a tree among the Cameroons, cattle and trees, the sacred cedar of Gilgit, and a Circassian belief that the pear-tree protects cattle. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 | medium | Entries mention belief in souls of trees, tree tops inhabited, oak-worship, Diana as a tree goddess, the tree of Osiris at Denderah, and divining rods made from mistletoe. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9757-9974 | medium | Germany entry lists sacred groves, tree-felling ceremony, harvest customs, beating as a charm, oak as sacred tree, oak log burnt on Midsummer Day, and external soul in German stories. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9976-10195 | medium | "Inspiration ... by use of sacred tree"; "Italy, tree worship in ancient"; "oak the sacred tree"; "Jupiter represented by an oak on the Capitol at Rome" | record |
| Persian | The Persian Literature, Volume 2, The Gulistan | CHAPTER IV / CHAPTER V / XVIII. / CHAPTER VI; lines 3272-3384 | medium | In Diarbekr, a rich old man says he prayed at the foot of a pilgrimage tree until God bestowed his only son; the son privately wishes to find the tree to pray for the father's death. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | FROM THE BOOK OF LEINSTER (TWELFTH-CENTURY MS.) / THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN / INTRODUCTION / THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN; lines 3241-3435 | medium | Cuchulain says he will not go at a woman's call; Laeg is sent with Liban and they travel to the Plain of Speech, the Tree of Triumphs, the festal plains of Emain and Fidga, and the place of Aed Abra with his daughters. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | FROM THE BOOK OF LEINSTER (TWELFTH-CENTURY MS.) / THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN / INTRODUCTION / THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN; lines 3437-3584 | medium | Laeg says they crossed the Plain of Speech, came near a tree whose branches bear triumphs, rested on a hill-crowned plain, and saw the Double-Headed Serpent's lair. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | MORTALS / IMMORTALS / TAIN BO FRAICH / THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF FRAECH; lines 9353-9526 | medium | Ailill orders Fraech to bring a wet branch from the rowan tree. Fraech breaks a branch while swimming, and Findabar praises his beauty as he carries the berries. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE1701 / II. 1745; lines 4158-4264 | high | Dodona is loved by Zeus and appointed as his oracle; doves live in a hollow oak, and visitors bring gifts and seek prophecy. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | III. TO DELIAN APOLLO / TO PYTHIAN APOLLO / IV. TO HERMES / V. TO APHRODITE; lines 6890-6966 | medium | Mountain Nymphs inhabit a great holy mountain, live long, eat heavenly food, dance with immortals, mate with Sileni and Hermes in caves, and are born and die together with pines or oaks. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE CERCOPES / THE BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE / OF THE ORIGIN OF HOMER AND HESIOD, AND OF THEIR CONTEST / ENDNOTES; lines 9516-9643 | medium | The Dodona oracle was first consulted by Deucalion and Pyrrha after the Flood; later writers say the god responded through rustling oak leaves. | record |
| Greek | The Iliad | THE FIFTH BATTLE AT THE SHIPS; AND THE ACTS OF AJAX. / BOOK XVI. / ARGUMENT / THE SIXTH BATTLE, THE ACTS AND DEATH OF PATROCLUS; lines 15911-16050 | low | Patroclus' dart pierces Sarpedon near the heart; he falls like an oak, poplar, or pine cut by an axe. | record |
| Japanese | Japanese Fairy Tales | THE FARMER AND THE BADGER / THE ADVENTURES OF KINTARO, THE GOLDEN BOY / THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DID NOT WISH TO DIE / THE BAMBOO-CUTTER AND THE MOON-CHILD; lines 2632-2740 | medium | The Second Knight is asked to go to the Mountain of Horai in the Eastern Sea and bring a branch from a summit tree with silver roots, a gold trunk, and white jewel fruit. | record |
| Japanese | Japanese Fairy Tales | THE FARMER AND THE BADGER / THE ADVENTURES OF KINTARO, THE GOLDEN BOY / THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DID NOT WISH TO DIE / THE BAMBOO-CUTTER AND THE MOON-CHILD; lines 2742-2841 | medium | The Second Knight claims to be setting out for Mount Horai to get a branch of the gold and silver tree, sends his servants back, hides in a specially built inaccessible house with six jewelers, and has them make such a branch; people say Mount Horai belongs to fable, not fact. | record |
| Japanese | Japanese Fairy Tales | THE GOBLIN OF ADACHIGAHARA / THE SAGACIOUS MONKEY AND THE BOAR / THE HAPPY HUNTER AND THE SKILLFUL FISHER / THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER; lines 4627-4745 | medium | Shiro does not return; the wicked neighbor says he killed Shiro, and Shiro’s master learns the dog was buried under a yenoki tree. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 1501-1670 | high | Wainamoinen examines the growth and sees the forest spreading, but the oak-tree, called the tree of heaven, has not sprouted and remains in its acorn. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 1501-1670 | high | Wainamoinen considers how to kill and fell the oak, laments life without sun and moon, and calls on Kap/Luonnotar to lend water-forces and ocean strength to uproot the tree so light may return. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 1672-1830 | medium | Wainamoinen answers that the sea-born hero lacks strength to uproot or lop the mighty oak-tree, called a thing of evil. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 23032-23209 | medium | Mielikki takes the wool and hair from the water, sews them together, binds the magic bundle in a birch-bark basket to a pine top with gold chains, and rocks it to life as sacred Otso. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 23211-23370 | medium | Mielikki seeks tooth and claw materials from mountain-ash, juniper, oak, and alder knots, rejects them, then gathers from a mountain fir or Northland pine with silver branches and golden cones and sets the fashioned teeth and claws in Otso. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 24128-24317 | medium | Wainamoinen cuts three alder chips, arranges them magically, asks Ukko for knowledge, addresses the alder as a truth-speaking symbol of the Creator, and threatens false signs with Manala's fires. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | BOOK II / EPILOGUE / THE END / GLOSSARY; lines 25330-25477 | medium | Pikku Mies is the water-pigmy that felled the over-spreading oak-tree for Wainamoinen. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | DR. J.D. BUCK, / AN ENCOURAGING AND UNSELFISH FRIEND, AND TO HIS AFFECTIONATE FAMILY, / THESE PAGES ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. / PREFACE; lines 433-517 | high | Pikku Mies emerges from the sea in copper gear, grows from pigmy to giant, and fells the primitive oak that had shut out the sun's light from Northland. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 5211-5401 | high | Wainamoinen renews incantations, sings up a wondrous pine tree reaching clouds and heavens with golden top and branches, and sings the Moon and Great Bear into its branches or top. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 10353-10500 | low | The note identifies the tree as Zakkoum and says rabbinic teaching treats bitter herbs or food as a punishment of Hell. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 13162-13287 | medium | A good word is likened to “a good tree: its root firmly fixed, and its branches in the Heaven,” yielding fruit in all seasons. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 3893-4118 | low | The people of the right hand are amid thornless sidrahs, fruit-clad talh trees, shade, flowing waters, abundant fruits, lofty couches, and specially created Houris. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 4120-4331 | medium | The recipient saw him "Near the Sidrah-tree, which marks the boundary" and near "the garden of repose"; his eye did not turn aside. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 4333-4512 | medium | Translator notes describe the Lote-Tree/Sidrah at Paradise's extremity, beyond which neither humans nor angels pass; its leaves bear human names and fall to indicate deaths; angels mask the tree. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER XIII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XIV. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 21283-21372 | medium | “a good word, as a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed in the earth, and whose branches reach unto heaven... bringeth forth its fruit in all seasons.” | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | ENTITLED, THE TRUE BELIEVERS; REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXIV. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 26498-26587 | medium | God is the light of heaven and earth; his light is likened to a niche containing a lamp in glass like a shining star, lit by oil from a blessed olive tree neither east nor west, whose oil nearly shines without fire; light is added unto light. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER LIII. / ENTITLED, THE STAR; REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 34613-34720 | medium | Mohammed's heart is said not to have falsified what he saw. He saw the figure another time by the lote-tree beyond which there is no passing, near the garden of eternal abode, and beheld some of the greatest signs of his Lord. Notes place the tree in the seventh heaven and describe it as an utmost boundary. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / FINIS / AN INDEX / OF THE; lines 39988-40053 | low | "Lote-tree in heaven" | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III / SECTION IV.; lines 4797-4845 | high | The tree Tuba stands in Mohammed's palace, extends to every true believer, bears immense fruits, presents desired food, bends its boughs, produces garments and riding beasts, and casts an enormous shade. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III / SECTION IV.; lines 4900-4946 | low | The godly are clothed in rich silks and brocades, chiefly green, from the fruits of paradise and from leaves of the tree Tba. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III / SECTION IV.; lines 5003-5059 | medium | Christian accounts are said to represent celestial enjoyments by corporeal images: a gold and precious-stone city with twelve gates, a river of water of life, and the tree of life with twelve fruits and healing leaves. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN / PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC; lines 2073-2161 | medium | Beside the river stands a tall tree, half in flames from root to top and half green and in full leaf; nearby sits a royal-looking youth with two leashed greyhounds, and hounds raise deer in the opposite wood. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | CONTENTS / INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN; lines 446-525 | medium | The black man directs the narrator to a path up a wooded steep to an open valley, where there is a tall green tree, a fountain beneath it, a marble slab by the fountain, and a silver bowl attached by a silver chain. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | CONTENTS / INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN; lines 527-624 | medium | Kynon reaches the summit, finds the tree, fountain, marble slab, and chained silver bowl, then pours water on the slab; thunder and a lethal hail shower follow. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC / GERAINT THE SON OF ERBIN / THE DREAM OF RHONABWY / PWYLL PRINCE OF DYVED; lines 7955-8056 | low | The sow feeds under a tree on putrid flesh and vermin; Gwydion looks up and sees an eagle at the top of the tree shedding that matter. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | CONTENTS / INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN; lines 799-896 | medium | Arthur’s party reaches the black man, wooded steep, valley, green tree, fountain, bowl, and slab; Kai asks to throw water on the slab and receive the first adventure. | record |
| Sufi | The Mesnevi | OF QONYA. / PREFACE. / IN THE NAME OF GOD, / THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE VERY-COMPASSIONATE.; lines 7474-7564 | medium | The lion says gratitude expands power, treating favor as compulsion removes power, and compulsion is like sleep before reaching the fruitful Tree of Life. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 12067-12161 | medium | Near Aeacus stands an oak sacred to Jupiter from Dodona; ants carrying grain move in a long train along its wrinkled bark. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7245-7295 | high | “Leaves of the trees, shining with radiant gold, covered branches of gold, {and} apples of gold.” | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 1792-1880 | medium | Fable summary: Acheloüs tells of Metra, daughter of Erisicthon; Erisicthon suffers insatiable hunger after cutting Ceres’ oak; Metra asks Neptune for shapeshifting power; Erisicthon sells and recovers her repeatedly and finally devours his own limbs. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 1792-1880 | medium | As Erisicthon strikes, the oak shudders, groans, pales, sweats, and bleeds from the severed bark like a sacrificed bull. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 3102-3186 | medium | Dryope swears she has not deserved punishment, asks that her infant be cared for beneath her tree, warns him not to pluck flowers and to regard shrubs as goddess bodies, asks relatives to protect her branches, and falls silent as bark covers her eyes and mouth. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 3241-3332 | low | Dryope's adventure is described as disconnected from the main story; her name is linked with the Greek word for oak, and the note suggests she may have been punished for profaning a tree consecrated to the gods, like Erisicthon. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK XII. / BOOK XIII. / BOOK XIV. / BOOK XV.; lines 395-408 | medium | “the lance of Romulus became a tree” | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE THIRTEENTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 9677-9769 | medium | Silius Italicus says two pigeons flew from Egyptian Thebes: one went to Libya and led to the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, while the other settled on an oak in Chaonia and indicated that heaven willed an oracle there. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE THIRTEENTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 9771-9861 | low | Variant accounts said oaks, beeches, pigeons, or suspended cauldrons gave or divulged the oracle’s answers. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | GANYMEDES. / THE MUSES. / PEGASUS. / THE HESPERIDES.; lines 5189-5203 | medium | Hera appoints the Hesperides as guardians of a tree bearing golden apples, which Gaea had presented to Hera at Hera’s marriage with Zeus. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES. / THESMOPHORIA. / DIONYSIA. / PANATHENAEA.; lines 6448-6480 | medium | Victors in races and athletic games receive as a prize a vase of oil said to come from Athene’s sacred olive-tree. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 7145-7238 | medium | The Argonauts anchor in the river Phases, see Ceuta and the grove of Ares, where the Golden Fleece hangs glittering from a magnificent oak-tree, and Jason offers a wine libation from a golden cup. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 7240-7332 | low | In the grove, the Golden Fleece hangs from a tall oak-tree; a dreadful sleepless dragon watches at the foot of the tree. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE. / PELOPS. / HERACLES (HERCULES).; lines 7986-8074 | medium | The eleventh task is to bring the golden apples of the Hesperides from a tree given by Gaea to Hera at Hera's marriage with Zeus; the Hesperides and a sleepless hundred-headed dragon guard it. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | RHEA (OPS). / DIVISION OF THE WORLD. / THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN OF MAN. / THIRD DYNASTY--OLYMPIAN DIVINITIES.; lines 986-1079 | medium | Zeus is first worshipped at Dodona near Mount Tomarus and Lake Joanina; his voice is heard in a giant oak's leaves and interpreted by priests called Selli. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING / CHAPTER II: ODIN; lines 1014-1160 | medium | Valfather's mead is supplied by Heidrun, who browses on Lerad, Yggdrasil's topmost branch. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS; lines 11960-12095 | high | The earth shakes, stars fall, Loki, Fenris, and Garm break their chains, Nidhug gnaws Yggdrasil's root, and cocks or birds in Valhalla, Midgard, and Nifl-heim sound alarms. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS; lines 12098-12221 | medium | Odin rides to the Urdar fountain beneath Yggdrasil, where the Norns sit veiled and silent with their torn web; he whispers to Mimir and returns to the host. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS; lines 12224-12362 | medium | Surtr casts fiery brands over heaven, earth, and Hel; flames surround Yggdrasil, reach the gods' palaces, destroy vegetation, and make the waters boil. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS / CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES; lines 12651-12759 | medium | Euhemerus is cited for an historical Zeus buried in Crete; the passage compares this with an historical Odin whose mound rises near Upsala, by a former Northern temple and a mighty oak rivaling Dodona’s tree. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING / CHAPTER II: ODIN; lines 1440-1580 | medium | Odin drinks from Mimir's fountain, gains knowledge, breaks a branch from the sacred tree Yggdrasil, and fashions the spear Gungnir from it. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING / CHAPTER II: ODIN; lines 1582-1707 | medium | Odin relates that he hung nine nights on the wind-rocked sacred tree, wounded with a spear and offered to himself, while seeking knowledge and looking into Nifl-heim. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING / CHAPTER II: ODIN / CHAPTER III: FRIGGA / CHAPTER IV: THOR; lines 2461-2608 | medium | Thor may not cross Bifröst because his heat might set it aflame; he instead walks and wades through Kormt, Ormt, and Kerlaug to the Urdar fountain beneath Yggdrasil. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER IV: THOR / CHAPTER V: TYR / CHAPTER VI: BRAGI / CHAPTER VII: IDUN; lines 4135-4274 | medium | A fragmentary account says Idun sits on Yggdrasil, grows faint, falls to Nifl-heim, and lies pale and motionless in Hel's realm; the quoted poem names her as sunk down from Yggdrasil's ash. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER X: FREYA / CHAPTER XI: ULLER / CHAPTER XII: FORSETI / CHAPTER XIII: HEIMDALL; lines 5479-5625 | high | The gods contemplate Bifröst, constructed from fire, air, and water; the bridge connects heaven and earth and ends near Yggdrasil and Mimir’s fountain. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XII: FORSETI / CHAPTER XIII: HEIMDALL / CHAPTER XIV: HERMOD / CHAPTER XV: VIDAR; lines 5896-6019 | medium | As Wyrd speaks, the world tree's leaves flutter, the eagle on its top bough flaps, and the serpent Nidhug pauses from destroying the roots; Grid rejoices over Vidar's survival and rule when Surt's fire is slaked. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XIV: HERMOD / CHAPTER XV: VIDAR / CHAPTER XVI: VALI / CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS; lines 6162-6289 | high | The Norns are three fate goddesses, not subject to the gods; after the Golden Age they appear beneath Yggdrasil near the Urdar fountain, with a mission described by some as warning and instruction. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XVI: VALI / CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS / CHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS / CHAPTER XIX: HEL; lines 6802-6953 | high | Criminal or impure spirits are banished to Nastrond, wade through venom streams and serpent structures, and are washed to Hvergelmir where Nidhug feeds on the dead after gnawing Yggdrasil's root. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CONTENTS / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING; lines 739-863 | high | Allfather creates the huge ash Yggdrasil, tree of the universe, time, or life, rooted in Nifl-heim near Hvergelmir, Midgard near Mimir's well, and Asgard near Urdar. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CONTENTS / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING; lines 739-863 | high | Nidhug, a dragon in Hvergelmir, and countless worms gnaw Yggdrasil's roots, aiming to kill the tree; its death would signal the gods' downfall. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CONTENTS / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING; lines 739-863 | high | The Norns or Fates keep Yggdrasil healthy by sprinkling it daily with holy water from the Urdar fountain, which also supplies bees with honey. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS / CHAPTER XXIV: THE DWARFS / CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA; lines 9196-9315 | medium | "the Branstock, a mighty oak, which, rising in the middle of his hall, pierced the roof and overshadowed the whole house" | record |
| Greek | The Odyssey | BOOK III / TELEMACHUS VISITS NESTOR AT PYLOS. / BOOK IV / BOOK V; lines 2655-2691 | low | Ulysses decides to go to the woods on high ground near the water and creeps under two olive shoots growing from one stock, one ungrafted and one grafted. | record |
| Greek | The Odyssey | BOOK VI / THE MEETING BETWEEN NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES. / BOOK VII / RECEPTION OF ULYSSES AT THE PALACE OF KING ALCINOUS.; lines 3090-3174 | medium | The garden outside the outer court is walled, filled with pears, pomegranates, apples, figs, olives, a vineyard, and flower beds; its fruit and flowers are continuous through the year. | record |
| Greek | The Odyssey | BOOK XIII / ULYSSES LEAVES SCHERIA AND RETURNS TO ITHACA. / BOOK XIV / ULYSSES IN THE HUT WITH EUMAEUS.; lines 6290-6372 | medium | Pheidon says he hosted Ulysses, shows Ulysses’ treasure, reports that Ulysses went to Dodona to learn Jove’s mind from the high oak about whether to return to Ithaca openly or secretly, swears a ship and crew were ready, and sends the speaker toward Dulichium. | record |
| Greek | The Odyssey | ULYSSES REVEALS HIMSELF TO TELEMACHUS. / BOOK XVII / BOOK XVIII / BOOK XIX; lines 8533-8618 | medium | “Ulysses had gone to Dodona that he might learn Jove’s mind from the high oak tree” and learn whether to return openly or secretly. | record |
| Sufi | The Persian Mystics: Jalálu'd-dín Rúmí | CONTENTS / INTRODUCTION / EDITORIAL NOTE / INTRODUCTION; lines 334-439 | medium | “The great Tūba tree grows in the highest Paradise; its branches fall into the seven other gardens.” | record |
| Sufi | Poems from the Divan of Hafiz | XXXVIII / XXXIX / XLIII / NOTES; lines 3343-3383 | medium | The cited account says Tuba stands in Mahommad's palace, has a branch reaching every true believer's house, and bears extraordinary fruits or desired prepared food. | record |
| Sufi | Poems from the Divan of Hafiz | XXXVIII / XXXIX / XLIII / NOTES; lines 3343-3383 | medium | Sidreh and Tuba are identified as two trees in the Garden of Paradise; Sidreh is the abode of the angel Gabriel. | record |
| Sufi | Poems from the Divan of Hafiz | GERTRUDE LOWTHIAN BELL / LONDON / WILLIAM HEINEMANN / INTRODUCTION; lines 500-592 | low | A very ancient cypress, said to have been planted by Hafiz, stood for centuries at the head of his grave and cast its shadow over his dust. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto LXII. Dasaratha Consoled. / Canto LXVI. The Embalming. / Canto LXVII. The Praise Of Kings. / Canto LXVIII. The Envoys.; lines 19909-20004 | medium | A celestial tree grows there, grants every boon on prayer, and the envoys humbly bend in its blessed shade. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXIII. The Omens. / Canto XXIV. The Host In Sight. / Canto XXV. The Battle. / Canto XXVIII. Khara Dismounted.; lines 30975-31147 | medium | He sees a cloud-like fig-tree whose branches bend earthward, stretching a hundred leagues and giving shade to hermit bands. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XLVI. The Guest. / Canto LI. The Combat. / Canto LX. Lakshman Reproved. / Canto LXX. Kabandha.; lines 36419-36581 | medium | Pampa at evening is rosy and filled with clusters, shrubs, trees, night-blooming flowers, and unfading flowers that Rama alone will twine into wreaths. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto V. The League. / Canto VI. The Tokens. / Canto XI. Dundubhi. / Canto XII. The Palm Trees.; lines 38928-39087 | low | Rama strings his bow, shoots an arrow at a tree, and the arrow cleaves seven palms, passes through a hill and six subterranean realms to the lowest depth, then returns to his quiver. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXVI. The Coronation. / Canto XXVIII. The Rains. / Canto XXXI. The Envoy. / Canto XXXVII. The Gathering.; lines 42237-42366 | medium | As the Vanaras travel to rouse distant forces, they see a wondrous tree on a Himalayan summit; that sacred height is described as the place of Mahesvar's glorious rite, witnessed by the gods in heaven. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426.; lines 63550-63687 | medium | “Erected upon a tree or high staff in honour of Indra.” | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426.; lines 63848-64027 | medium | A demon, son of Kaśyap and Diti, was slain by Rudra or Śiva when he tried to carry off the tree of Paradise. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 64572-64708 | medium | “The Kalpadruma or Wishing-tree is one of the trees of Svarga or Indra’s Paradise: it has the power of granting all desires.” | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 65001-65150 | low | Ravana’s stern mortifications won power so that his trees bore flowers and fruit simultaneously. | record |
| Sufi | The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great Paradox | The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great Paradox / PREFACE / THE AUTHOR. / NOTES; lines 875-1004 | high | A secret is given about finding the serpent coiled within the human spine; it is found in the breath of the senses, divided yet united as the breath of life divine, bringing wisdom of the gods to humans. | record |
| Sufi | The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great Paradox | The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great Paradox / PREFACE / THE AUTHOR. / NOTES; lines 99-234 | high | The fourth poem says a new year of life has commenced; the awakened soul is revived by love of knowledge written of by Moses of the whitened hand and slow tongue, under the Tree of Life rooted in all lives. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Book I, Canto XLIV: The Descent Of Gangá | medium | Śiva tells Bhagiratha he is pleased and will fling the mountain-born river's waves upon his head. | record |
| Norse | The Poetic Edda | Voluspo 1-6 | high | Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree / With mighty roots beneath the mold. | record |