Forest of Cedars

E813895

The Forest of Cedars is the legendary, divinely guarded woodland from ancient Mesopotamian mythology, most famously featured as the distant, monster-protected realm visited by Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Mesopotamian mythological place
legendary woodland
mythological location
appearsIn Old Babylonian Gilgamesh traditions
Standard Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh NERFINISHED
associatedDeity Enlil NERFINISHED
associatedWith defiance of divine order
deforestation in mythic narrative
heroic quest motif
themes of hubris and punishment
consequenceOfTransgression divine displeasure
foreshadowing of later punishments for Gilgamesh
culture ancient Mesopotamian mythology
describedIn Epic of Gilgamesh NERFINISHED
feature cedar trees
dense forest
divine splendor
terrifying aura
genreContext ancient Near Eastern heroic epic
guardedBy Humbaba NERFINISHED
Huwawa NERFINISHED
divine powers
guardFunction to keep humans from encroaching on divine property
languageOfSources Akkadian
Sumerian NERFINISHED
linkedTo Lebanon cedar traditions
Zagros or Lebanon mountain regions (in scholarly interpretations)
locatedBeyond distant lands from Uruk
materialSource cedar wood
narrativeRole destination of Gilgamesh’s first great heroic expedition
site of the battle with Humbaba
perceivedAs awe-inspiring and terrifying place
protectedBy Enlil’s command
relatedConcept divinely owned royal forest
sacred grove
symbolism cosmic boundary between human and divine worlds
divine realm
exploitation of nature
human ambition to transcend limits
royal power and glory
textualStatus known only from literary and mythological sources
timeOfMythicTradition early 2nd millennium BCE and later
transgressedBy Gilgamesh’s logging of cedars
travelDescriptor very distant from human cities
visitedBy Enkidu NERFINISHED
Gilgamesh NERFINISHED
Gilgamesh and Enkidu NERFINISHED

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cedar Forest alsoKnownAs Forest of Cedars