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.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Forest of Cedars canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

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 ⓘ
linked to: Epic of Gilgamesh
associatedDeity Enlil ⓘ
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 ⓘ
feature cedar trees ⓘ
dense forest ⓘ
divine splendor ⓘ
terrifying aura ⓘ
genreContext ancient Near Eastern heroic epic ⓘ
guardedBy Humbaba ⓘ
Huwawa ⓘ
divine powers ⓘ
guardFunction to keep humans from encroaching on divine property ⓘ
languageOfSources Akkadian ⓘ
Sumerian ⓘ
linked to: Sumerian language
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 ⓘ
Gilgamesh ⓘ
Gilgamesh and Enkidu ⓘ
linked to: Enkidu

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

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

Cedar Forest → alsoKnownAs → Forest of Cedars ⓘ
Cedar Mountain → alternateName → Forest of Cedars ⓘ