Sacred grove ( reserved grove; oak grove) - a small deciduous (non-coniferous) reserved forest close to dwelling, considered by many ancient peoples to be a particularly sacred place for worship ; predecessor of temples [1] . Sacred groves served as the first places of refuge . [2]
Content
Sacred Groves and Trees
In an era when worship was held predominantly in the open, groves were the usual places where altars were erected and idols and were placed. But even later, when divine services were sent already in enclosed spaces (temples), sacred groves or individual trees belonged to the sanctuary . [one]
The close relationship of trees to a cult was expressed already in the fact that each god had his own particular tree as his symbol; Thus, the goddess Ishtar was assigned a palm , the god Tammuz Adonis had a pomegranate tree as his symbol, and the highest god Baal (= Zeus ) was an oak . The cult of the sacred trees was especially widespread by the Phoenicians and Canaanites , and from them passed to the Greeks and others. [1]
In the Babylonian myth of Gilgamesh, a cedar grove is the dwelling of the gods and the sanctuary of the goddess Innin ( Ishtar ; tables II and V). The main center of the tree cult in Babylonia was the coastal city of Eris (now the hill of Abu Shahrein), already known in the ancient era of the history of Babylonia for its sacred tree to Kishkan. Another center was Susa (biblical Shushan), the capital of Elam , later Persia, with their famous sacred grove, inaccessible to the uninitiated and serving as the shrine of the god Shushinak . In Bury , the sacred grove of Ashmuna was known. The goddess Astarte , in whose cult trees played an outstanding role, was dedicated to several temples in Cyprus . Subsequently, along with the cult of real trees, symbolic - sacred pillars appear, also called ashers (named after the goddess Ashera ). [3]
In the Bible
During the conquest of Palestine, the Israelis borrowed this cult and the aborigines of the country ( Judges 3: 7 and others). Under Shechem was the "diviner oak" (אלון מורה - Gen. 12: 6 ), or the "oak of the wizards" (אלומ מעוננים - Judgment. 9:37 ); in the same place, in the sanctuary of the Lord, an oak tree stood ( Nav. 24: 25-26 ). In Hebron there was a “ Mamre oak ”, in Be'er Sheba (glory. Bathsheba), a tamarisk (אשל) grew, planted by Abraham : “ Abraham planted a grove under Bathsheba , and called there the name of the Lord, the eternal God ” ( Genesis 21:33 ) . The prophetess Deborah did judgment under a palm tree ( Judges 4: 5 ). Saul also examined cases under a pomegranate tree and tamarisk ( 1 Sam. 14: 2 ; 22: 6 ); under Tamarisk, in Yabesh , the remains of this king and his sons were buried ( 1 Sam. 31:13 ). [one]
It has been hypothesized that the very word "אלון" or "אלה", meaning oak, as if descended from "אל" is God. But the occurring forms “Allon” and “Alla”, as well as the related Aramaic word “Ilan” (אילן), meaning a tree in general, speak against this etymology. In the Bible, “ making sacrifices under a verdant tree ” is identical with idolatry ( Deuteronomy 12: 2 ; Jer. 2:20 et al.), And the Mosaic Law strictly forbade this. [one]
A very common custom was to bury bodies under trees ( Genesis 35: 8 , 1 Samuel 31:13 ) [4] .
Ancient Rome
The oak grove on Capitol Hill in the valley between the fortress ( Arx ) and the Capitol , according to legend, was a refuge already arranged by Romulus to increase the population of the newly built Rome. But its significance was soon lost, since this sacred place was gradually built up so that no one could get there. [2]
In ancient Roman culture, sacred groves were called “nemora” or “luci” [5] .
“Feroniae lucus” - was called the grove of the goddess Feronius at Capen in Etruria at Mount Zorakt (north of Rome ~ 40 km; now Monte Oreste [6] [7] ), where there was a crowded fair. Another grove of Feronius, with its source, was, according to Horace , nearby Anksur . [eight]
"Marīcae lucus" (Μαρίκας ἄλσος) - a grove that was dedicated to the ancient Italian nymph Marika , between the Ministry of Tourism and the sea, from which it was impossible to take back what was once brought into it. With her was Lake Palus Maricae, where the Liris River flowed . [9]
Laverna , the patron goddess of thieves in Rome, had a sacred grove near via Salaria [10] .
See also
- Druids
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Groves and sacred trees // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron . - SPb. , 1908-1913.
- ↑ 1 2 Asulum // The Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities / ed. F. Lubker ; Edited by members of the Society of Classical Philology and Pedagogy F. Gelbke , L. Georgievsky , F. Zelinsky , V. Kansky , M. Kutorgi and P. Nikitin . - SPb. , 1885.
- ↑ Tree worship // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron . - SPb. , 1908-1913.
- ↑ Grove // Biblical Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nicephorus . - M. , 1891-1892.
- ↑ Templum // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Sorakta // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. 1907-1909.
- ↑ Obnorsky N.P. Sorakta // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Feroniae lucus // The Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities / ed. F. Lubker ; Edited by members of the Society of Classical Philology and Pedagogy F. Gelbke , L. Georgievsky , F. Zelinsky , V. Kansky , M. Kutorgi and P. Nikitin . - SPb. , 1885.
- ↑ Maricae lucus // The Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities / ed. F. Lubker ; Edited by members of the Society of Classical Philology and Pedagogy F. Gelbke , L. Georgievsky , F. Zelinsky , V. Kansky , M. Kutorgi and P. Nikitin . - SPb. , 1885.
- ↑ Laverna // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
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