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54-524: Nibelheim may refer to: Niflheim , a region in Germanic and Norse mythology Nibelheim or "Nibel Home", the home of the dwarves known as Nibelungs in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen Nibelheim (Final Fantasy VII) , the hometown of protagonists Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, in the video game Final Fantasy VII Topics referred to by

108-706: A battle between a Thunder God and a snake-like adversary . In their proposed reconstruction, the Snake lives under the World Tree, sleeping on black wool. They surmise this snake on black wool is a reference to a cattle god, known in Slavic mythology as Veles . Further studies show that the usual tree that appears in Slavic folklore is an oak: for instance, in Czech , it is known as Veledub ('The Great Oak'). In addition,

162-648: A separate Greek myth the Hesperides live beneath an apple tree with golden apples that was given to the highest Olympian goddess Hera by the primal Mother goddess Gaia at Hera's marriage to Zeus. The tree stands in the Garden of the Hesperides and is guarded by Ladon , a dragon. Heracles defeats Ladon and snatches the golden apples. In the epic quest for the Golden Fleece of Argonautica ,

216-632: A sign and suddenly a "serpent gliding from the Caucasus mountains" appears and coils around the grove as to protect it. In Roman mythology the world tree was the olive tree , that was associated with Pax . The Greek equivalent of Pax is Eirene , one of the Horae . The Sacred tree of the Roman Sky father Jupiter was the oak , the laurel was the Sacred tree of Apollo . The ancient fig-tree in

270-563: A snake that menaces its nestlings. A similar imagery is attested in Hittite literature : a snake encircles the base of a tree, an eagle perches atop it, and a bee occupies its middle, which Craig Melchert considers to be a version of the "world tree" or "tree of life" motif. Professor Amar Annus states that, although the motif seems to originate much earlier, its first attestation in world culture occurred in Sumerian literature , with

324-410: A winged mythical creature" that represents a heavenly realm. The eagle seems to be the most frequent bird, fulfilling the role of a creator or weather deity. Its antipode is a snake or serpentine creature that crawls between the tree roots, being a "symbol of the underworld". The World Tree has also been compared to a World Pillar that appears in other traditions and functions as separator between

378-466: A world tree. Some scholars have argued that the religious importance of the horizontal and vertical dimensions in many animist cultures may derive from the human body and the position it occupies in the world as it perceives the surrounding living world. Many Indigenous cultures of the Americas have similar cosmologies regarding the directionality and the world tree, however the type of tree representing

432-566: Is also associated with a classical element (top part – fire ; middle part – earth , soil, ground; bottom part – water ). Its branches are said to reach the skies and its roots to connect the human or earthly world with an underworld or subterranean realm. Because of this, the tree was worshipped as a mediator between Heavens and Earth. On the treetops are located the luminaries ( stars ) and heavenly bodies, along with an eagle's nest; several species of birds perch among its branches; humans and animals of every kind live under its branches, and near

486-499: Is central and considered very holy. The Æsir go to Yggdrasil daily to hold their courts. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations: one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir , and another to the well Mímisbrunnr . Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the harts Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór ,

540-428: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Niflheim Niflheim was primarily a realm of primordial ice and cold, with the frozen rivers of Élivágar and the well of Hvergelmir , from which come all the rivers. According to Gylfaginning , Niflheim was the first of the two primordial realms to emanate out of Ginnungagap , the other one being Muspelheim ,

594-429: Is hard by Hel-gates. Odin (as Þriði ) further tells Gylfi that it was when the ice from Niflheimr met the flames from Muspelheimr that creation began and Ymir was formed: Just as cold arose out of Niflheim, and all terrible things, so also all that looked toward Múspellheim became hot and glowing; but Ginnungagap was as mild as windless air, and when the breath of heat met the rime, so that it melted and dripped, life

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648-461: Is often identified with the Tree of Life , and also fulfills the role of an axis mundi , that is, a centre or axis of the world. It is also located at the center of the world and represents order and harmony of the cosmos. According to Loreta Senkute, each part of the tree corresponds to one of the three spheres of the world (treetops – heavens; trunk – middle world or earth; roots – underworld) and

702-846: Is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens , thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld . It may also be strongly connected to the motif of the tree of life , but it is the source of wisdom of the ages. Specific world trees include Égig érő fa in Hungarian mythology , Ağaç Ana in Turkic mythology , Kenac' Car in Armenian mythology , Modun in Mongol mythology , Yggdrasil in Norse mythology , Irminsul in Germanic mythology,

756-459: Is the oak, and the one at Dodona (famous for the cultic worship of Zeus and the oak) was said by later tradition to have its roots furrow so deep as to reach the confines of Tartarus. In a different cosmogonic account presented by Pherecydes of Syros , male deity Zas (identified as Zeus ) marries female divinity Chthonie (associated with the earth and later called Gê/ Gaia ), and from their marriage sprouts an oak tree. This oak tree connects

810-458: The jötunn who was killed by Thor after he had built Asgard : Now that the Æsir saw surely that the hill-giant was come thither, they did not regard their oaths reverently, but called on Thor, who came as quickly. And straightway the hammer Mjöllnir was raised aloft; he paid the wright's wage, and not with the sun and the moon. Nay, he even denied him dwelling in Jötunheim, and struck but

864-583: The Comitium at Rome, was considered as a descendant of the very tree under which Romulus and Remus were found. In Norse mythology , Yggdrasil is the world tree. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda , compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda , written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson . In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that

918-674: The Garden of Eden story in the Book of Genesis in the Bible . According to Jewish mythology , in the Garden of Eden there is a tree of life or the "tree of souls" that blossoms and produces new souls , which fall into the Guf , the Treasury of Souls . The Angel Gabriel reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then Lailah , the Angel of Conception, watches over

972-683: The Pahlavi Bundahishn , it is said that evil god Ahriman created a lizard to attack the tree. Bas tokhmak is another remedial tree; it retains all herbal seeds and destroys sorrow. Remnants are also evident in the Kalpavriksha ("wish-fulfilling tree") and the Ashvattha tree of the Indian religions . The Ashvattha tree ('keeper of horses') is described as a sacred fig and corresponds to "the most typical representation of

1026-667: The oak in Slavic , Finnish and Baltic , Jianmu ( Chinese : 建木 ; pinyin : jiànmù ) in Chinese mythology , and in Hindu mythology the Ashvattha (a Ficus religiosa ). Scholarship states that many Eurasian mythologies share the motif of the "world tree", "cosmic tree", or "Eagle and Serpent Tree". More specifically, it shows up in "Haitian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Norse, Siberian and northern Asian Shamanic folklore". The World Tree

1080-560: The "bird-peaked" tree holds the sun and the moon, and the underworld is "a land of snakes, lizards and frogs". In the mythology of the Samoyeds , the world tree connects different realities (underworld, this world, upper world) together. In their mythology the world tree is also the symbol of Mother Earth who is said to give the Samoyed shaman his drum and also help him travel from one world to another. According to scholar Aado Lintrop,

1134-521: The Baltic and Slavic patterns there was an image of an inverted tree, "growing with its roots up, and branches going into the ground". Scholarship recognizes that Baltic beliefs about a World Tree, located at the central part of the Earth, follow a tripartite division of the cosmos (underworld, earth, sky), each part corresponding to a part of the tree (root, trunk, branches). It has been suggested that

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1188-587: The Sun, the Moon, God, Laima, Auseklis (the morning star), or the daughter of the Sun rest[ed]". According to Slavic folklore, as reconstructed by Radoslav Katičić , the draconic or serpentine character furrows near a body of water, and the bird that lives on the treetop could be an eagle, a falcon or a nightingale. Scholars Ivanov and Toporov offered a reconstructed Slavic variant of the Indo-European myth about

1242-467: The World Tree is "a powerful tree with widespread branches and strong roots, reaching deep into the earth". The recurrent imagery is also present in Lithuanian myth: on the treetops, the luminaries and eagles, and further down, amidst its roots, the dwelling place of snakes and reptiles. The World Tree of Lithuanian tradition was sometimes identified as an oak or a maple tree . In Latvian mythology

1296-479: The earth and the skies, upholding the latter. Another representation akin to the World Tree is a separate World Mountain. However, in some stories, the world tree is located atop the world mountain, in a combination of both motifs. A conflict between a serpentine creature and a giant bird (an eagle) occurs in Eurasian mythologies: a hero kills the serpent that menaces a nest of little birds, and their mother repays

1350-620: The embryo until it is born. According to the Gnostic codex On the Origin of the World , the tree of immortal life is in the north of paradise , which is outside the circuit of the Sun and Moon in the luxuriant Earth. Its height is so great it reaches Heaven. Its leaves are described as resembling cypress , the color of the tree is like the Sun, its fruit is like clusters of white grapes and its branches are beautiful. The tree will provide life for

1404-483: The favor – a motif comparativist Julien d'Huy dates to the Paleolithic. A parallel story is attested in the traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas , where the thunderbird is slotted into the role of the giant bird whose nest is menaced by a "snake-like water monster". Romanian historian of religion, Mircea Eliade , in his monumental work Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy , suggested that

1458-437: The giant in eagle-shape Hræsvelgr , the squirrel Ratatoskr and the wyrm Níðhöggr . Scholarly theories have been proposed about the etymology of the name Yggdrasil , the potential relation to the trees Mímameiðr and Læraðr , and the sacred tree at Uppsala . In Baltic , Slavic and Finnish mythology, the world tree is usually an oak . Most of the images of the world tree are preserved on ancient ornaments. Often on

1512-525: The heavens above and its roots grew into the Earth, to reach the depths of Tartarus . This oak tree is considered by scholarship to symbolize a cosmic tree, uniting three spheres: underworld, terrestrial and celestial. Besides the oak, several other sacred trees existed in Greek mythology . For instance, the olive , named Moriai , was the world tree and associated with the Olympian goddess Athena . In

1566-460: The imagery of the world tree. Another line of scholarship points to a "recurring theme" of the owl as the mediator to the upper realm, and its counterpart, the snake, as the mediator to the lower regions of the cosmos. Researcher Kristen Pearson mentions Northern Eurasian and Central Asian traditions wherein the World Tree is also associated with the horse and with deer antlers (which might resemble tree branches). Mircea Eliade proposed that

1620-554: The innocent during the consummation of the age . Mandaean scrolls often include abstract illustrations of world trees that represent the living, interconnected nature of the cosmos. In Mandaeism , the date palm ( Mandaic : sindirka ) symbolizes the cosmic tree and is often associated with the cosmic wellspring ( Mandaic : aina ). The date palm and wellspring are often mentioned together as heavenly symbols in Mandaean texts . The date palm takes on masculine symbolism, while

1674-605: The king of ancient Scandinavia , receives an education in Norse mythology from Odin in the guise of three men. Gylfi learns from Odin (as Jafnhárr ) that Niflheimr was the first world to be created after Muspelheim: It was many ages before the earth was shaped that the Mist-World [Niflheimr] was made; and midmost within it lies the well that is called Hvergelmir, from which spring the rivers called Svöl, Gunnthrá, Fjörm, Fimbulthul, Slídr and Hríd, Sylgr and Ylgr, Víd, Leiptr; Gjöll

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1728-495: The legendary bird Simurgh (alternatively, Saēna bird ; Sēnmurw and Senmurv ) perches atop a tree in the center of the sea Vourukasa . This tree is described as having all-healing properties and many seeds. In another account, the tree is the very same tree of the White Hōm (Haōma). Gaokerena or white Haoma is a tree whose vivacity ensures continued life in the universe, and grants immortality to "all who eat from it". In

1782-473: The mistress of the world of those dead in disease and old age. This is the only instance in which Niflheim and Hel are equated (the Poetic Edda mentions Hel but doesn't say anything about Niflheim). However, there is some confusion in the different versions of the manuscript, with some of them saying Niflheim where others say Niflhel (the lowest level of Hel). Thus in the passage about the last destination of

1836-705: The object of the quest is found in the realm of Colchis , hanging on a tree guarded by a never-sleeping dragon (the Colchian dragon ). In a version of the story provided by Pseudo-Apollodorus in Bibliotheca , the Golden Fleece was affixed by King Aeetes to an oak tree in a grove dedicated to war god Ares . This information is repeated in Valerius Flaccus 's Argonautica . In the same passage of Valerius Flaccus' work, King Aeetes prays to Ares for

1890-518: The one first blow, so that his skull was burst into small crumbs, and sent him down below under Niflhel [Niflheim]. In Hrafnagaldr Óðins , there is a brief mention of Niflheimr as a location in the North, towards which the sun (Alfr's illuminator) chased the night as it rose: World tree The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European , Siberian, and Native American religions . The world tree

1944-446: The parts of the tree: between its roots, figure "chthonic animals", such as snakes and frogs, but he also mentions aquatic animals such as otters, beavers, and fishes, as well as dragons; the middle part of the tree is reserved for hoofed animals such as deer or elk (sometimes bees), and on the topmost part perches the "principal" bird, or a pair of birds sat on either side of the tree crown. A bird perches atop its foliage, "often ....

1998-633: The realm of Patala (a netherworld where the Nāga dwell), or in an inverted position, rooted in the Heavens. Like other accounts, this tree may also function as an axis mundi . The world tree is also represented in the mythologies and folklore of North Asia and Siberia . According to Mihály Hoppál, Hungarian scholar Vilmos Diószegi located some motifs related to the world tree in Siberian shamanism and other North Asian peoples. As per Diószegi's research,

2052-726: The realm of fire. Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began when its waters mixed with the heat of Muspelheim to form a "creating steam". Later, it became the abode of Hel , a goddess daughter of Loki, and the afterlife for her subjects, those who did not die a heroic or notable death. Nifl ("mist"; whence the Icelandic nifl ) is a cognate to the Old English nifol ("dark, gloomy"), ( Middle ) Dutch nevel , Old High German nebul (" fog ") and Ancient Greek νεφέλη , [ne.pʰé.lɛː] , (" cloud "). In Gylfaginning by Snorri Sturluson , Gylfi ,

2106-431: The root is the dwelling place of snakes and every sort of reptiles. The imagery of the World Tree is sometimes associated with conferring immortality, either by a fruit that grows on it or by a springsource located nearby. As George Lechler also pointed out, in some descriptions this "water of life" may also flow from the roots of the tree. According to Vladimir Toporov , animal species are commonly distributed along

2160-414: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Nibelheim . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nibelheim&oldid=861116621 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2214-417: The serpent and the other residents escape. In fragments of the story of Etana , there is a narrative sequence about a snake and an eagle that live on opposite sides of a poplar tree ( şarbatu ), the snake on its roots, the eagle on its foliage. At a certain point, both animals swear before deity Shamash and share their meat with each other, until the eagle's hatchlings are born and the eagle decides to eat

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2268-482: The snake's young ones. In revenge, the snake alerts god Shamash, who agrees to let the snake punish the eagle for the perceived affront. Later, Shamash takes pity on the bird's condition and sets hero Etana to release it from its punishment. Later versions of the story associate the eagle with mythical bird Anzû and the snake with a serpentine being named Bašmu . A world tree is a common motif in Persian mythology ,

2322-521: The tale of " Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld ". According to this tale, goddess Innana transplants the huluppu tree to her garden in the City of Uruk, for she intends to use its wood to carve a throne. However, a snake "with no charm", a ghostly figure ( Lilith or another character associated with darkness) and the legendary Anzû -bird make their residence on the tree, until Gilgamesh kills

2376-493: The typical imagery of the world tree (bird at the top, snake at the root) "is presumably of Oriental origin". Likewise, Roald Knutsen indicates a possible origin of the motif in Central Asia and later diffusion into other regions and cultures. A common theme in most indigenous cultures of the Americas is a concept of directionality (the horizontal and vertical planes), with the vertical dimension often being represented by

2430-408: The wellspring takes on feminine symbolism. Armenian professor Hrach Martirosyan argues for the presence, in Armenian mythology , of a serpentine creature named Andndayin ōj , that lives in the (abyssal) waters that circundate the World Tree. According to scholarship, Georgian mythology also attests a rivalry between mythical bird Paskunji, which lives in the underworld on the top of a tree, and

2484-624: The word for "tree" in Baltic languages ( Latvian mežs ; Lithuanian medis ), both derived from Proto-Indo-European *medh- 'middle', operated a semantic shift from "middle" possibly due to the belief of the Arbor Mundi . The world tree ( Lithuanian : Aušros medis ) is widespread in Lithuanian folk painting, and is frequently found carved into household furniture such as cupboards, towel holders, and laundry beaters. According to Lithuanian scholars Prane Dunduliene and Norbertas Vėlius ,

2538-812: The world and stand above heaven. Three roots of the tree uphold it and stand exceeding broad: one is among the Æsir; another among the Rime-Giants, in that place where aforetime was the Yawning Void; the third stands over Niflheim, and under that root is Hvergelmir, and Nídhöggr gnaws the root from below. Gylfi is furthermore informed that when Loki had engendered Hel , she was cast into Niflheimr by Odin: Hel he cast into Niflheim, and gave to her power over nine worlds, to apportion all abodes among those that were sent to her: that is, men dead of sickness or of old age. She has great possessions there; her walls are exceeding high and her gates great. Hel thus became

2592-453: The world tree ( Latvian : Austras koks ) was one of the most important beliefs, also associated with the birth of the world. Sometimes it was identified as an oak or a birch , or even replaced by a wooden pole. According to Ludvigs Adamovičs's book on Latvian folk belief, ancient Latvian mythology attested the existence of a Sun Tree as an expression of the World Tree, often described as "a birch tree with three leaves or forked branches where

2646-527: The world tree also appears in folk medicine of the Don Cossacks . According to scholar Aado Lintrop , Estonian mythology records two types of world tree in Estonian runic songs, with similar characteristics of being an oak and having a bird at the top, a snake at the roots and the stars amongst its branches. The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the Tree of life are both components of

2700-602: The world tree appears in the Island of Buyan , on top of a stone. Another description shows that legendary birds Sirin and Alkonost make their nests on separate sides of the tree. Ukrainian scholarship points to the existence of the motif in "archaic wintertime songs and carols": their texts attest a tree at the center of the world and two or three falcons or pigeons sat on its top, ready to dive in and fetch mud to create land (the Earth diver cosmogonic motif). The imagery of

2754-472: The world tree depends on the surrounding environment. For many Indigenous American peoples located in more temperate regions for example, it is the spruce rather than the ceiba that is the world tree; however the idea of cosmic directions combined with a concept of a tree uniting the directional planes is similar. Like in many other Indo-European cultures , one tree species was considered the World Tree in some cosmogonical accounts. The sacred tree of Zeus

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2808-626: The world tree in India", upon whose branches the celestial bodies rest. Likewise, the Kalpavriksha is also equated with a fig tree and said to possess wish-granting abilities. Indologist David Dean Shulman provided the description of a similar imagery that appears in South Indian temples : the sthalavṛkṣa tree. The tree is depicted alongside a water source (river, temple tank, sea). The tree may also appear rooted on Earth or reaching

2862-606: The world tree was an important element in shamanistic worldview. Also, according to him, "the giant bird ... hatches shamans in the branches of the World Tree". Likewise, Roald Knutsen indicates the presence of the motif in Altaic shamanism . Representations of the world tree are reported to be portrayed in drums used in Siberian shamanistic practices. Some species of birds ( eagle , raven , crane , loon , and lark ) are revered as mediators between worlds and also connected to

2916-424: Was quickened from the yeast-drops, by the power of that which sent the heat, and became a man's form. And that man is named Ymir, but the Rime-Giants call him Aurgelmir; ... In relation to the world tree Yggdrasill , Jafnhárr (Odin) tells Gylfi that frost jötnar is located under the second root, where Ginnungagap ( Yawning Void ) once was: The Ash is greatest of all trees and best: its limbs spread out over all

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