Man and environment. the Epic of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and the legend of Nemi forest
Published 2019-08-21
Keywords
- man and environment,
- Epic of Gilgamesh,
- legend of Nemi forest
Copyright (c) 2019 Italian Journal of Forest and Mountain Environments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The essay below covers the Epic of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and the legend of Nemi forest, both involving the killing of the guardians of the said forests, dominated by cedars in the Near East and by oaks in Central Italy. The guardians most probably impersonated the reverential awe that these vast protohistoric forests inspired in those wishing either to thin or tear them down for the wood they needed.The beliefs expressed both in the epic and in the legend reflect the thinking of mankind at the time, which made no distinction between natural events and supernatural ones.