Afterpants: Nether Regions Pt.8 (The Cedar Forest)

Another short one today. I'd like to say how I super hate it when there's a wikipedia listing for a thing, but then the author doesn't write about the thing itself.

Such is the case with "The Cedar Forest;" the home of the gods in ancient Mesopotamian mythology.

Now, keep in mind that there is an ACTUAL cedar forest, it's a World Heritage site, and civilizations from Egypt to Rome traveled there, cut down trees for the purpose of building stuff and now it's not even 10% it's original size.

However, we're not talking about the actual place. We're talking about a forest in the underworld where the Mesopotamian gods lived and where they kept their pet monster Humbaba. (here's a little illustrated story of that for kids)

If you like your folktales a little more grown up, there's a Jstor paper written on this topic.

Again, there is a link in world myth re: the ocean, deep caves and massive forests (or mountains) as either the location of or the passage to the afterlife!

Here, we have a cedar forest NOT where the dead go...(that's a different place in Sumerian/Akkadian and Babylonian belief called the "Kar")

But deep, dark and stately with it's many tall trees.

In the accounts I read, the forest is so large that the gods are quite unaware of the presence of Gilgamesh and his lover Enkidu.

(Oh come on...you've read the stories...the Epic of Gilgamesh isn't just the worlds oldest novel...it's the worlds oldest queer love story!!!)

What IS aware of them is Humbaba...who fights them because they're trying to cut down trees and is defeated by 13 magical winds.

I sincerely couldn't find any more references to the forest itself. But if you know mythology,

you'll know the Big Gilgy is so popular, his presence in a story means it's all about him...not really the plot or the setting...so...that...

Anyway, I'd like to give the Cedar Forest a higher rating, but because the dead don't go there AND I have 0 evidence of the type of underwear that these gods wear...I'm gonna have to give it a sorry 2 out of 5 Hellbriefs...