The Huluppu Tree

The Huluppu tree is later called the Tree of Life in the Christian tradition. The origin of the tree is closely connected with the netherworld. At the time of the founding of the first Sumerian city of Eridu around 5400 BC, according to the myth “Enki and Ereshkigal,” Ereshkigal voluntarily descended into the netherworld. When her twin brother Enki visited her there, she explained to him the deeper meaning of her decision:

“I am here to ensure that all who seek the essence beyond appearance will seek and find it, if they are only ready to bare and reshape their souls.”

So Ereshkigal wanted to remain as ruler in the netherworld and help human souls reshape themselves. This is not about permanently reshaping and transforming individual souls — these are ultimately dissolved in the underworld. Her goal is rather to learn through analyzing human consciousnesses how such a transformation is fundamentally possible. This knowledge is the “hidden treasure” that she found in the netherworld, as she explains to Enki:

“If you know me as you know yourself, I believe you have recognized that although I miss the worlds up there, I have found hidden treasures in the land of no return and have become their most important guardian.”

As a sign of her long-term vision, Ereshkigal gives Enki the seed of the Huluppu tree. In handing it over, she reveals the tree’s future destiny:

“Plant it and observe what comes of it. When this seed grows to full size, it will be the gate to this and many other worlds. […] He who finds my grown seed and tends and cares for it will be the one who will keep the gate to the worlds below and above wide open.”

When the tree had reached its full size, it would thus serve as a portal through which selected souls could ascend from the underworld to heaven, where they would attain eternal life. This function makes it the “Tree of Life.” Enki planted the seed on the banks of the Euphrates near Eridu and gave it another destiny:

“May your branches, leaves and fruits pass on knowledge and show us the ways of becoming in all worlds and spheres. May all who find you ascend to the highest heights and descend to the deepest depths to find healing and fruit. I call you the most sacred, the most precious of all trees, the Huluppu tree.”

This destiny determination contains several important aspects: Enki makes clear that the tree’s fruits symbolize the knowledge that the gods want to convey to humans. As Ereshkigal had already made clear, the tree should serve as a portal to various worlds that were probably not even completed at that time. This is also suggested by Enki: With each new branch that the tree develops, further “ways of becoming” are revealed. At the same time, Enki’s determination makes clear that the way to these worlds will not be open to all humans, but only to those who “find the Tree of Life,” which is probably a metaphor for living according to the gods’ commandments. However, this will only be possible in the distant future when the tree is fully grown.

The Huluppu tree is described in the myth “Inanna and the Huluppu Tree” as a large, magnificent tree with a straight, unbranched trunk. Its appearance is reminiscent less of a poplar, as it is sometimes called in translations of the Etana myth, but rather of one of the giant sequoias that have since become extinct in Europe. By 3500 BC, the tree had already reached considerable size. The myth “Enki and the World Order” describes the tree in its developed form:

“You (Enki), the king, planted the Meš tree in the Abzu,

which was brought up from the distant netherworld,

the mighty demon of Eridu,

whose trunk unites heaven and earth,

and whose fruits hang like grapes over the land of Sumer.”

This description emphasizes not only the physical size of the tree but also its function as a connection between worlds and as a source of divine knowledge for humans. The Huluppu tree embodies in its structure the connection of the various cosmic realms:

• Its roots reach into the netherworld, the realm of transformation
• Its trunk stands firmly in the middle world, the realm of humans
• Its crown grows toward heaven, the realm of the gods

This threefold division makes it the axis mundi — the world axis that penetrates and connects the various realms of being. As Ereshkigal emphasized when handing over the seed, the tree should be “the gate to this and many other worlds.” It functions not as a mere connection but as an active portal through which souls in the underworld can move between worlds. When it has reached its full size, human souls can ascend from the underworld to heaven through it and receive eternal life. This function made it the “Tree of Life.”

During the deluge, the tree was uprooted in Eridu and then drifted in the Euphrates. Inanna found it and brought it to Uruk. After its replanting in Uruk, the tree was inhabited by three mythical beings:

• The incorruptible Usumgallu snake at its root
• The Anzu eagle in its crown
• The dark maid Lilith in the middle area

Each of these beings had specific tasks that expanded the tree’s overall function and gave it central importance in the early phase of Sumerian civilization. Through Lilith’s presence, gods could incarnate in human bodies and act directly among humans as rulers. In this form, they conveyed knowledge to humans and taught them the foundations of civilization. Through Anzu, human destinies were decreed so that they were useful for the gods’ projects. This was especially important after the deluge when Sumerian civilization had to be rebuilt. The Usumgallu snake, as guardian, secured the tree’s continued existence and thus the connection between divine and human spheres.

Around 2600 BC, during Gilgamesh’s lifetime, Sumerian civilization had already firmly established itself. It can be assumed that at this time the original function of the Huluppu tree as future portal between underworld and heaven had been forgotten. What remained in collective memory was knowledge of its magical nature and the conviction that special objects could be made from its wood.

The myth “Inanna and the Huluppu Tree” describes how Inanna makes the decision to fell the tree. She first asked her brother Utu, the god of justice, for help in vain. His refusal suggests that felling the tree was to be seen as problematic. When Utu refused, Inanna turned to Gilgamesh:

“Oh Gilgamesh, in the days when destiny was decided, when the land bloomed in abundance, when the territories of the great gods were divided, I pulled the tree from the Euphrates, I planted it in my sacred garden and cared for it and have been waiting since then for my shining throne and my luxurious bed.”

Inanna thus concealed the tree’s actual function from Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh therefore agreed to fell the tree and proceeded to act. The felling had far-reaching consequences for the tree’s inhabitants. The myth reports:

“Gilgamesh slew the snake that could not be enchanted. The Anzu bird flew with his young to the mountains, and Lilith smashed her house and fled to the wild, uninhabited regions.”

Lilith’s expulsion to uninhabited regions meant that the gods no longer had the possibility to incarnate in human bodies with her help. Therefore, the gods could no longer rule on earth as kings. Instead, human kings had to exercise rule. The killing of the Usumgallu snake ended its guardian function, and the eagle Anzu had to seek a new home. This marked the end of an era in which the gods wandered directly among humans.