ecologyIf food is a visual sign of the creative and sustaining powers of the
earth, the life-giving and nurturing features of the earth are often con-
nected to and given expression in mystery cults such as the Eleusinian
and Avestan mysteries, respectively of ancient Greece and Iran. Embodied
within the mysterious nature of the life-bestowing and sustaining aspects
of the earth, there are also dangerous and life-threatening features of the
earth in its poisonous plants, reptiles, and rapacious animals. Thus, the
physical beauty of the earth hides its dangers because death is not far
from the surface of the earth, and is often symbolically present upon its
surface in the form of natural disasters of numerous kinds.
Eventually, all creatures return to the earth at their death. In most
religious cultures, the earth accepts the dead without discrimination and
functions as a repository of the dead. The close symbolic connection
between the earth and the underworld is evident in the ancient Egyptian
myth of Osiris and his becoming ruler of the underworld. Due in part to
the residence of the dead, its mention of mineral riches, and hidden trea-
sures, the interior of the earth is symbolically mysterious and the location
of secret knowledge. The secret knowledge contained within the earth is
often connected to fate and oracles as, for example, with the ancient
Babylonian oracle Ea, a deity consulted to discern future events and dis-
cover the divine will. Likewise, the Egyptian goddess Ma-a-t is con-
nected to the mysteries of the earth with its underworld and realm of
the dead.
Caves, mines, and grottoes represent underground labyrinths that are
commonly associated with the rebirth symbolism connected to initiation
rites, and also equated with the vagina of the earth. These various wombs
of the earth contain fertile riches in the form of mineral wealth and life-
giving waters. The womb of the earth is the perpetual giver of life, wis-
dom, and riches, as well the regenerator of new life. In general, the
religious significance of the earth is connected to its symbolism of pro-
ducing life, sustaining it, and being a repository of the dead.
Further reading: Berthong and Tucker (1998); Chapple and Tucker (2000);
Girardot et al. (2001); Gottlieb (1996)
ECOLOGY
This term is first coined by Ernst Haeckel, a German disciple of the
evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, in 1866 to indicate a pattern of