Location of Eden

When Columbus set out in search of the Indies, he had in mind the lands of Tarshish and Ophir, the great isle of Cipangu and also the Terrestrial Paradise -- the Garden of Eden.

The Earthly Paradise was generally set in the dominion of Prester John, and for this reason in medieval roll of arms, for example, Prester John of the Indies (Prester Johan de Ynde) was listed first in precedence followed by the King of Jerusalem, the Emperor of Rome and the Emperor of Constantinople in that order, followed by other Christian kings.

From the Herald's Roll (late 13th century)

1 Prester Johan de Ynde

Azure a cross or (attributed arms)

2 Roye de Jerusalem

Argent crusilly and a cross potent or

3 Emperor de Rome

Or a double headed eagle displayed sable

4 Emperor de Constantinoble

Gules a cross or

In the millenarian environment of Europe during Columbus' time, the honor of ruling over the Garden of Eden would certainly suit the prophesied king, the Encubierto, as many fancied Columbus' patron Ferdinand of Spain. Technically such an honor would rank even higher than reconquering Jerusalem.

On his way home from his first voyage, Columbus wrote in his Diario that the land he had discovered must be Paradise Terrestrial which 'sacred theologians and philosophers' had located in the 'end of the East' ("en el fin de oriente"). One of the admiral's favorite books, Imago Mundi, placed the Garden of Eden at the extremity of the East where the Sun rose for the first time on the morning of creation.

The idea that Cipangu and China could be reached by sailing West and that the distance was not that great appears to have originated with Nicolo di Conti and/or the mysterious ambassador from the East Indies -- from a Nestorian Christian nation 20 days beyond Cathay (China). These two are mentioned together by Poggio after the latter's interview of de Conti.

Both had influenced Paolo Toscanelli and others, and Toscanelli is believed by many to have encouraged Columbus to undertake his fateful mission. Previously, under the Ptolemaic system it was believed that the Indian Ocean was landlocked and that the eastern coast of Asia could not be approached by sea from the West. Pierre d'Ailley, the author of Imago Mundi had these concepts in his book, but later gave up the idea of an open Indian Ocean after reading the Latin Ptolemy.

At this time, the view that the distance from the Canaries to Cipangu was relatively small became current. Toscanelli estimated it at only 85 degrees, while Martellus put it at 90 degrees and Behaim at 110 degrees. Some scholars believe the idea of such a short distance originates with Marinus of Tyre, but even the latter but the distance at 135 degrees. In reality, the measure was about 225 degrees.

Whatever the source of the idea, Columbus believed that he was sailing along the coasts of southeastern Asia when he discovered the Americas. After his third voyage, he wrote in a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella: "I am completely persuaded in my own mind that the Terrestrial Paradise is in the place I have said...just above the Equator, where the best authorities had always argued Paradise would be found."

The idea that Eden was near the equator was related to the idea of climate and the lack of extreme changes of hot and cold seasons. Eden was thought of as a lush place with a dazzling variety of living creatures. In 1554, an anonymous English author writes:

All who have gone there agree that the best and greenest fields and countrysides in the entire world are to be found there, the most pleasant mountains, covered with trees and fruits every kind, the most beautiful valleys, the most delicious rivers of fresh water, filled with an endless variety of fishes, the thickest forests, always green and laden with fruits. As for gold, silver, and other kinds of metal, spices of all kinds, and fruits desirable both tor their taste and touch and for the salutary effects they have: so abundant are they that until now it has not been possible even to imagine that they could be as many elsewhere as here. In conclusion, it is now thought that the earthly paradise can only be located on the equinoctial line or close to it, for the only perfect spot on earth has its place there.

In a letter that Columbus wrote to his son after his voyages, he said:

Certain it is that I have served Their Highnesses with as great diligence and love as I might have employed to win paradise and more; and if in somewhat I have been wanting, that was impossible, or much beyond my knowledge and strength.

Probably the paradise that Columbus mentions above is that of the eternal reward after life, but after his time, the idea of reaching the Garden of Eden began to fade. Explorers may have realized the futility of such an endeavor, but they continued to look for other fabled lands including Cipangu, Tarshish and Ophir, and Cattigara.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Delumeau, Jean. History of Paradise. The Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition, Trans. Matthew O'Connell. New York: Continuum Publishing C., 1995, 111.

Morison, Samuel Eliot. Admiral of the Ocean Sea a Life of Christopher Columbus, Little Brown & Co., 1942.

The Garden of Eden (Glossary)

The Garden of Eden and its location have served as a source of intrigue and curiosity since ancient times. Eden in the Bible is the terrestrial paradise, the earthly model of Heaven. In the Eden paradise, we find the source of the earthly rivers and the source of life itself or at least that of humanity.

The fall of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden serves as the backdrop of humanity's loss of immortality.

Where was the Garden of Eden?

The biblical Garden of Eden appears derived from the older Sumerian stories of the lush island of Dilmun far to the East. Many themes in the biblical book of Genesis are very similar to Sumerian myths including the lists of the antediluvian patriarchs, the great flood and the far-off eastern paradise.

Apocryphal texts like the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees place Edem beyond "India" and the Erythraean Sea (Indian Ocean) . In Enoch, the "Garden of Righteousness" and the Tree of Knowledge are associated with the eastern regions where cinnamon and aloeswood are found.

In medieval times, the location of the Garden of Eden continued to be mostly associated, in Christian and Jewish thought at least, with the far East. Medieval maps generally placed the East at the top of the chart with the Garden at the highest position. Although the garden was usually on the mainland, sometimes it was instead an island in the sea. Most often Eden was centered on the equator although the geography here tended to be pushed southward from the true positions.

Muslim geograhpers more commonly placed the Garden of Eden in Sri Lanka at a location also known as Sri Pada in Ratnapura district.

Font of all rivers

As the source of four great rivers that were said to supply water to all other rivers of the world, Eden was also the 'garden of life.' The four rivers branching out usually in the four cardinal directions were of course only symbolic. They are met with also in different mythologies of the world.

The four rivers are fed by one great world river that appears as either subterranean, as heavenly or as both subterranean and heavenly. We can understand the world river originally as an underground river that rises up the cosmic mountain to the heavens spouting out at the peak of the axis mundi. In India, this is the Ganga, which metaphorically branches out into the Sita to the East, the Alakananda to the South, the Caksus to the West and the Bhadra to the North i.e., it is the source of all fresh water. The four rivers watered by Eden in the Bible are the Pison of the golden land of Havilah, Gihon in Ethiopia, Hiddekel towards the east of Assyria, and the Euphrates.

Sumerian myth tells of two oceans -- an underground freshwater ocean known as the Abzu and a surface saltwater one called Tiamat. The former provides waters for the Earth's rivers after rising in Mount Mashu. Both oceans are seen as locations for the creation of life and the world. The Chinese Daoists saw the field of creation as the "Cinnabar Ocean" and the Hindus had the "Milky Sea."

Indeed, the idea of the oceans as the source of life is widespread in many cultures agreeing to some extent with modern evolutionary theories of life originating in an oceanic "biological soup." Indeed, marine ecosystems contain more phyla of lifeforms than the terrestrial ecosystems probably due to the fact that only a subset of creatures took to the land from the sea.

It is interesting with regard to the theme of this blog, that the region with by far the greatest marine diversity in the world is found in a triangle formed by the Philippines in the north, Indonesia to the southwest, and New Guinea to the southeast. Biodiversity in itself is the "tree of life" with all lifeforms ultimately connected in one origin and speciation resembling the branching of a tree.


Graphic giving theory for world's highest biodiversity in "Coral Triangle." Source: http://www.calacademy.org/research/izg/tropicaldiversity.htm

Heaven and Hell

Eden is portrayed in the Bible and related works both as a lush paradise and a fiery region protected by a revolving flaming sword. In this land was Mount Eden, a location described in similar terms to the smoking, fiery peak in Sinai where Moses received the divine commandments.

Mount Eden is itself the "garden of God," the location of the heavenly hosts from which the fallen angels were expelled according to Ezekiel.

The fiery upheavel in the Garden of Eden is related in this work to a volcanic conflagaration that sends waves of human migration in all directions.

When Adam and Eve partake of the fruit of the "tree of knowledge" they suddenly realize they are naked and seek to cover themselves. The theme suggests the loss of innocence connected by many with the rise of materialism symbolized by the fig leaves used to conceal their 'nakedness.'

From that point onward, abundance would cease and humanity would toil to survive off the cursed ground.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento