The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree. The tree of knowledge connecting to heaven and the underworld such as Yggdrasil and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are forms of the world tree or cosmic tree, and are portrayed in various religions and philosophies as the same tree.
An 1847 depiction of the Norse Yggdrasil as described in the Icelandic Prose Edda by Oluf Olufsen Bagge
17th-century depiction of the tree of life in Palace of Shaki Khans, Azerbaijan
Confronted animals, here ibexes, flank a tree of life, a very common motif in the art of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean
Breastfeeding before an Egyptian "sycamore"
The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European, Siberian, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld. It may also be strongly connected to the motif of the tree of life, but it is the source of wisdom of the ages.
From Northern Antiquities, an English translation of the Prose Edda from 1847. Painted by Oluf Olufsen Bagge.
The Tree of Knowledge depicted, with Adam and Eve, where the Tree of life is described as part of the Garden of Eden in the Hebrew bible.
Two winged bulls are guarding a sacred tree, on a rhyton from Marlik, Iran, currently at the National Museum of Iran
