Hamadryádes

[Hamadryad, from ancient greek Ἁμαδρυάδες: Hama and Drys,“coexisting with the trees”] The tree is one of humankind’s most potent symbols: a medium of thought through its possession of trunk, roots and branches, and because it serves as a habitat for other creatures. Further, a tree may stand as a living entity spanning many generations and therefore avails itself as a historical marker and social focus of events. The life of a tree lasting longer than human generations may provide an analogical resemblance between long lived trees and big families, and the life of a tree spanning from one generation to another facilitates trees being identified with the concept of stability and immortality. Trees as symbols often appear in life cycle rituals or are frequently seen deployed as images of growth and continuity as contrasted to images of change and destruction. The world tree, with its branches reaching up into the sky and roots deep into the earth, can be seen as an Axis Mundi, supporting the cosmos providing a link between the heavens, earth and underworld. Trees are significant in many mythologies and religions, have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. In several cultures, trees are inhabit by nature spirits, whose existence is connected to them; the deity of trees is enclosed in a tree, as the Hamadryads, Greek mythological nymphs born bonded to a certain tree; when the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it died as well.