Note 9 — Chapter X · The Mother-goddess of China and Japan

This mythical tree figures in many ancient mythologies. The goddess Europa was worshipped at Gortyna, in Crete, during the Hellenic period, as a sacred tree.9 The tree may be traced from the British Isles to India, and there are numerous legends of spirits entering or leaving it. The Polynesians have stories of this kind. Their Tree of Life was the local bread-fruit tree which “became a god”, or, as some had it, a goddess. “Out of this magic bread-fruit tree,” a legend says, “a great goddess was made.”10