Eden

**Eden**, also known as the **Garden of Eden**, was a prominent location in the *Divine Comedy*.

It was a paradise that overlapped between the Earth and Heaven created by God and intended as a home for the original humans, Adam, Lilith, and later Eve.

## Description

Eden, in every conceivable manner, existed as a veritable utopia. Animals felt no urge to feed on flesh, instead living a vegetarian lifestyle and consuming the richest fruits and vegetables in the garden. It is said that any material within Eden is so pure, completely devoid of sin and is unspoiled that a simple stick plucked from there can expel any traces of evil from a human's soul.

The garden of Eden is said to encircle the foot of the Tree of Life and acts as a small enclosure of sorts for the first humans in order for them not to wander too far off. Four rivers flow within the confines of Eden, trailing down from the canopy of the Tree of Life in four cardinal directions, with these rivers originating from the morning dew produced by the Stags of the Four Seasons as they eat from the Tree of Life's foliage. These rivers are the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Gihon and the Pishon with these rivers being said to represent honey, milk, balsam, and wine.

## History

### Background

God fashioned Eden as a dwelling place for the first humans which would be Adam and Lilith. It was designed to be a paradise that overlapped between Heaven and Earth as a symbol of paradise and a sanctuary from evil. The garden of Eden was described by Lucifer as a terrarium for his Father's favorite pets. Adam and Lilith were placed in this terrarium, exploring and basking in the beauty of the garden to their heart's content. They were also permitted to eat the golden fruits from the Tree of Life which was served to them by the Chalkydri but were to strictly follow one simple rule: **not go near the Tree of Knowledge**.

However, when Lilith would refuse to submit to Adam's advances during sexual intercourse she left the garden and her former mate. God would then opt to ease Adam's loneliness by creating a new wife for him. Unfortunately for all involved, Adam was horrified by the development process which involved the placement of bone, tissue, muscles, organs, and the like. Adam was so horrified in fact that he fainted which she perceived as a brutal rejection, greatly upsetting and humiliating her; at the time she had no name as God didn't give her one after He finished. His second wife immediately left Eden.

While Adam was knocked out, God took out one of his ribs and fashioned his third companion from it with the same primordial matter that he was created from, Eve. The alternatives regarding Plan C consisted of three other potential wives: Naamah, Agrat, and Eisheth. After waking up, Adam was elated upon seeing his new wives and unable to choose one or two he instead picked all of them. Eve was the only one who accepted whilst the other three left them. Adam and Eve remained in Eden together for well over a hundred or so years. To keep them occupied and not have them go near the Tree of Knowledge, God instructed them with giving names to every plant and animal in Eden.

### Adam and Eve's Fall

Their marriage, however, would only slowly deteriorate as Eve would continue to get into more disagreements and arguments with Adam until eventually they separated once again and went to different parts of the Garden. While she was resting beneath, she was surprised by an owl not just approaching her but also speaking to her unaware that it was actually Lilith in disguise. Taken aback by this at first she found herself having a rather friendly and light-hearted conversation with owl, talking about Adam's suffocating presence and the nature of how things operate in this newly born world.

Lilith led her sister to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil where all her questions will be answered when she gets the bigger picture of things. Eve stumbled down a steep incline where she encountered the Tree of Knowledge. She did not know what to expect until she was met by a talking snake who startled her so much she threw several fruits at him until he managed to calm her down saying that he is a friend of the talking owl and that they both became like this from the "magic fruit". Convinced, Eve took the fruit and when she saw Adam approaching she convinced him to eat this fruit despite being told not to in the beginning.

In the wake of this act, both Adam and Eve gained self-awareness, their newfound consciousness tainted by a maelstrom of negative emotions: lust, fear, and overwhelming shame, primarily triggered by their newfound awareness of their nakedness. Their disobedience against God had tainted Eden with an eternal sin, an act for which they would pay dearly. As punishment, they were cast out from Eden, banished to the now-cursed Earth with Tree of Knowledge being expelled from Eden and down to Limbo. Eden would be separated from Earth as well to where its gates would be guarded by Cherubim to prevent Adam and Eve's sinful descendants from reaching it.

## Trivia

* It is named after the biblical Garden of Eden described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.
* Despite having separated Eden from Earth the two are still instriciacbly linked and can still be accessed but finding the garden is a nigh-impossible task.
	+ Scholars working for the Men in Black believe it is located in a far western corner of the world, near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling the world ocean.
* Even though Eden is currently vacant, it is still tended to by the Hesperides.
* According to Erytheia, one of the Hesperides, the Garden of Eden was also intended as a gift for Goddess as God knows how much She enjoys gardening.