As many have previously stated there are strong links between the origins of Robin Hood and the Green Man, who is also the ancient Egyptian god Osiris and the Greek-Roman god Dionysus/Bacchus, and so we should hope to find something of interest in the many stories surrounding this enigmatic character. Robin’s link with the ‘Horned God’ is also telling as he is Lord and Master over the human ‘animals’ of the Forest and they are guardians of their stolen treasure, like the hoarding, serpent Nagas of Hinduism. They do good deeds for those who deserve them and dastardly deeds to those who do not. Doel, Fran; Doel, Geoff (2013). "The spirit in the tree". The Green Man in Britain. Cheltenham, England: The History Press. ISBN 978-0750953139. From the Renaissance onward, elaborate variations on the Green Man theme, often with animal heads rather than human faces, appear in many media other than carvings (including manuscripts, metalwork, bookplates, and stained glass). They seem to have been used for purely decorative effect rather than reflecting any deeply held belief.

Others include Jane Brideson, Australian artist Marjorie Bussey, American artist Monica Richards, and English fantasy artist Peter Pracownik, whose artwork has appeared in several media, including full-body tattoos. [10] Robin falls in love with his lady of the waters or Queen of Heaven (a title also given to Isis the sister/wife of Osiris and also a title given to Guinevere) later to be known as the Maid Marion (Marion/Mary coming from Mer = Sea/water/wisdom) and in many ways is undermining the new Christian world that forced itself upon this ancient mixture of paganism. Not to be confused with Wild man. A foliate head in the shape of an acanthus leaf: a corbel supporting the Bamberg Horseman, Bamberg Cathedral, Germany, early 13th century

Centerwall, Brandon S. (January 1997). "The Name of the Green Man". Folklore. 108 (1–2): 25–33. doi: 10.1080/0015587X.1997.9715933. ISSN 0015-587X. The Green Man is believed to symbolise the cycle of life, death and re-birth. The symbol of Godhood within the male and its relationship with the transcendent life force our Goddess, the female expression of divinity. He is a Pagan symbol who heralds Spring after a long winter and the renewal of lush vegetation. Bramwell, Peter (2009). Pagan Themes in Modern Children's Fiction: Green Man, Shamanism, Earth Mysteries. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-21839-0. The tradition of the Green Man carved onto Christian churches is found across Europe, including examples such as the Seven Green Men of Nicosia carved into the facade of the thirteenth century St Nicholas Church in Cyprus.

Usually referred to in art history as foliate heads or foliate masks, representations of the Green Man take many forms, but most just show a "mask" or frontal depiction of a face, which in architecture is usually in relief. The simplest depict a man's face peering out of dense foliage. Some may have leaves for hair, perhaps with a leafy beard. Often leaves or leafy shoots are shown growing from his open mouth and sometimes even from the nose and eyes as well. In the most abstract examples, the carving at first glance appears to be merely stylised foliage, with the facial element only becoming apparent on closer examination. The face is almost always male; green women are rare. Lady Raglan coined the term "Green Man" for this type of architectural feature in her 1939 article The Green Man in Church Architecture in The Folklore Journal. [5] It is thought that her interest stemmed from carvings at St. Jerome's Church in Llangwm, Monmouthshire. [6] A late 4th-century example of a green man disgorging vegetation from his mouth is at St. Abre, in St. Hilaire-le-grand, France. [12]

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American artist Rob Juszak took the theme of the Green Man as Earth's spiritual protector and turned it into a vision of the Green Man cradling the planet; Dorothy Bowen created a kimono silk painting, titled Greenwoman, as an expression of the feminine aspect of the legend. [10] The Green Man image made a resurgence in modern times, with artists from around the world interweaving the imagery into various modes of work. [10] English artist Paul Sivell created the Whitefield Green Man, a wood carving in a dead section of a living oak tree; David Eveleigh, an English garden designer created the Penpont Green Man Millennium Maze, in Powys, Wales ( as of 2006 the largest depiction of a Green Man image in the world); Zambian sculptor Toin Adams created the 12m-tall Green Man in Birmingham, UK as of 2006 the largest free-standing sculpture of the Green Man in the world; and sculptor M. J. Anderson created the marble sculpture titled Green Man as Original Coastal Aboriginal Man of All Time from Whence the Bush and All of Nature Sprouts from his Fingers. There are elements of the Robin Hood myth that relate to other legends. The ‘tree of life’ is seen as ‘Robin’s Larder Tree,’ supplying all that could be required like the ‘Horn of Plenty’ or the ‘cauldron’ of Celtic folklore. Etymologically Robin comes from the Norman ‘Robert,’ a form of the Germanic Hrodebert and it originally meant ‘famous’ or ‘bright’ or even and more pertinently ‘to shine.’ This is and has always been an indication of one who has achieved illumination or enlightenment.