Vahagn
| Vahagn Վահագն | |
|---|---|
| |
 | |
| Other names | Vahagn Vishapakagh |
| Gender | male |
| Ethnic group | Armenian |
| Festivals | Navasard |
| Consort | Astłik |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek equivalent | ApolloorHeracles |
VahagnorVahakn(Armenian:Վահագն), also known asVahagn Vishapakagh(Վահագն Վիշապաքաղ,'Vahagn theDragon-reaper'), is a warrior god inArmenian mythology.[1]Scholars consider him to be either the thunder, or sun and fire god of the pre-Christian Armenian pantheon, as well as the god of war, bravery and victory.[2][3]He formed a triad withAramazdandAnahit.[4]Vahagn is etymologically derived from*Varhraγn,theParthianname for theIndo-IraniangodVerethragna,although there are key differences between the two deities.[5]
Vahagn was worshipped at a tripartite temple complex together with his brideAstghikand the goddess Anahit in the district ofTaron,on the slopes of a mountain called Karke near the settlement ofAshtishat.[3][6][7]After Armenia came underHellenisticinfluence in antiquity, Vahagn was identified with theHellenicdeityHeracles,but also rarely withApollo.[1]
Name
[edit]ThetheonymVahagn is cognates withVerethragna,the name of the Indo-Iranian god of victory mentioned inAvesta,as well as theVedicVŗtrahan,the usual epithet of the thunder godIndra.[1]It was borrowed into Armenian fromParthian*Varhraγnand developed from the earlier form*Varhagn.[8]In the oldArmenian calendar,the twenty-seventh day of the month was called Vahagn.[3]Additionally, the planetMarswas calledAtraher( "fire-hair" ) by the ancient Armenians in reference to Vahagn.[3]Today,Vahagnis used as a male given name among Armenians.[9]
Historical attestations
[edit]
Vahagn is mentioned in a number of Classical Armenian written sources.[4]For example, in the history attributed toAgathangelos,Armenian kingTiridates IIIevokes the triad of Aramazd, Anahit and Vahagn in a greeting to his people: "May health and prosperity come to you by the help of the gods, rich fullness from manly Aramazd, providence from Anahit the Lady, and bravery come to you from brave Vahagn."[10]
HistorianMovses Khorenatsirefers to Vahagn as one of the sons ofTigranes(a mythologized composite figure of several Armenian kings in Khorenatsi's history) and records the following song about him:[11][8]
|
Original Classical Armenian Երկնէր երկին, երկնէր երկիր, |
Transliteration Erknēr erkin, erknēr erkir, |
English translation by Vyacheslav Ivanov Heaven was in labor, earth was in labor, |
Khorenatsi does not give the rest of the song, but states that it tells of how Vahagn fought and conqueredvishaps,which are thedragonsof Armenian mythology.[11]This attribute of Vahagn is the reason for his titlevishapakagh,meaning "reaper ofvishaps "or" dragon-reaper. "[1]
The 7th-century Armenian authorAnania Shirakatsirelates a myth where Vahagn steals some straw from Barsham (i.e.,Baalshamin) and drops it on his way back, creating theMilky Way.This is supposed to be the origin of one of the folk names of the Milky Way in Armenian,Hardagoghi chanaparh,literally "the way of the straw-thief."[12]
Temple
[edit]The chief temple of Vahagn atAshtishaton the slopes of Mount Karke was often called the Vahevanean or Vahevahean temple because its priests were members of theVahevunior Vahnuni noble house, who claimed descent from Vahagn.[3]Vahagn was worshipped jointly at the temple together with Anahit and Astghik.[3][6][7]According to Agathangelos, after KingTiridates III'sconversion to Christianity in the early fourth century, the first head of the Armenian ChurchGregory the Illuminatorwent to Ashtishat and destroyed the temple of Vahagn.[13][3]A church was constructed on the site of the destroyed temple, which became the first Mother See of theArmenian Church.[13][3]
Interpretations and comparative mythology
[edit]Georges Dumézilsaid that Vahagn seems closer to the Vedic Vŗtrahan Indra than the Avestan Verethragna, since the former is depicted as a dragon/serpent-slayer like Vahagn, while the latter is not.[14]Vahagn has frequently been regarded as a counterpart of Indra, but Armen Petrosyan considers the similarities between the two to be underlying Indo-European commonalities rather than the result of direct borrowing, since in that case the dissimilarity with Verethragna would be inexplicable.[1][15]PhilologistVyacheslav Ivanovconsidered the Song of Vahagn recorded by Khorenatsi to be "one of the striking examples ofIndo-Europeanpoetry. "[16]Ivanov says the myth of Vahagn contains several layers, including the later Iranian myth of Verethragna and an earlier Indo-European layer of a god persecuting the enemy.[17]Armen Petrosyan says Vahagn is a pre-Iranian Armenian god who took on an Iranian name, rather than a complete borrowing.[16]Petrosyan has also drawn parallels between Vahagn and the Vedic fire deityAgni,based on similarities in the accounts of their birth.[1]Vahagn may have acquired his attribute of dragon-slayer from the Hurro-Urartian deityTeshub.[18]
Vahagn was identified withHeraclesduring theHellenistic period.[7]In the 5th-century Armenian translation of the Bible, Vahagn is used to translate Heracles in2 Maccabees4:19, while Khorenatsi states that the song of Vahagn tells of heroic deeds reminiscent of Heracles.[19]More rarely, he was identified with the sun godApollo.[1]John the Baptisthas been called the "Christian heir of Vahagn's character," as a church dedicated to him was built near the demolished temple of Vahagn.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefghPetrosyan 2007,p. 6.
- ^Petrosyan 2002,p. 36.
- ^abcdefghKatvalyan 1985.
- ^abRussell 1987,p. 192.
- ^Petrosyan 2002,p. 35.
- ^abPetrosyan 2007,pp. 6–7.
- ^abcPetrosyan 2018,p. 207.
- ^abIvanov 2011,p. 8.
- ^"Վահագն".anun.am(in Armenian).Retrieved24 January2023.
- ^Petrosyan 2018,p. 206.
- ^abThomson 1978,p. 123.
- ^Abegi͡an 1948,p. 32.
- ^abRussell 1987,pp. 192–193.
- ^Dumézil 1970,p. 123.
- ^Petrosyan 2018,pp. 211–212.
- ^abPetrosyan 2018,p. 211.
- ^Ivanov 2011,p. 9.
- ^Russell 1986.
- ^Russell 1987,p. 196.
Bibliography
[edit]- Abegi͡an, Manuk(1948).Istorii͡a drevnearmi͡anskoĭ literatury[History of Old Armenian Literature] (in Russian). Erevan:Izd.-vo Akedemii nauk Arm. SSR.
- Dumézil, George(1970).The Destiny of the Warrior.Translated by Hiltebeitel, Alf. University of Chicago Press.
- Ivanov, Vyacheslav(2011)."A Probable Structure of a Protoform of the Ancient Armenian Song of Vahagn"(PDF).Aramazd: Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies.6:7–23.ISSN1829-1376.
- Katvalyan, M. (1985)."Vahagn".In Hambardzumyan, Viktor (ed.).Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia(in Armenian). Vol. 11. Yerevan. p. 242.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Thomson, Robert W.(1978).Moses Khorenatsʻi,History of the Armenians.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.ISBN0-674-39571-9.
- Petrosyan, Armen (2018)."From Armenian Demonology: the K'ajs".Journal of Indo-European Studies.46:206–218.ISSN0092-2323.
- Petrosyan, Armen (2007)."State Pantheon of Greater Armenia: Earliest Sources".Aramazd: Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies.2:174–201.ISSN1829-1376.
- Petrosyan, Armen (2002).The Indo‑european and Ancient Near Eastern Sources of the Armenian Epic.Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study of Man.ISBN9780941694810.
- Russell, James R. (1987).Zoroastrianism in Armenia.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.ISBN0-674-96850-6.
- Russell, J. R. (1986)."Armenia and Iran iii. Armenian Religion".InYarshater, Ehsan(ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/4: Architecture IV–Armenia and Iran IV.London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 438–434.ISBN978-0-71009-104-8.
Further reading
[edit]
- A History of Armenia(Armenian Mythology) by Vahan M. Kurk gian. Published by the Armenian General Benevolent Union of America 1958/YR.
