Aramazd

Aramazd was the chief and creator god in pre-Christian Armenian mythology.[1][2] The deity and his name were derived from the Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda after the Median conquest of Armenia in the 6th century BCE.[3] Aramazd was regarded as a generous god of fertility, rain, and abundance, as well as the father of the other gods, including Anahit, Mihr, and Nane.[1][2] Like Ahura Mazda, Aramazd was seen as the father of the other gods, rarely with a wife, though sometimes husband to Anahit or Spandaramet.[2] Aramazd was the Parthian form of Ahura Mazda.[4]

For the Zoroastrian deity, see Ahura Mazda.

Identification with other deities

Aramazd was readily identified with Zeus through interpretatio Graeca, the two often sharing specific titles regarding greatness, bravery, or strength. There was some disagreement in scholarship as to the relationship between Aramazd, Amanor, and Vanatur, but the evidence most strongly indicates that Vanatur ("Lord of the Van") was a title for the chief deity (be it Ḫaldi or Ahura Mazda/Aramazd, though recorded uses are only as a title for Aramazd), and that Amanor was both a common noun referring the new year and a title for the deity whose celebration was held on the new year (Vanatur, whether Ḫaldi or Aramazd).[2]

See also

Bibliography
  • Petrosyan, Armen (2002). The Indo‑european and Ancient Near Eastern Sources of the Armenian Epic. Washington, D.C. : Institute for the Study of Man. ISBN 9780941694810.
  • Petrosyan, Armen (2007). "State Pantheon of Greater Armenia: Earliest Sources". Aramazd : Armenian journal of Near Eastern studies. 2: 174–201. ISSN 1829-1376.

References
  1. "Aramazd" in Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition, by Anthony Mercanante and James Dow, Infobase, 2009. p. 96.
  2. "Armenia (Vannic)" by A. H. Sayce, pp. 793-4; and "Armenia (Zoroastrian)", by M(ardiros). H. Ananikian, pp. 794-802; both in Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, ed. James Hastings, vol. 1, 1908.
  3. Leeming, David (2005). "Armenian Mythology". The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. 29.
  4. Mary Boyce. Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Psychology Press, 2001 ISBN 0415239028 p 84


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