Aramazd

For the Zoroastrian deity, see Ahura Mazda.

Aramazd was the chief and creator god in pre-Christian Armenian mythology, cognate with Ahura Mazda.[1] [2][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.[3][1] Like Ahura Mazda, Aramazd was seen as the father of the other gods, rarely with a wife, though sometimes husband to Anahit or Spandaramet.[3]

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).[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Aramazd" in Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition, by Anthony Mercanante and James Dow, Infobase, 2009. p.96
  2. ↑ "Armenian Mythology" in The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, by David Leeming, Oxford University Press, 17 Nov 2005, p.29
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Armenia (Vannic)" by A.H. Sayce, p.793-4; "Armenia (Zoroastrian)", by M(ardiros). H. Ananikian, p.794-802; in Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, ed. James Hastings, vol. 1, 1908