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{{for|the Armenian pianist|Anahit Nersesyan}}
{{Short description|Armenian Goddess}}
{{Other uses}}
[[Image:Anahit.png|left|150px|thumb| A cast bronze head (2nd/1st century BC, or mid-4th century BC), larger than life-size, once belonging to a statue. It was found in the 19th century near Satala, located close to the Armenian district of Yerznka. It is usually interpreted as representing either Anahit or Aphrodite. Now held in the [[British Museum]]. ]]
{{More footnotes needed|date=August 2010}}
'''Anahit''' was the goddess of fertility and birth (analog to Aphrodite), beauty and water in [[Armenia|Armenian]] mythology. In early periods she was the goddess of war. By the 1st century BC she was the main deity in Armenia along with [[Mithras]].
{{Infobox deity
| type = Armenian
| name = Anahit<br>{{nobold|Անահիտ}}
| god_of = {{unbulleted list|Golden Mother|Mother of all chastity|Goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom and water}}
| member_of =
| image = 51 BritMus N 1873,0820.1 AN00034682 001 l msh.jpg
| alt = <!-- for alternate text of the title image per [[WP:ALT]] -->
| caption = Bronze head of [[Satala Aphrodite]] (believed to be Anahit)
| other_names =
| hiro =
| Old_Norse =
| script_name =
| script =
| affiliation = <!-- or | associate = -->
| cult_center = [[Erzincan|Erznka]]
| abode = <!-- or | abodes = -->
| planet = <!-- or | world = -->
| mantra =
| mantra benefits =
| weapon = <!-- or | weapons = -->
| battles =
| artifacts = <!-- or | artefacts = -->
| animals =
| symbol = <!-- or | symbols = -->
| adherents =
| height =
| age =
| tree =
| day =
| color = <!-- or | colour = -->
| number =
| consort = <!-- or | consorts = -->
| parents = [[Aramazd]]
| siblings = [[Vahagn]], [[Nane (goddess)|Nane]] and [[Mihr (Armenian deity)|Mihr]]
| offspring = <!-- or | children = -->
| predecessor =
| successor =
| army =
| mount =
| texts =
| gender = female
| Greek_equivalent = [[Aphrodite]] or [[Artemis]]
| Roman_equivalent = [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]
| Etruscan_equivalent = [[Artume]]
| Christian_equivalent =
| Slavic_equivalent =
| Hinduism_equivalent =
| Canaanite_equivalent =
| equivalent1_type =
| equivalent1 =
| equivalent2_type =
| equivalent2 =
| region =
| ethnic_group = [[Armenians|Armenian]]
| festivals = [[Navasard]]
| nirvana =
}}


'''Anahit''' ({{langx|hy|[[wikt:Անահիտ|Անահիտ]]}}) was the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in [[Armenian mythology]].<ref>{{cite book
The historian [[Berossus]] identifies Anahit with [[Aphrodite]], while medieval Armenian scribes identify her with [[Artemis]]. According to [[Strabo]], Anahit's worship was dedicated to prostitution, while king [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Trdat]] extolls the: ''great Lady Anahit, the glory of our nation and vivifier . . .; mother of all chastity, and issue of the great and valiant [[Aramazd]].'' Anahit-worship was established in [[Eriza]], [[Armavir, Armenia|Armenia]], [[Artashat]] and [[Ashtishat]]. A mountain in [[Sophene]] district was known as Anahit's throne (''Athor Anahta''). The entire district of Eriza, the Akilisene (Ekeghiats), was called ''Anahtakan Gavar''.
|title= The heritage of Armenian literature
[[Image:Anahitcoin.jpg|left|thumb|Commemorative coin issued by the Central Bank of Armenia devoted to Goddess Anahit]]The temple of Eriza was the wealthiest and the noblest in Armenia, according to [[Plutarch]]. During the expedition of [[Mark Antony]] in Armenia, the statue was broken to pieces by the Roman soldiers. [[Pliny the Elder]] gives us the following story about it: The Emperor [[Augustus]], being invited to dinner by one of his generals, asked him if it were true that the wreckers of Anahit's statue had been punished by the wrathful goddess. ''No!'' answered the general, ''on the contrary, I have to‑day the good fortune of treating you with one part of the hip of that gold statue.'' The Armenians erected a new golden statue of Anahit in Eriza, which was worshiped before the time of [[Gregory the Illuminator|St. Gregory Illuminator]]. Religious prostitution, if it had existed at some previous period, seems to have been suppressed before that date. The annual festivity of the month [[Navasard]], held in honor of Anahit, was the occasion of great gatherings, attended with dance, music, recitals, competitions, etc. The sick went to the temples in pilgrimage, asking for recovery. The symbol of ancient heathen Armenian medicine was the head of the bronze gilded statue of the goddess Anahit, which is currently in the [[British Museum]].
|author1= Agop Jack Hacikyan
|author2= Gabriel Basmajian
==See also==
|author3= Edward S. Franchuk
|author4= Nourhan Ouzounian
|year= 2000
|publisher= Wayne State University Press
|isbn= 978-0814328156
|page= [https://archive.org/details/heritageofarmeni00ajha/page/67 67]
|url= https://archive.org/details/heritageofarmeni00ajha
|url-access= registration
|access-date=2016-10-18
}}</ref> In early periods she was the goddess of war. By the 5th century BCE she was the main deity in Armenia along with [[Aramazd]].<ref name="GroupedRef1">{{cite book
|title= Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics: Algonquins-Art
|last =Hastings
|first= James
|year= 2001
|publisher= Elibron Classics
|isbn= 978-1-4021-9433-7
|page= 797
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NyzDrkPG2nIC&q=Anahit&pg=PA797
|access-date=2010-12-19
}}</ref> The Armenian goddess Anahit is related to the similar [[Persian mythology|Iranian]] goddess [[Anahita]]. Anahit's worship, most likely borrowed from the Iranians during the [[Medes|Median]] invasion or the early [[Achaemenid]] period, was of paramount significance in Armenia. [[Artaxias I]] erected statues of Anahit, and promulgated orders to worship them.<ref name="Boyce_1983_1003">{{harvnb|Boyce|1983|p=1003}}.</ref>

== Armenian Anahit and Persian Anahita ==
According to Strabo, the "Armenians shared in the religion of the Perses and the Medes and particularly honored Anaitis".<ref name="strabo11"/> The kings of [[Armenia]] were "steadfast supporters of the cult"<ref name="Boyce_1983_1007">{{harvnb|Boyce|1983|p=1007}}.</ref> and [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridates III]], before his conversion to Christianity, "prayed officially to the triad [[Aramazd]]-Anahit-[[Vahagn]] but is said to have shown a special devotion to 'the great lady Anahit, ... the benefactress of the whole human race, mother of all knowledge, daughter of the great Aramazd{{' "}}<ref name="Boyce_1983_1007_Agathangelos">{{harvnb|Boyce|1983|p=1007}} Cit. [[Agathangelos]] 22.</ref> According to [[Agathangelos]], tradition required the Kings of Armenia to travel once a year to the temple at Eriza (Erez) in [[Acilisene]] in order to celebrate the festival of the divinity; Tiridates made this journey in the first year of his reign where he offered sacrifice and wreaths and boughs.<ref>[[Agathangelos]] 21.</ref> The temple at Eriza appears to have been particularly famous, "the wealthiest and most venerable in Armenia",<ref>Cicero, ''[no title]'' 9.23.</ref> staffed with priests and priestesses, the latter from eminent families who would serve at the temple before marrying.<ref name="strabo11"/> This practice may again reveal Semitic syncretic influences,<ref name="Boyce_1983_1007"/> and is not otherwise attested in other areas. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] reports that [[Mark Antony]]'s soldiers smashed an enormous statue of the divinity made of solid gold and then divided the pieces amongst themselves.<ref name="plin33">[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-eng1:33.24 XXXIII.24].</ref> Also according to Pliny, supported by [[Dio Cassius]], Acilisene eventually came to be known as Anaïtica.<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Naturalis Historia'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-eng1:5.20 V.20].</ref><ref>[[Cassius Dio]], ''Historia Romana'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/36*.html XXXVI.48.1]</ref> Dio Cassius also mentions that another region along the Cyrus River, on the borders of [[Caucasian Albania|Albania]] and [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]], was also called "the land of Anaïtis."<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Historia Romana'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/36*.html XXXVI.53.5]. Dio calls the river "Cyrnus" rather than "Cyrus".</ref>

== Temples dedicated to Anahit ==
In Armenia, worship of Anahit was established in [[Erzincan|Erez]], [[Armavir, Armenia|Armavir]], [[Artashat (ancient city)|Artashat]] and [[Ashtishat]].<ref name="GroupedRef1" /> A mountain in the [[Sophene]] district was known as Anahit's throne (''Athor Anahta''). The entire district of Erez, in the province of Akilisene (Ekeghiats), was called ''Anahtakan Gavar''.<ref name="GroupedRef1" />

According to [[Plutarch]], the temple of Erez was the wealthiest and the noblest in Armenia. During the expedition of [[Mark Antony]] in Armenia, the statue was broken to pieces by the Roman soldiers. [[Pliny the Elder]] gives us the following story about it: Emperor [[Augustus]], being invited to dinner by one of his generals, asked him if it were true that the wreckers of Anahit's statue had been punished by the wrathful goddess. "No!" answered the general, "on the contrary, I have today the good fortune of treating you with one part of the hip of that gold statue."<ref name="plin33" /> The Armenians erected a new golden statue of Anahit in Erez, which was worshiped before the time of [[Gregory the Illuminator|St. Gregory Illuminator]].

The annual festivity of the month [[Navasard]], held in honor of Anahit, was the occasion of great gatherings, attended with dance, music, recitals, competitions, etc. The sick went to the temples in pilgrimage, asking for recovery. The symbol of ancient Armenian medicine was the head of the bronze gilded statue of the goddess Anahit.<ref name="GroupedRef1" /><gallery>
File:Anahit godness temple ruins in Armenian Ancient capital Armavir - panoramio.jpg
File:Armenian godness Anahit's temple in Ancient Armenian capital Armavir - panoramio.jpg
File:Ruins of temple of Armenian godness Anahit in the ancient capital Armavir - panoramio.jpg|Ruins of the temple of Anahit in [[Armavir, Armenia|Armavir]]
</gallery>

== Historians' accounts of Anahit ==
<gallery>
File:Anahitcoin.jpg|Commemorative coin issued by the Central Bank of Armenia devoted to Goddess Anahit
File:5000 Armenian dram - 1995 (reverse).png|5000 [[Armenian Dram]]
File:Anahit Stamp.jpg|Anahit in Stamp of Armenia, 2007
File:Anahit head copy Armenia.jpg|Copy of [[Satala Aphrodite]] in [[History Museum of Armenia]]
File:Anahit, 1964.jpg|Anahit sculpture by [[Hagop Ishkanian]]
</gallery>
According to [[Agathangelos]], King [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Trdat]] extolls the "great Lady Anahit, the glory of our nation and vivifier ...; mother of all chastity, and issue of the great and valiant [[Aramazd]]." The historian [[Berossus]] identifies Anahit with [[Aphrodite]], while medieval Armenian scribes identify her with [[Artemis]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} According to [[Strabo]], Anahit's worship included rituals of [[sacred prostitution]],<ref name="strabo11">Strabo, ''Geography'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/11N*.html XI.14.16]</ref> but later Christian writers do not mention such a custom.<ref>{{cite book
|title= Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics: Algonquins-Art
|last =Hastings
|first= James
|year= 2001
|publisher= Elibron Classics
|isbn= 978-1-4021-9433-7
|page= 797
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NyzDrkPG2nIC&q=Anahit&pg=PA797
|access-date=2010-12-19}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Satala Aphrodite]]
*[[Anahita]]
*[[Anahita]]
*[[Aramazd]]
*[[Aramazd]]
*[[Astghik]]
*[[Astghik]]
*[[Vahagn]]
*[[Vahagn]]
*[[Haik]]
*[[Hayk]]
*[[Anat]]
*[[Sarpanit]]


== References ==
{{Reflist}}


== Bibliography ==
==External links and references==
* {{Citation |last1=Boyce |first1=Mary |chapter=Anāhīd |title=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=1 |year=1983 |location=New York |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |pages=1003–1009}}
*[http://www.vahagnitsnunde.com/pages/vahagni_tsnunde_vishapakax___vahagnitsnunde.compag.html]Vahagni Tsnunde Vishapakax
*{{cite book|title=The Indo‑european and Ancient Near Eastern Sources of the Armenian Epic|url=https://www.academia.edu/3656244|first=Armen|last=Petrosyan|publisher=Washington, D.C. : Institute for the Study of Man|year=2002|isbn=9780941694810}}
*[http://www.tacentral.com/mythology.asp] Armenian Mythology from the Tour Armenia site.
*{{cite journal|first=Armen|last=Petrosyan|year= 2007|title=State Pantheon of Greater Armenia: Earliest Sources|journal=Aramazd: Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume= 2|pages=174–201|issn=1829-1376}}
*[http://www.armenianhistory.info] Armenian History site.
*{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/berichteberdiev39klasgoog/page/n141/mode/2up|first=Heiner|last=Gelzer|year=1896|title=Zur armenischen Götterlehre|journal=Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Königlich Sächsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig|pages=99–148|oclc=665221528}}


== Further reading ==
*This article incorporates text from [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/home.html ''History of Armenia''] by [[Vahan Kurkjian|Vahan&nbsp;M. Kurkjian]], a publication in the [[public domain]].
* {{cite journal |last=Cereti |first=Carlo G. |title=Armenia and Iran: Anāhitā's Worship in the Caucasus |journal=[[Iran and the Caucasus]] |volume=27 |issue=4–5 |date=2023 |pages=337–347 |doi=10.1163/1573384X-02704002}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=460418&partId=1&searchText=Aphrodite+head+Satala&page=1 Bronze head of a goddess in the British Museum]

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Armenian mythology]]
[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Armenian goddesses]]
[[Category:Armenian goddesses]]
[[Category:Childhood goddesses]]
[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Health deities]]
[[Category:Health goddesses]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]
[[Category:Armenian feminine given names]]
[[Category:Water goddesses]]
[[Category:Wisdom goddesses]]

[[Category:Mother goddesses]]
[[fr:Anahit]]
[[Category:Anahita]]
[[hy:Անահիտ]]
[[Category:Sacred prostitution]]

Latest revision as of 22:30, 7 December 2024

For other uses, see Anahit (disambiguation).
Anahit
Անահիտ
  • Golden Mother
  • Mother of all chastity
  • Goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom and water
Bronze head of Satala Aphrodite (believed to be Anahit)
Major cult centerErznka
Genderfemale
Ethnic groupArmenian
FestivalsNavasard
Genealogy
ParentsAramazd
SiblingsVahagn, Nane and Mihr
Equivalents
EtruscanArtume
GreekAphrodite or Artemis
RomanDiana

Anahit (Armenian: Անահիտ) was the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology.[1] In early periods she was the goddess of war. By the 5th century BCE she was the main deity in Armenia along with Aramazd.[2] The Armenian goddess Anahit is related to the similar Iranian goddess Anahita. Anahit's worship, most likely borrowed from the Iranians during the Median invasion or the early Achaemenid period, was of paramount significance in Armenia. Artaxias I erected statues of Anahit, and promulgated orders to worship them.[3]

Armenian Anahit and Persian Anahita

[edit]

According to Strabo, the "Armenians shared in the religion of the Perses and the Medes and particularly honored Anaitis".[4] The kings of Armenia were "steadfast supporters of the cult"[5] and Tiridates III, before his conversion to Christianity, "prayed officially to the triad Aramazd-Anahit-Vahagn but is said to have shown a special devotion to 'the great lady Anahit, ... the benefactress of the whole human race, mother of all knowledge, daughter of the great Aramazd'"[6] According to Agathangelos, tradition required the Kings of Armenia to travel once a year to the temple at Eriza (Erez) in Acilisene in order to celebrate the festival of the divinity; Tiridates made this journey in the first year of his reign where he offered sacrifice and wreaths and boughs.[7] The temple at Eriza appears to have been particularly famous, "the wealthiest and most venerable in Armenia",[8] staffed with priests and priestesses, the latter from eminent families who would serve at the temple before marrying.[4] This practice may again reveal Semitic syncretic influences,[5] and is not otherwise attested in other areas. Pliny reports that Mark Antony's soldiers smashed an enormous statue of the divinity made of solid gold and then divided the pieces amongst themselves.[9] Also according to Pliny, supported by Dio Cassius, Acilisene eventually came to be known as Anaïtica.[10][11] Dio Cassius also mentions that another region along the Cyrus River, on the borders of Albania and Iberia, was also called "the land of Anaïtis."[12]

Temples dedicated to Anahit

[edit]

In Armenia, worship of Anahit was established in Erez, Armavir, Artashat and Ashtishat.[2] A mountain in the Sophene district was known as Anahit's throne (Athor Anahta). The entire district of Erez, in the province of Akilisene (Ekeghiats), was called Anahtakan Gavar.[2]

According to Plutarch, the temple of Erez was the wealthiest and the noblest in Armenia. During the expedition of Mark Antony in Armenia, the statue was broken to pieces by the Roman soldiers. Pliny the Elder gives us the following story about it: Emperor Augustus, being invited to dinner by one of his generals, asked him if it were true that the wreckers of Anahit's statue had been punished by the wrathful goddess. "No!" answered the general, "on the contrary, I have today the good fortune of treating you with one part of the hip of that gold statue."[9] The Armenians erected a new golden statue of Anahit in Erez, which was worshiped before the time of St. Gregory Illuminator.

The annual festivity of the month Navasard, held in honor of Anahit, was the occasion of great gatherings, attended with dance, music, recitals, competitions, etc. The sick went to the temples in pilgrimage, asking for recovery. The symbol of ancient Armenian medicine was the head of the bronze gilded statue of the goddess Anahit.[2]

  • Ruins of the temple of Anahit in Armavir
    Ruins of the temple of Anahit in Armavir

Historians' accounts of Anahit

[edit]

According to Agathangelos, King Trdat extolls the "great Lady Anahit, the glory of our nation and vivifier ...; mother of all chastity, and issue of the great and valiant Aramazd." The historian Berossus identifies Anahit with Aphrodite, while medieval Armenian scribes identify her with Artemis.[citation needed] According to Strabo, Anahit's worship included rituals of sacred prostitution,[4] but later Christian writers do not mention such a custom.[13]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Agop Jack Hacikyan; Gabriel Basmajian; Edward S. Franchuk; Nourhan Ouzounian (2000). The heritage of Armenian literature. Wayne State University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0814328156. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  2. ^ a b c d Hastings, James (2001). Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics: Algonquins-Art. Elibron Classics. p. 797. ISBN 978-1-4021-9433-7. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  3. ^ Boyce 1983, p. 1003.
  4. ^ a b c Strabo, Geography XI.14.16
  5. ^ a b Boyce 1983, p. 1007.
  6. ^ Boyce 1983, p. 1007 Cit. Agathangelos 22.
  7. ^ Agathangelos 21.
  8. ^ Cicero, [no title] 9.23.
  9. ^ a b Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia XXXIII.24.
  10. ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia V.20.
  11. ^ Cassius Dio, Historia Romana XXXVI.48.1
  12. ^ Cassius Dio, Historia Romana XXXVI.53.5. Dio calls the river "Cyrnus" rather than "Cyrus".
  13. ^ Hastings, James (2001). Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics: Algonquins-Art. Elibron Classics. p. 797. ISBN 978-1-4021-9433-7. Retrieved 2010-12-19.

Bibliography

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
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