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CHAPTER II
CHIEF DEITIES
STRABO, the celebrated Greek traveller of the first century
of our era, in his notice of the Anahit worship at Erez
that "both the Medes and the Armenians
(or Eriza), says
honour all things sacred to the Persians, but above everything
Armenians honour Anahit."
An official (or priestly) reorganization of the national
pantheon must have been attempted about the beginning of
the Christian era. Agathangelos tells us plainly that King
Khosrau, on his return from successful incursions into Sassanian
lands,
" commanded to seek the seven great altars of
Armenia, and honoured (with all sorts of sacrifices and
ritual pomp) the sanctuaries of his ancestors, the Arsacids."
These sanctuaries were the principal temples of the seven
chief deities wHose names are: Aramazd, Anahit, Tiur, Mihr,
Baal-Shamin (pronounced by the Armenians Barshamina),
Nane, and AstXik. It is possible that these gods and god
desses were all patrons (genii) of the seven planets. 1
If
so, then Aramazd was probably the lord of Jupiter, Tiur
corresponded to Mercury, Baal-Shamin or Mihr to the sun,
AstXik to Venus, now called Arusyak,
"
the little bride." The
moon may have been 2
adjudged to Anahit or Nane. To these
seven state deities, was soon added the worship of the very
popular Vahagn, as the eighth, but he was in reality a native
rival of Baal-Shamin and Mihr. We may add that there was
a widely spread worship of the sun, moon, and stars as such,
and perhaps a certain recognition of Spentaramet and Zatik.