Zoroastrianism Armenia

CAPTIVE POWERS:
CHAPTER 13
APOCALYPTIC AND
ES CHATOLOGICAL LEGENDS
The legend e x is ts in v ario u s c u ltu re s around th e w orld o f a king
o r hero confined to a cave o r mountain u n t i l an a p o c a ly p tic event when
he is re le a s e d .
In w estern Europe, fo r exam ple, th e re is th e legend o f
F red erick B arb aro ssa, th e German king who was drowned in C ilic ia n Armenia
d uring th e T hird C rusade, la t e in th e tw e lfth c e n tu ry , hut who is
h e lie v e d to be w a itin g in a cave in th e K yffhäuser m ountain in T huringia
fo r th e re u n ific a tio n o f Germany.
There is a p o p u lar Greek s u p e r s titio n
th a t A lexander th e Great s t i l l 'liv e s and r e ig n s ' (see Ch. l^t).
We have
alread y d iscu ssed th e Ira n ia n leg en d o f th e im prisonm ent o f Azi Dahaka
in Mount Damavand by th e hero T hraetaona and i t s tre a tm e n t in Armenian
ep ic t r a d i t i o n , where th e m onster o f th e A vesta i s v a rio u sly id e n tif ie d
as fo reig n ty ra n t o r h eresiarch.'* '
I t was seen a ls o how in Armenian
fo lk lo re th e Z o ro astrian y a z a ta M ithra is le d by a crow to a cave a t
Van where he w aits fo r th e re s to r a tio n o f ju s tic e to th e w orld:
ap o c a ly p tic v isio n in which M ithra (Arm. Mher) is an e p ic h i s t o r i c a l
fig u re , th e le a d e r o f th e Armenians o f Sasun in t h e i r re b e llio n a g a in st
2
fo re ig n o p p re sso rs. I t i s b e lie v e d th a t on Ascension Day th e cave o f
Mher yawns open and th e hero (as th e Epic regard s him) may be seen
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a s tr id e h is ste e d .
The v ario u s legends c ite d above seem to have a s in g le common fe a ­
tu r e , in th a t a t th e c e n tre o f each stan d s a hero o r v i l l a i n whose
powers are seen to be so g re a t th a t th ey would e f f e c t a com plete tr a n s ­
form ation o f th e w orld—e ith e r d e s tru c tio n o r redem ption—were th ey to
run t h e i r f u l l course. But th e w orld is as i t was b e fo re : th e w orld
co n q u ero r's lands have f a lle n away; th e e v il demon has not succeeded in
c o rru p tin g a l l o f th e c r e a tio n s ; th e lib e r a tin g hero has not procured
e v e rla s tin g freedom fo r h is n a tio n .
an
Yet th e c e n tra l fig u re r e ta in s th e
awe s t i l l o f th o se who hoped in him o r fe a re d him, and he is g ran ted
im m o rta lity , th e com pletion o f h is works postponed u n t i l th e end o f
days.
N eith er w holly god n o r w holly m o rta l, he is consigned fo r th e
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