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Armazi

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Armazi was the the chief god in Georgian pantheon, whose idol (image) was in the figure of a soldier, made of gold, clothed in copper and golden armor, having shoulder pieces and eyes made from emeralds and beryl stones, and holding in his hand a sword which revolved in his grasp...

 

According to Georgian chronicles the idol of Armazi was 30 meters high, erected on the hill in Mtskheta of the kingdom of Kartli (located in the eastern Georgia and referred to Caucasian Iberia by the Greeks and Romans) personification of which is expected to be a clue to formulation of religious orientation of pre-Christian Georgia....

 

Originally, the name Armazi is usually taken to derive from that of the deity Ahura Mazdā, who as Armazi was the chief god of the pagan Iberian pantheon; “Armaz-tsikhe” means “citadel of Armazi” and is reflected in the Greco-Roman name Armastika or Harmozika... 

 

Although the question raised in the thesis about the connection of Armazi with the Iranian Ahura Mazda has been widely shared and accepted by specialists, his definition doesn’t give a full picture of religious beliefs practiced in pre-Christian Georgia unless other divinities – Ainina/Danina(Danana) and Zaden are studied...

 

[While examining the cult of the supreme god Armazi, the main determinant of the religious (Zoroastrian) orientation of the kingdom of Kartli, my attention was drawn to the evidence given in the LNino, which is pointer to the path I think we must follow in order to come closer to personification of Ainina/Danana-Danina, of whom, as noted above, nothing is known except their names.

 

In this writing St Nino is referred to as the “daughter of Armazi”: appealing to the saint to heal the sick Persian magus Khuara. King Mirian addresses her thus: “….through God’s mighty power you’re skilled in healing, you’re the daughter of Armazi”.

 

As a final result of the examination and definition of the supreme divinity, the origin of Armazi from the Iranian Ahura Mazda has been proved through a comparative study of Aramazd, the supreme divinity of pre-Christian Armenia, which became a bridging link between Armazi and Ahura Mazda.]

http://bit.ly/19fROz9

 

It is said that Armazi was also a thunder god and perhaps a moon god, as well...

 

When Saint Nino(Hio-Mghvime, icon 17-18 century), the enlightener of Georgia, entered Mtskheta, the capital city of the Kartli Kingdom, she witnessed the celebration of Armazi and began praying.  

 

By the Grace of God the idol was burnt by lightning.  

 

At the place where Armazi was originally erected, was later built Jvari Monastery in the VI-VII centuries...

 

Resources:

http://bit.ly/19fRPTE

http://bit.ly/176atx8

http://bit.ly/1cD9mqN

http://bit.ly/15wdv0C

http://bit.ly/19fRNLz

http://bit.ly/19fROz9

http://bit.ly/1dE1rwo

http://bit.ly/17KQ5UW

http://bit.ly/1a4nGYz

http://bit.ly/17pTD95

http://bit.ly/15V7HLn

http://bit.ly/13ane92

http://bit.ly/15V7zvl

http://bit.ly/1a4nKHI

http://bit.ly/14h0yqk

http://bit.ly/17pUjeB

http://bit.ly/17xDcvv

http://bit.ly/14W2TWj

 

See Thor:

http://sco.lt/8ryxwf

 

Image adapted from: http://bit.ly/176rQhk

 




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