December 13, 2017 Vigen Avetisyan Antiquities

Western Armenia – From the very beginning (50-40 thousand years ago) Armenians felt very well that they are living among Nature, are a particle of Nature. Being in close contact with Nature they felt its kind and cruel forces all the time.

The kindest and joyous phenomenon in their life (as well as in life of all animals and plants) was the Sun, giving the light and warmth on which depended their life. So it is naturally that they respected and loved the Sun as their father, as the kind, freehanded and unselfish Creator.

Their respect and love to the Sun grew into a belief and worship of the Sun as the GodFather. They talked with the Sun (AR in Armenian), asked Him to help, when there were difficulties and were thankful to Him.

They spoke with the Sun in Armenian which was the first language, the God’s language. The Sun-God was the Father of Armenians, the Sun-Father Main God (lW-=lwJP q.LtuwLlnp UumLlwb) and Armenians were His children, Aryans, which in Armenian means: “Areyan”= (the people) from the Sun country.

They also knew that the Sun gives light, warmth and life to all people, animals and plants, so the Sun is the Creator of all Earth, is the Main God. The full name of the Sun God was “THE GREAT AND ARYAN
AR-FATHER GOD” (UbtTh ru- uppur-euer- uus-utm, In fact, Armenians always believed in one God, the AR.

Other Armenian Gods arose much later and were the children of AR or His Assistants. Armenian historian L. Shahinian writes that AR was the Creator of Sky and Earth, the Main God and Father of other Gods, as Armenians believed [77, p. 4].

It is necessary to note here that later, after the accumulation of knowledge about the stars and constellations (perhaps before the time of Carahunge, say 15 – 10 millennia ago), when Armenians understood that there existed the whole Universe, they extended the concept of God over all the Universe.

This is illustrated by the old Armenian word “Astvats” = God, where “Ast” means ”the Universe” and ”vats” means “spread”, so Astvats is the essence “spread in (all) Universe”, the part of which is the Sun, the closest and powerful representative (object) of the Universe.

According to old legends, Armenians believed that they were created (born) by Universe-AR-Father GOD with (and) Earth-Water-Mother GODDESS. Her name was “=lUaU=HAYA [haja]”. In Armenian this name means: Hay-ya [haj-ya] (hWJeJw)=I am Armenian”, From the old time Armenians called their own country of Armenia (and its inhabitants-Armanians) by two equivalent names: Armenia (Armenian) and Hayastan (Hay=Hi). These names mean: “Ars mencia (Up.. Uhfi· [nu) = the country of Sun (AR) men” and “Haya-stan (~wJw • umwfi)= the Earth (Mother) country”, or “Hay-ya-stan = my Armenian country”.

So these names came from AR-Father (Fatherland) and from Earth- Mother (Motherland). This is one more demonstration of the equality of man and woman in Armenia from the old time until now. Unfortunately, many authors have a wrong opinion, that Hayastan is the proper-name used by Armenians only, and Armenia is the name used by peoples of other countries.

It is a mistake, because: a) both names came from Armenian old Gods names in Armenian language, as it was shown above; b) all other countries could not use the same name, but could use different, their own names, so if everywhere is the same name, it means that the name was taken from one place (country); c) so these names came from the country in language of which the words (names) have the meanings, can be explained; d) as it was shown above, both names have convincing explanation in the Armenian language.

Thus, Armenia and Hayastan are Armenian words. Later the name Haya was transformed to Armenian name Gayane and in other languages as “Geya”, (the Greek Goddess of Earth), ”Yeva” (Eve) in Bible, etc.

For Armenians the concept of Mother was so high that even the Sun after each day in Sunset went to rest to His Mother Le. beyond Armenian mountains or into sea, ocean. From there came also the word “Armorika”, the old Armenian name of the Brittany Peninsula in NW of France, where lived Bretons = Celts = Armennians (see below). “Ar-mor-ika” in Armenian means “The Sun goes to Mother”, because all people saw every day that the Sun sets into the Atlantic Ocean.

The high respect and love to father and mother Armenians keep until now and it is one of the main Armenian traditions. Armenians, may be, are the sole nation in the World, who until now swear by the Sun with words ~pu wpL. (to my father’s Sun), Unpu wpL. (to my mother’s Sun), UpL.u tlqw (my Sun is witness), where the Sun means also their life.

The kind Sun-God religion Armenians propagated later to many other tribes and nations during many thousand years. Armenians kept the Sun-God religion until Christianity adopting as the state religion in 301 AD.

In reality the Sun cult lives also now, because in Christianity the Father-God is the same Armennian old the Sun-Father-God, whose Son was Jesus Christ with His kind homily. So, Jesus Christ was (and is) Armenian.

Christianity, this great and civilized religion, could not arise in one day. It had a big, long time and deep roots and sources and Christianity was born from the Armenian Sun-Father-God old and kind religion.

Thus to call the Sun religion ”heathen” or ”pagan” (hbpwGnuwqwfi) is not correct. In old Sun religion there were not idols, fetishes, fire, Godanimals, etc., were not any sacrifices or wild dances.

It was human and kind religion of old and civilized nation – Armenians. And until now in Christianity the God-Father is the Sun (AR). All these do not mean that I want to return the Sun religion. I want to
explain and to tell the historical truth, as it was.

The adoration of Great and Aryan Sun-Father Main God AR was in Armenia during about 50 thousand years. AR was the main God in all Armenian kingdoms and then was adopted by many other countries.

English historian Archibald Says writes: “The adoration of Ara (AR) was formed in Armenian Highland then propagated to many tribes and nations of the Old World” [73, p.13]. Indeed, the main Gods in other countries were: RA in Egypt, AARA in Assyria, ARIA in Babylon, ARAMAZD (ORMOUZD) in Iran, ARES, APPOLLO in Greece, YAR (YARILLO) in Slav countries, ARALLI in Georgia, ALLAH in Islam, etc.
The results of research show that Indo-Europeans had one, the same source of their culture.

This is supported by the similarity between the old Armenian Epos “Sasna Tsrer”, Indian Vedas, Iranian “Avesta”. This similarity in its turn confirms that Aryans from the Armenian Highland propagated to Sumer (at IV millennium BC) and to India, Greece, Iran (at m-nmillennia BC) [73, p. 11].

American researchers Lytle Robinson and Edgar Cayce think that old culture (sphinxes, pyramids) of different countries (Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Yucatan, Mexico, Maya, ete.) is “strikingly similar” and has “a common source”. In the book of L. Robinson it is said: “The name Re or Ra was attached to the Sun God, the chief of all Gods. He may have come from Caucasus”[74, p.73].

Now in different parts of Old Armenia the name of Main God AR is also distorted. For example, the self name of Armennians living around lake Van (Armenian Highland) was HARD which means: H·AR·D = ~.Up.q= admirers of the Sun =Armenians. But now this name is used with some distortion, as Hald or Chald and many authors use it also as the name of Main God of Chaldeans.

In present Armennia there is a huge quantity of Rock-carvings in the regions of Vardenis mountains ridge, Syunic (Zangezour), Aragats, in sources of rivers Yeghegis, Arpa, Vorotan etc. Particularly more than 2000 decorated rocks were discovered at mount Oughtassar near Sissian at altitude 3300m.

Another rock-carving art center is also near Sissian, on mount Djermadjour, etc. Armenian historians G.H.Karakhanian and P.G.Satian presented 342 Tables with groups of rock-carvings in the book “Rock-Carvings of Syunic” [49]. Here we can see the carvings of V – ID mill. BC with the most animals of old time, as goats, mouftlons, gazelles, deer, aurochs, horses, dogs, wolves, jackals, panthers, bears, lions, scenes of hunting, etc.

There are also many carved pictures and scenes with the rising Sun, see Fig. 60, 61. The comparison of these two Fig. 60 and 61 tells the supposition that the wheel was invented in Armenia (much earlier than V mill. BC) as a model of the Sun picture.

In Armenia there were also many Sun God Temples in Etchmiadzin, Zvartnots, Carahunge, Garni etc. The main Temple was in Darranaghiats region in Ani fortress, where the center of the main Priest was.

Unfortunately, all Temples were destroyed after Christianity adopting (except Garni), and on their foundations the Christian Churches were built. In Fig. 62 the AR-Father God Temple (1-11 cent. AD) in Garni (present Armenia) is shown.

In Fig. 63 the picture of the AR God standing on the Lion is shown. This painting was found during excavations and restoration works on one of inside walls of Errebouni (Yerevan) old castle (VIII cent. BC) [73].

To the West of lake Van, near river Euphrates, on the slope of Mount Nemrut in Kappadokia (now in Turkey) there is a unique old Monument with big, 9 m height sculptures (sitting on the thrones) of the Armenian Main God AR, similar to Him KESAR (title of Armenian Kings), of the Goddess ANNAHIT, of the God VAHAGN, of the God TIR and also of the AR God symbols: the Lion and the Eagle.

Unfortunately this unique Monument was destroyed. In Fig. 64 the Heads of these sculptures are shown [68, p.21]. More details about this Monument see in Item 3.23. Christianity as a kind, human religion of the civilized nations was adopted by Armenians earlier than by other nations because it was the continuation of their Sun-Father kind and human religion, and also because the God-Father in Christianity (still now) is the same Armenian SunFather main God AR.

An extract from the book “Armenians and Ancient Armenia” by Paris Herouni

• Left: tomb – sanctuary of Mount Nemrut built in 1st century BC, Western Armenia. Right: Statues of Armenian gods Vahagn, Anahit, Aramazd, Mihr, Tir on Mount Nemrut (reconstruction).
• Left: figure of Aramazd, creator and chief god in pre-Christian Armenian mythology. Middle: figure of Anahit, the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water. Right: bronze sculpture of the goddess Anahit which is now held in the British Museum.• From left to right: figure of Vahagn, the god of war and victory; image of Mihr, the god of light of heaven and Truth; image of Tir, the god of written language, schooling, rhetoric, wisdom and arts; image of Aldi, one of the three chief deities of the pantheon of Urartu.

Fig. 62. AR-Father God Temple in Garni (15 km from Yerevan)

Left: tomb – sanctuary of Mount Nemrut built in 1st century BC, Western Armenia. Right: Statues of Armenian gods Vahagn, Anahit, Aramazd, Mihr, Tir on Mount Nemrut (reconstruction).

From left to right: figure of Vahagn, the god of war and victory; image of Mihr, the god of light of heaven and Truth; image of Tir, the god of written language, schooling, rhetoric, wisdom and arts; image of Aldi, one of the three chief deities of the pantheon of Urartu.

Fig. 62. AR-Father God Temple in Garni (15 km from Yerevan)