Vishaps are ancient mythological beings which are represented in the form of high stone carved images, menghirs. Vishaps are extended in mythologies of the countries of Armenian upland and Forward Asia. Originally vishaps were deities or spirits of water and, possibly, have been connected with kuro-araksian archaeological culture. The people who occupied the Armenian uplands in II mil BC or earlier, trimmed images of vishaps from a stone also set them next to underground sources of water. Eventually the mythological image of vishaps has undergone changes and in mythologies of the different people began to associate with evil ghosts, dragons and etc., frequently keeping initial communication with water. Stone carved images of vishaps reached five meters in height and, as a rule, had the form of fishes, more rarely — the form of the skin of a bull stretched on stakes. In 1909 N. Marr and Smirnov during archeological excavations in Garni in Armenia heard from local residents about stone «Vishap», lying highly in mountains, on summer nomads. Scientists have undertaken a trip to mountains of the ridge Gegham whether to establish a basis of hearings and to check up if it represents scientific interest. Scientists have really found out megalithic stone sculptures on high-mountainous movement which Armenians named “Vishapner”, and local Kurds of “Azhdaha-yurt”. The majority of sculptures had the form of fishes. Largest of found out vishaps reached 4,75 meters at width of 0,55 meters. All vishaps by 1909 have been tumbled down on the earth, some of them should be dug out. The first vishap investigated by scientists Marra’sand Smirnova’s expedition of 1909, Azhdahak, Geghama ridge. It is nowadays set before the Ethnographic museum of Armenia “Sardarapat” in the city of Armavir.Shortly it was possible to find out vishaps at the other high-mountainous side: Tokmagan-gel and Gels-yurts. By 1910 Marr and Smirnov have found out 27 identical stone carved images-vishaps at the side of the Geghamaridge. Soon similar monuments have been found out in southern Georgia and in east Turkey, and also in other areas of Armenia, in particular, near to Lake Sevan, in a foot of mountain Aragats.
Dating of stone carved images
Exact dating of these megaliths, as a rule, presents certain difficulties. Nearby vishaps was not revealed any remnant of ancient settlements, fires or other fossils to which the radio carbon analysis could be applied. However, found out in the Azhdaha-yurt vishap contained later drawings of crosses and the Armenian inscription dated XIII century AD. On the basis of this find scientists have originally assumed that vishaps were raised in I mil AD.The arrangement of crosses and the text testified that in XIII century vishap still was in vertical position. In some decades, in 1963 in Garni has been opened dragon on which there was earlier urartian cuneiform an inscription Argishti I king of Urartu. This find allows to consider vishaps as beforeurartian, that is, at least, the beginning of I mil BC, and most likely in II mil BC.
Forms of images vishaps
All found out vishaps are cut from an integral stone. The height vishaps fluctuates from three to five meters. A part of vishaps had the form of fish, more often reminding a catfish. The trunk of fish is worked only partially, but eyes, a mouth, a tail and gills are usually represented. A part dragon images hoofed animal (represent a bull or a ram), possibly sacrificed. Sometimes only the skin of the animal which has been stretched on stakes is represented. Besides, many vishaps contain other relief images cut in the central part. Skins concern such images hoofed animal (bulls, rams); the wavy lines representing streams of water, sometimes streaming from a mouth of bulls; long-legged birds (cranes or storks); less often than a snake.
Vishaps and ancient channels
Almost all finds vishaps in Armenia are connected with mountain sources or even with the rests of ancient irrigational constructions. The remnants of such constructions have been found out nearby vishapson the side of Tokmakagan-gel and Imirzek of the Geghama ridge, in the Art Anyshsky gulf of lake Sevan, on left to river bank Arhashan on a southern slope of mountain Aragats. Though irrigational constructions can’t be dated precisely, and possibility remains that they have been set already at the time of the Middle Ages, to connect vishaps with sources of water which fed the channels probably built later is doubtless. On the basis of this data, and also in a combination to coinciding images of water on vishaps, scientists connect dragons with ancient cults of fertility and water.
Vishaps in mythology
Scientists assume that initial value of vishap under the influence of Christianity was transformed eventually, and vishap from a water deity has turned into a demon, a dragon .In modern Armenian language a word «vishap » means. “dragon”.Probablythis word has been borrowed from the Iranian languages during invasion Medians or Ahemenids. By this time initial value of vishaps has been forgotten by local population, and vishaps, possibly, were identified with aggressors. The Armenian and Georgian folklore has kept legends on “vishap-dragon”, on a vishap-monster living in mountains. Some legends resulted by Armenian historian Mouses Khorenatsi, contains a mention of the vishap-monsters appearing under the name «vishap » — the monsters living on a grief Ararat and under the name «kadzi » (from the Kurdish word “Azhdaha” identical Armenian «vishap»). Archeologists also notice that traces of an ancient cult of water and have remained in many legends. So, for example, N. Marr has collected some examples of fairy-tales and legends about vishaps when after the murder of a monster by heroes healing water starts to flow from a stomach of the vishap. In Kurdish folklore also there are traces of magic fish “Azhdahak”. Besides, in some Armenian fairy-tales vishap appears in a kind of “a sea storm”, and also the word «vishap » translates a word “whale” in ancient Armenian and ancient Georgian Bible translations
As one more example late mythological bedding serve the stories of local residents about vishaps, located on mountain Aragats slopes serve. In the stories collected by Marrom in 1910, vishaps are called «as tombs of rumps» (giants), — local residents accepted dragons for gravestones. The spent excavation hasn’t revealed the rests of ancient cemeteries, however, has found traces of ancient channels.
Vishaps in the Armenian mythology
Ancient Armenian mythology
According to mythological representations in Armenia, vishap live in the sky, in the big lakes or at tops of mountains, and, during a thunder-storm, heavenly vishaps go down downwards, and vishap mountains and lakes rise in the sky. Big vishap can absorb the sun from what there are solar eclipses. God Vahagn struggles with vishaps.
In the epos, vishaps take hold of water sources and force girls to sacrifice themselves to it; heroes struggled with them and won. Azhdahak was also dragon (Iranian Adzhi-Dahaka). He was the hero of an ancient “storm” myth in whom dragon thunder-storms abducts the sister or the wife of god. In the epos, the plot has been transferred on Adzhdahaka, the Armenian king Tigran and his sister Tigranuhi. As a wife of Adzhdahak and «vishap’s mother » is called at this Ajnush.Tigranwins and kills Adzhdahak and withdraws vishaps together with Ajnush in a captivity; the Iranian population of area of Ararat — «mards» was considered as their descendants.
In the epos “Vipasank” it is told about these mutual relations vishapids with legendary Armenian tsars: the leader and the father vishaps invites to dinner king Arstashes and his sons to Argavan and builds against it intrigues; Аrtashes, having returned to Artashat, sends his son Mazhana with an army for destruction of Vishapa. However that has not executed an order of the father; then vishap exterminate Artavazd.
With the statement of the Christianity, struggling with vishaps Vaagn has been replaced by archangel Gabriel (with which Gabriel Hreshtak was identified). Gabriel and angels begin fighting with vishaps, who during the thunder-storm try to absorb the sun (thus thunderclouds — fiery bodies vishaps, a thunder — their shout, and a lightning — an arrow of angel Gabriel .Angela raises vishaps to the sun from which beams those turn to the ashes strewed on the earth. Vishap named as well the Satan.
Though as a matter of fact in the Armenian mythology vishaps are represented by dragons, in a structure of legends connected with water are traced: with a rain, lakes, mountain sources; vishaps «take hold of water sources» and etc. Fights of vishaps with Vahagn was in ancient Armenia on the storm arising on lake Van .
Similar megalithic constructions
Scientists mark the connection of Armenian vishaps with the similar menghirs established in the North Caucasus and in the territory of the northern Mongolia. Though stylistically Transcaucasian vishaps strongly differ and are obviously executed by other tribes, archeologists mark interesting interrelation between the stone cravings created by the different people in similar situations .Probably also that Armenian khachkars are connected with tradition of vishaps .
