Armenia13 Garni pagan temple

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Garni is a large village in the

Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is known for the

nearby classical temple.

Sayat Nova

Garni is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia. The fortress of Garni is situated 28km of Yerevan, at the foot of the Geghama Mountains, on the right bank of the Azat River, on a picturesque, triangular terraceToday the town of Garni is a large, wealthy settlement and has about 8000 inhabitants

In the 8th century BC the area was conquered by the Urartian King Argishti I. The fortification at Garni was erected probably sometime in the 3rd century BC as a summer residence for the Armenian Orontid and Artaxiad royal dynasties. Later around the 1st century BC the fortress of Garni became the last refuge of King Mithridates of Armenia and where he and his family were assassinated by his son-in-law and nephew Rhadamistus. The fortress was eventually sacked in 1386 by Timur Lenk.

The temple was erected in the second half of the 1stc. It is a unique preserved architectural monument from the late antique (roman) period not only in Armenia but also in the region.The temple was dedicated to Mihr, the god of sun.

Urartian polytheistic godsGolden figure of Shivini, Sun God

King Tigran the Great

The walls was built without mortar, the so-called dry masonry. The stone joints were reinforced with iron rods at horizontal and vertical directions. The joints were filled with lead.

The Ararat Valley (including Garni) was included in the Ararat Kingdom (Urartu) 8th c BCE

The temple was dedicated to Mithra. Mithra is the equivalent of the Greek word “Helios” meaning “Sun” or the “God of Sun.”.

Golden figure of Teisheb, God of the Elements

Ornaments in the ceiling

Ornaments in the ceiling

Ornaments in the ceiling

Khaldi. The supreme god. VIIBC

King Tigran the Great

During the Roman Republic's eastern expansion, the Kingdom of Armenia, under Tigranes the Great, reached its peak, from 83 to 69 BC, after it reincorporated Sophene and conquered the remaining territories of the falling Seleucid Empire (From 114 to 118, Armenia briefly became a province of the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan)

Ancestral Armenians built their lives around the laws of nature, believed to be controlled by the gods

Ornaments in the ceiling

Controlling (flattering) the gods to prevent their wrath was reflected in ceremonies, rituals, and temple design, which, borrowing from Pythagoras - and universal in the Near East and Rome - was made from specific geometric shapes and so-called sacred numbers, which were believed to have special symbolic meanings:

The goddess Anahit

The number 1 represents the universe, 2 for division, 3 (representing Trinity and the holy triad, in Armenia Aramazd, Anahit and Vahagn), 6 (perfection) and 9 (three x three or holiest number). Throughout the temple you will find these measures, or their combinations, illustrating this system of design

The goddess Anahit

One imaginary view of how to interpret the temple structure is to see it as a representation of the cosmos, with a raised platform (the heavens) on top of 9 steps going upward, with 24 columns representing the vapors and the roof a dome of heaven

Figure1: Geometric shapes include two equilateral triangles with further 3 triangles inside. Each set of 3 triangles has a combined 9 sides

Figure2: Other imaginary shapes include a circle with 6 circles inside. The lower circles fill space where the statue and sacred fire were kept. The number 8 and 5 are repeted in measurements. Eight is the symbol of resurrection and new life. Five is a symbol of misfortune in some cultures, but it was also the sign of making things. Note that inside the sanctuary, five is the length of horizontal lines, eight the length of vertical lines.

Garni temple and Ruins of the church

S. Sion Church foundations

adjacent to Garni Temple, 7th to 9th centuries

S. Sion Church foundations adjacent to Garni Temple, 7th to 9th centuries

Ruins of the church and palace complex at Garni Temple

The Roman Bath House is located at an angle to the residential block and is encased in a modern shed. Built of irregular blocks set in lime, the 3rd century building consisted of five rooms, four of which had apses.

The 3rd-4th centuries floor mosaics are perhaps the most impressive part of the bath house, the only surviving intact mosaic in Armenia. They are made from stones in 15 hues and depict figures in mythology.

The inscriptions on the mosaic are Greek but the facial types are oriental, depicting fish, Nereids and the Ichthyocentauri.One of the remaining inscriptions on the floor mosaic is in Koine Greek (the popular form of Greek that emerged in post-classical antiquity from ca. 300 BCE to ca. 300 CE) and reads:We receive no dead (fish) from the sea neither from the oceanWhich can also be translated to mean, “Worked without pay”

Greek inscription attributed to Tiridates I on basalt rock from GarniTiridates I is one of the principal characters in George Frideric Handel's opera Radamisto and Reinhard Keiser's opera Octavia

Garni Gorge Azat River

Azat River

The Garni Gorge with well preserved basalt columns, carved out by the Azat River. This portion of the gorge is typically referred to as the "Symphony of the Stones". It is most easily reached via a road that leads left down the gorge just before reaching the temple of Garni. Another road leads to the gorge through the village, down a cobblestone road, and into the valley.

11th-century bridge crossing

the Azat River in Garni Gorge

(prior to reconstruction)

Example of basalt columns Symphony of the Stones along Garni gorge

Example of basalt columns Symphony of the Stones along Garni gorge

Example of basalt columns Symphony of the Stones along Garni gorge

Organ pipe shaped basalt rock formations

Azat valley

The apricot is an important fruit for Armenians. It is almost sacred; it is even revered.Historically, in the third century BC, Akkadians called the apricot “armanu” (meaning Armenian), and Armenia “Armani”. One of the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia, Arameans, called the apricot tree “Khazura Armenia” (the tree of the Armenian apple). After fighting Armenian King Tigranes the Great in the first century BC, Roman general Lucullus took several apricot saplings from Armenia to Rome. The Romans planted those saplings in their city and called the fruit the “Armenian plum” (Prunus Armeniaca). For the Armenians the apricot has a very special meaning (not only due to its delicious taste and wonderful smell) also because one of the traditional Armenian musical instruments- duduk is made of the apricot tree wood (its name is “tsiranapokh” – apricot tree pipe” in Armenian) and you certainly know that it creates a very sorrowful, romantic, magic, and beautiful sound. No other wood can create music so pure, so rich, and so Armenian. Maybe this is the reason why Armenians adore this fruit and place it at the center of both cuisine and culture, by making it the symbol of an amazing event, the Golden Apricot International Film Festival.

Sound: Levon Minassian & Armand Amar - You are...Tchinares

Text: Internet

Pictures: Internet

Sanda FoişoreanuCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda