Vishap
Vishap ( Armenian Վիշապ , meaning “dragon”, “big snake”), other romanization Vishap or Višap , is a predominantly evil spirit in Armenian mythology that occurs in fairy tales and legends and is occasionally counted among the group of Devs . The Armenian Vishap and its depiction is related to the dragon-snake motif that is widespread in Asia.
Etymologically , the name is interpreted as a variant of the dragon , especially since the spirit is usually depicted in the shape of a snake. The popular name for thunderstorms in Armenia should be seen in this context . It is called there as Vischap hanel , loosely translated this means "dragon ascent ". However, a vischap can also take on other forms, such as that of a mule, camel, a giant fish or a giant snake. He steals the harvest from the threshing floor and carries it away. Spears dipped in the blood of a vischap were said to be indestructible and deadly.
The dragon also occurs in Armenian mythology with a helpful quality for people as the master of water. Here it is related to the irrigation of the fields, which have been dry in summer, which has been practiced since ancient times, which in a figurative sense allows it to embody fertility and wealth. In a positive sense, Vischap images are assigned a demon-warding ( apotropaic ) function, with which they defend the tree of life , for example .
The most clearly visible signs of the dragon-snake cult are the large, cigar-shaped vishap stones set up like menhirs in many parts of the country. Since the 1st millennium BC Chr. Or earlier known cult stones with their iconography are considered forerunners of the Christian chatschkare (cross stones). Dragons and snakes have appeared again on the cross stones since the Middle Ages.
literature
- Carsten Colpe: Gods and Myths of the Caucasian and Iranian Peoples . tape 4 . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-12-909840-2 , p. 155–157 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- Knaur's Lexicon of Mythology . Droemer Knaur, Augsburg 2001, ISBN 3-8289-4154-0 , p. 533 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Keyword "Vishap". In: Manfred Lurker : Lexicon of gods and demons. Names, functions, symbols / attributes (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 463). 2nd, expanded edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-520-46302-4 .
- ↑ Carsten Colpe: Gods and Myths of the Caucasian and Iranian Peoples , p. 156
- ↑ Knaur's Lexicon of Mythology
- ↑ Armen Petrosyan: Vishapakar. The Unique Megaliths of the Armenian Plateau - 2007.
- ↑ Patrick Donabedian: The dragon motif in the art of the Armenian carpets. In: Armenia. Rediscovery of an old cultural landscape. (Exhibition catalog) Museum Bochum 1995, p. 331