Armenian Religion

The pantheon of Armenian gods inherited their essential elements from the religious beliefs and mythologies of the Proto-Indo-Europeans and peoples of the Armenian Highlands. The oldest cults are believed to have worshipped a creator called Ar, or Ara, embodied as the sun. Ancient Armenians referred to themselves as children of the sun. Also among the most ancient types of Indo-European-derived worship are cults dedicated to eagles, lions, and the sky. After the establishment of Iranian dominance in Armenia in the 1st millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism had a major impact on Armenian religion. Until the late Parthian period, Armenian lands adhered to a syncretic form of Mazdaism which exalts an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom known as Ahura Mazda as its supreme being and Angra Mainyu as the opposing, destructive spirit and adversary to Ahura Mazda. This amalgamation blended Iranian religious concepts with traditional Armenian beliefs. The pantheon of pre-Christian Armenia changed throughout the centuries. Originally native Armenian in nature, this pantheon was modified in the wake of Hurro-Urartian, Semitic, Iranian, and Greek influences. One common motif that spanned many or all pagan Armenian pantheons was belief in a ruling triad of supreme gods, usually comprised of a chief creator god, his thunder god son, and a mother goddess.