Georgian mythology

Georgian mythology refers to the mythology of pre-Christian Georgians.

Georgian myths and legends are preserved mainly as popular tales. Many of them have eventually fused with Christian legends after the Christianization of Georgia seventeen centuries ago.

List of mythic characters

A list of Georgian mythical characters includes:

Gods

• Adgilis Deda (ადგილის დედა) - A fertility and livestock goddess who is revered by the people who live in the mountainous areas of northeastern Georgia, such as Khevsureti, as a patron of places and their travellers. She is portrayed as a beautiful lady with silver jewellery. She later became associated with the Virgin Mary when the area was converted to Christianity. Her name means "Mother of Locality".
• Ainina and Danina (აინინა და დანინა) - A pair of goddesses who are mentioned in The Conversion of Kartli and the mediaeval Georgian Chronicles.
• Apsat (აფსათ) - A male god of birds and animals in Svan mythology.
• Armazi (არმაზი) - Chief of the gods; central figure in Kartli’s (Iberia) official religion established by King Pharnavaz of Iberia (4th century, BC). According to the legend, an immense statue of Armazi was destroyed by lightning after St. Nino’s prayer. Armazi is also the name of an ancient fortress near Mtskheta that dates from the same period.
• Barbale (ბარბალე)- The goddess of cattle and poultry fertility, the sun, women's fertility, and healing.^[1] Worshippers honour her in the Barbalesadmi festival with solar symbols, which occurs at the winter solstice. Her name is similar to the Sumerian and Akkadian epithet "bibbiru", which means "shining, splendour".
• Batonebi (ბატონები)- Spirits of disease. Also known as "batonebshi" (ბატონებში), their name means "the masters". If anyone is infected by a batonebi, their family will prepare special food and candies, and place presents under trees to appease the batonebi. In rural areas of Georgia, "batonebi" or "batonebshi" are used as a term to refer to infectious diseases.^[1]
• Beri-Bera (ბერი ბერა) - An agricultural god of fertility, harvests, and animals who is worshipped in eastern Georgia. His festival is held at the end of the year.^[1]
• Bochi (ბოჩი) - Thought to be the patron saint of cattle. The first written documentation of this deity comes from Euthymius of Athos. According to historian Ivane Javakhishvili, the name "Bochi" is related to words for "male goat."
• Dali (დალი) - The goddess of the hunt. She is also known as Dæl. She was believed to have extraordinary beauty, with long golden hair and radiant white skin. She dwells high up in the mountains where she watches over and protects wild animals. She sometimes shared animals with hunters, as long as they respect her rules by not hunting more than their needed amounts or taking aim at animals that are her manifestations. In some myths, she entered in intimate relations with a hunter, and warned him not to reveal their relationship at the risk of death. She is the mother of the hero Amirani. In Samegrelo, she is named as "Tkashi-Mapa", the Queen of the Forest.^[1][2]
• Gatsi and Gaimi (გაცი და გაიმი) - Gods in the official Iberian pantheon according to the medieval annals.
• Ghmerti (ღმერთი) - The supreme divinity and the head of the pantheon of gods. He is the all-powerful Lord of the Universe and its Creator. He lives in the ninth sky, where he rules from a golden throne. His children include the Sun (as his daughter), the Moon (as his son), and the khvitis-shvilni who protect people against evil. He is also addressed as Morige Ghmerti (მორიგე ღმერთი, "God the Director") and Dambadebeli (დამბადებელი, "The Creator"). His name is later used to refer to God the Father in Christian belief.^[1]
• Kamar (კამარ) The daughter of the god of nature and the god of the sky. She is a symbol of divine fire. Her beautiful appearance caused Amirani to abduct her from heaven.^[1]
• Lamara (ლამარა) - Goddess, was called ‘eye of the earth’.
• Mamberi (მამბერი) - The lord of wolves who was worshiped in Svaneti and other mountainous regions.^[1]
• Michpa (მიჭპა) - The patron god of cattle and other domestic animals who was worshiped in Svaneti during winter.^[1]
• Mindort-batoni (მინდორთ ბატონი) - The god of valleys, fields, and wild flowers. Humans had to ask for his approval before they can explore or cultivate on his fields. His daughter, Mindort-brdzanebeli, is the beautiful goddess of flowers.^[1]
• Mindort-brdzanebeli (მინდორთ ბრძანებელი) - The goddess of flowers. She is the daughter of the god Mindort-batoni. She flutters over plants and lived off their pollen.^[1]
• Ochopintre (ოჭოპინტრე) - A spirit of the forest and protector of wild animals. The first part of his name (ocho, ოჭო) is connected to the ancient pagan god Bochi, the second part (pintre, პინტრე) to the Greek god Pan. Born with the legs and horns of a goat, he assists the goddess Dali in herding the animals. Hunters usually made sacrifice in his name since no one could hunt the animals without his help. The fate of a person entering his forest was believed to be fully in his hands.^[1]
• Tamar - Goddess of the sky, riding on a snake; is identified with Lamara.
• Tetri Giorgi (White George) - Popular character in Georgian mythology; a warrior and a moon god. Later Tetri Giorgi became one of the names of St. George in eastern Georgia.
• Zadeni - God of fertility in the official pantheon established by Pharnavaz I.

Demigods, heroes, and notable people

• Amirani (ამირანი) - Mythic hero and titan, son of Dali. Equivalent of the Greek Prometheus.^[1]
• Iakhsari (იახსარი) - A mythic hero who aided Kopala in his adventures to slay demons and monsters, and was deified and venerated as a popular deity.^[3]
• Khvitis Shvilni (ხვითის შვილნი) - A group of demigods who protected humans, assured good crops and milk yields, fought against devis and kudiani witches. Amirani, Giorgi, Iakhsari, and Kopala were among them, and they fought alongside Iakhsari and Kopala to drive out the devis from the land, and to help Giorgi to raid the impregnable fortress of the Kajis to plunder their treasures, cattle, and women.^[1]
• Kopala (კოპალა) - A mythic hero, mighty warrior, and a demon killer. He is a lightning god. He and Iakhsari led a campaign to drive out the devis who were persecuting humans on the land. His weapons include a mace and an iron bow made for him by the blacksmith god Pirkusha (პირქუშა). Only he can have to power to defeat the most stubborn demons, who were believed to seize anyone's soul and cause madness, and he cures the victim's insanity in the process.^[1] The locals of the mountainous areas of Khevsureti and Pshavi revere him.
• Kviria (კვირია) - A hero and a son of the gods who served as a mediator between Ghmerti and humanity. He is invoked as the protector of human society and an instrument of divine justice. In some regions of Georgia, he was also believed to be a deity of fertility and the harvest, while in the mountains of western Georgia he was worshiped as the supreme deity. The festival of Kviritskholovba (კვირიწხოვლობა) was celebrated to honour him.^[1]
• Natsiliani (ნაწილიანი) - Humans who received magic gifts or divine signs (natsili, ნაწილი) from the gods. Their signs are usually located on their shoulder-blades and glowed with magic light, empowering their bearers. These signs must be kept hidden, as their bearers will lose their powers if they revealed them.^[1] Certain signs can only be given by their respective gods.

Spirits, creatures, and other beings

• Ali (ალი) - An evil soul that haunts pregnant women, the elderly, and infants who happen to stumble into remote woods, caves, and ruins. Alis can be male or female (who are known as alkali); male alis appear monstrous, while female alis are temptingly beautiful.^[1] Their name is related to the word for "flame" (ალი).

"Tarielis shebma devebtan". A miniature by Mamuka Tavakalashvili from the manuscript of Shota Rustaveli's "Knight in the Panther's Skin". H599. 199r. National Center of Manuscripts, Tbilisi, Georgia

• Devi (დევი) - Many-headed ogres whose heads can regenerate if any of them are cut off. These malevolent giants live in the underworld or in remote mountains, where they hoard treasure troves and keep their captives. In Georgian mythology, they live in a family, usually numbering in around nine brothers of devis. Bakbak-Devi (ბაკბაკ დევი) was the strongest and the most powerful of the devis. To defeat them, heroes tricked them into various tricks and games.^[1] Their name is related to that of the daevas of Zoroastrian and Persian mythology.
• Doblini (დობლინი) - Spirits who usually appear as women, children, and animals to spread diseases. Doblini towers (დობილთ კოშკი, dobilt k'oshk'i) were built in Khevsurian shrines to keep them at bay. Some doblini are benevolent, such as Princess Samdzimari (სამძიმარი) of Khevsureti and Pshavi legend, who is invoked upon for the birth of healthy children, an easy childbirth, and women's health in general. Shrines' to benevolent doblini were also invoked to bless cattle and for the protection of travellers.^[1]
• Gveleshapi (გველეშაპი) - Evil dragons^[1] that ruled and lived in lakes, rivers, and water sources. In folklore, they were associated with water-related disasters, and heroes fought against them.
• Kaji (ქაჯი) - A race of spirits who are often portrayed as magic-wielding, demonic metal-workers. They lived in Kajeti (ქაჯეთი) or Kajaveti (ქაჯავეთი), and has magic powers that they used against humans. Land kajis were malevolent, while river and lake kajis were friendly to humans. Female kajis were beautiful, and they either seduced heroes or helped them in their quests. They appear prominently in Shota Rustaveli's Vepkhistkaosani, in which kajis abduct one of the main characters and fight the heroes at Kajeti fortress. Their name is related to the Armenian storm and wind spirits, the kaj (Armenian: քաջ, k'aǰ; plural: քաջք k'aǰk').
• Kudiani (კუდიანი) - An hideous hunchbacked witch with large teeth and a tail, the latter of which her name is derived (kudi, კუდი, "tail"). Kudianis disguise themselves as humans to bewitch them. The leader of the kudianis, Rokapi (როკაპი), often summon them to a special mountain where they held a festival similar to the Walpurgis Night of Europe.^[1]
• Matsili (მაცილი) - Evil spirits from the underworld that plagued travelers and hunters. Folk tales mention about Kopala's quests to defeat them.^[1]
• Paskunji (პასკუნჯი) - A phoenix-like being who helps heroes and humans. He lives in the underworld, and fights the gveleshapis there. Heroes summoned him by burning one of his feathers, and he could transport them to other places and heal wounds and illnesses. In some myths, paskunjis were also hostile to humans and persecuted them.^[1]
• Rashi (რაში) - A magical winged horse. There are three types of rashis: land rashis are well disposed to heroes and humans and could perceive the future; sea rashis are more hostile, but can take humans to the bottom of the sea, while their milk was believed to cure many illnesses; and heavenly rashis have wings and can breathe fire, and are difficult to subdue yet loyal to their owners.^[1]
• Rokapi (როკაპი) - An evil spirit who was the leader of the kudiani witches. Ghmerti punished him by chaining him to a column under the earth, where he devoured the hearts of humans that the kudiani brought to him. Every year, he tries to free himself, but he always fails.^[1]

See also

• Armenian mythology
• Greek mythology
• Ossetian mythology
• Slavic mythology
• Persian mythology
• Vainakh mythology

References

1. Georgia: Past, Present, and Future
2. Protectress of the Ibex
3. The Independent