Spandaramet ( Armenian: Սպանդարամետ) or Sandaramet (Սանդարամետ) was the Armenian name of the Zoroastrian yazata (angelic divinity) Spenta Armaiti, [1] [2] one of the six Amesha Spentas, and the guardian of the earth. [3]
The name is attested in two forms in Armenian. Spandaramet, most likely derived from Northwestern Middle Iranian, and Sandaramet (" Hades, the underworld"), which is derived from a Southwestern Iranian variant, possibly the Old form. [4]
It is uncertain when the name Sandaramet entered Armenian; it may have taken place under the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC). [5] The spelling is used in the Armenian translation of the Bible, where a derivative adjective, sandarametakan, is also used. The 5th-century Armenian author Agathangelos uses the word sandarametakan nnĵecealkc ("those asleep in the underworld") to refer to the dead. [6]
The usage of word to refer to the underworld indicates that its introduction to Armenian took place during a period when earth was seen as the home of the dead. [7] Sandaramet was probably seen as the divinity of the underworld as the result of an amalgamation of Zoroastrian and ancient beliefs. [8]
According to the medieval Armenian historian Tovma Artsruni, the Artaxiad Armenian king Artaxias II ( r. 75–69 BC) had "temples of Herakles and Dionysos" constructed in Vaspurakan. Herakles corresponds to Vahagn, and Dionysos most likely to Spandaramet. [9]
In the account of Agathangelos, the Arsacid Armenian king Tiridates III ( r. 298–330 AD) mentions the "šahapet of the tombs", which most likely refers to Spandaramet. The Armenian word šahapet (derived from Old Persian xšaθrapati) was used to refer to supernatural beings. [10]
References
- ^ Russell 1987, p. 66.
- ^ Frenschkowski 2015, p. 469.
- ^ Boyce 1986, pp. 413–415.
- ^ Russell 1987, pp. 66, 428.
- ^ Russell 1987, p. 393.
- ^ Russell 1987, p. 428.
- ^ Russell 1987, p. 429.
- ^ Russell 1987, pp. 429–430.
- ^ Russell 1987, p. 430.
- ^ Russell 1986, pp. 438–444.
Sources
- Boyce, M. (1986). "Armaiti". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/4: Architecture IV–Armenia and Iran IV. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 413–415. ISBN 978-0-71009-104-8.
- Russell, James R. (1986). "Armenia and Iran iii. Armenian Religion". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/4: Architecture IV–Armenia and Iran IV. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 438–444. ISBN 978-0-71009-104-8.
- Frenschkowski, Marco (2015). "Christianity". In Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw; Tessmann, Anna (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley And Sons Ltd. pp. 457–477.
- Russell, James R. (1987). Zoroastrianism in Armenia. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674968509.
 | This article relating to a myth or legend from Asia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a deity is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |