Categories: Antiquities

Tir – God of Written Language of Ancient Armenia

In the Armenian pantheon, Tir was a god of writing, sciences, arts, a scribe of the chief deity Aramazd, and a diviner of fate.

Tir brought dreams to people, revealing their future to them. In the temple of Tir (between the cities of Vagharshapat and Artashat), the priests interpreted these dreams. Besides, they taught sciences and arts in the temple.

Apparently, Tir was also considered a guide of souls to the underworld. In the Hellenistic era, Tir was identified with Apollo.

King Artashes I (2nd century BC), having founded the city of Artashat, the future capital of Greater Armenia, moved the statue of Tir from the cult center in Bagaran to the newly-established city.

Most likely, the name of the fourth month of the ancient Armenian calendar, tre, is connected with the name Tir.

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

The Goat on the Armenian Highland: A Symbol Older Than Writing

Introduction Long before Urartian kings inscribed their names in cuneiform on the cliffs of Van,…

2 days ago

“Summon Against Her the Kingdoms of Ararat”: Urartu-Armenia in the Prophecy Against Babylon

A Coalition Beneath the Mountain Among the oracles of judgment collected in the Book of…

3 days ago

The Tower That Never Left Us: From the Susi Shrine of Ancient Van to the Obelisk Above the Yerevan Cascade

If you have ever climbed the Cascade in Yerevan and looked up at the tall,…

5 days ago

Hayravank Monastery: The “Father Monastery” of Lake Sevan and the Legend of the Doves

On a rocky promontory above the southwestern shore of Lake Sevan, at an elevation of…

1 week ago

Scythian Ceremonial Swords and the Art of the Van Kingdom (Urartu)

Among the most arresting objects to survive from the Early Iron Age Near East are…

1 week ago

Abandoned by an Ally: The French Armenian Legion in Cilicia and the Road to the Smyrna Catastrophe

How a promise made to genocide survivors was traded away for peace with Ankara —…

2 weeks ago