Astghik

Goddess of love, beauty, and water in the Armenian polytheistic pantheon; spouse of Vahagn. The transparent astral-etymology (astghik = "little star," diminutive of astgh) preserves the native Armenian Indo-European astral-feminine root, distinct from the Iranic-loan theonyms of Aramazd, Anahit, Vahagn, and Mihr. Her pairing with Vahagn in the Aštišat cult-complex parallels Indo-European warrior-and-astral-feminine pairings. The Vardavar water-festival, in which young men poured water on young women, preserves Astghik's love-and-water complex; the festival continues in modern Armenia as the Christian Vardavar (Transfiguration), retaining the water-pouring practice. The pearl-Lady (margaritavor) epithet preserved in some recensions reflects the broader Iranic-Mediterranean astral-feminine pearl-association complex.

Powers

• Bestow love and beauty
• Veil herself in mist

Epithets

• Աստղիկ armenian · Astłik'Little Star' — goddess of love and beauty, spouse of VahagnMovses Khorenatsi, History of Armenia 2.14 (primary)

Relations

• spouse: Vahagn
• equated with: AphroditeReciprocal of greek_hesiod_aphrodite.equated-with — Armenian tradition glosses Astghik ('little star', Venus) as Aphrodite; spouse of Vahagn-Heracles. Preserves the love-and-Venus core; breaks on Astghik's water-and-rose festival (Vardavar) localism.J. R. Russell, Zoroastrianism in Armenia (1987) (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Khorenatsi 2.49 (primary); Agathangelos Ch. 808-810 (primary)