Barastyr
Ossetian · deity · cosmogonic · Recorded classification
JUDGE TO SOME AND HOST TO OTHERS — the sources are explicit that he is not simply a punisher. The corpus held no Ossetian underworld at all, although its Soslan cycle turns on a journey to the Land of the Dead.
Domains
- rule of the underworld
- judgement of the dead
- assignment to paradise
Relations
- commands: AminonAminon opens the iron gates on Barastyr's orders; reciprocated in meaning by ossetian_aminon's gatekeeper-for relation, which is written within this batch.Reference treatment of Barastyr and Aminon: Barastyr is the ruler of the underworld, who assigns arriving dead souls either to paradise or to his own realm, and who is both a judge and a jailer for some of the dead and a hospitable host for others; Aminon is the gatekeeper of the underworld, who on Barastyr's orders opens its iron gates, which can only be reached before sunset; in other versions of the saga Aminon stands at the gates and asks everyone who approaches about the deeds the deceased has done during his life, and by evaluating those earthly affairs shows them the way either to heaven or to hell — if the deceased lies, Aminon beats them on the lips with a broom dipped in blood and throws them into the river, while under the feet of the one who spoke truthfully the log above the river dividing the world of the living from the world of the dead expands and turns into a beautiful bridge. (secondary)
Sources
- The ruler of the underworld, who assigns arriving souls either to paradise or to his own realm, and who is judge and jailer to some of the dead and a hospitable host to others.: Reference treatment of Barastyr and Aminon: Barastyr is the ruler of the underworld, who assigns arriving dead souls either to paradise or to his own realm, and who is both a judge and a jailer for some of the dead and a hospitable host for others; Aminon is the gatekeeper of the underworld, who on Barastyr's orders opens its iron gates, which can only be reached before sunset; in other versions of the saga Aminon stands at the gates and asks everyone who approaches about the deeds the deceased has done during his life, and by evaluating those earthly affairs shows them the way either to heaven or to hell — if the deceased lies, Aminon beats them on the lips with a broom dipped in blood and throws them into the river, while under the feet of the one who spoke truthfully the log above the river dividing the world of the living from the world of the dead expands and turns into a beautiful bridge. (secondary)