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Garni is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia. The Temple of Mithra, commonly referred to as Garni Temple, is the only wholly preserved sample of Hellenistic architecture in Armenia.
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13 ARMENIA Garni pagan temple
Sayat Nova Garni is a large village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is known for the nearby classical temple.
Garni is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia. The fortress of Garni is situated 28km of Yerevan, at the foot of the Geghama Mountains, on the right bank of the Azat River, on a picturesque, triangular terrace Today the town of Garni is a large, wealthy settlement and has about 8000 inhabitants
In the 8th century BC the area was conquered by the Urartian King Argishti I. The fortification at Garni was erected probably sometime in the 3rd century BC as a summer residence for the Armenian Orontid and Artaxiad royal dynasties. Later around the 1st century BC the fortress of Garni became the last refuge of King Mithridates of Armenia and where he and his family were assassinated by his son-in-law and nephew Rhadamistus. The fortress was eventually sacked in 1386 by Timur Lenk.
Urartian polytheistic gods Golden figure of Shivini, Sun God The temple was erected in the second half of the 1stc. It is a unique preserved architectural monument from the late antique (roman) period not only in Armenia but also in the region. The temple was dedicated to Mihr, the god of sun.
King Tigran the Great The walls was built without mortar, the so-called dry masonry. The stone joints were reinforced with iron rods at horizontal and vertical directions. The joints were filled with lead.
The Ararat Valley (including Garni) was included in the Ararat Kingdom (Urartu) 8th c BCE
Golden figure of Teisheb, God of the Elements The temple was dedicated to Mithra. Mithra is the equivalent of the Greek word “Helios” meaning “Sun” or the “God of Sun.” .
Khaldi. The supreme god. VIIBC Ornaments in the ceiling
King Tigran the Great During the Roman Republic's eastern expansion, the Kingdom of Armenia, under Tigranes the Great, reached its peak, from 83 to 69 BC, after it reincorporated Sophene and conquered the remaining territories of the falling Seleucid Empire (From 114 to 118, Armenia briefly became a province of the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan)
Ancestral Armenians built their lives around the laws of nature, believed to be controlled by the gods
The goddess Anahit Controlling (flattering) the gods to prevent their wrath was reflected in ceremonies, rituals, and temple design, which, borrowing from Pythagoras - and universal in the Near East and Rome - was made from specific geometric shapes and so-called sacred numbers, which were believed to have special symbolic meanings: Ornaments in the ceiling
The number 1 represents the universe, 2 for division, 3 (representing Trinity and the holy triad, in Armenia Aramazd, Anahit and Vahagn), 6 (perfection) and 9 (three x three or holiest number). Throughout the temple you will find these measures, or their combinations, illustrating this system of design
The goddess Anahit One imaginary view of how to interpret the temple structure is to see it as a representation of the cosmos, with a raised platform (the heavens) on top of 9 steps going upward, with 24 columns representing the vapors and the roof a dome of heaven
Figure1: Geometric shapes include two equilateral triangles with further 3 triangles inside. Each set of 3 triangles has a combined 9 sides
Figure2: Other imaginary shapes include a circle with 6 circles inside. The lower circles fill space where the statue and sacred fire were kept. The number 8 and 5 are repeted in measurements. Eight is the symbol of resurrection and new life. Five is a symbol of misfortune in some cultures, but it was also the sign of making things. Note that inside the sanctuary, five is the length of horizontal lines, eight the length of vertical lines.
S. Sion Church foundations adjacent to Garni Temple, 7th to 9th centuries
S. Sion Church foundations adjacent to Garni Temple, 7th to 9th centuries
The Roman Bath House is located at an angle to the residential block and is encased in a modern shed. Built of irregular blocks set in lime, the 3rd century building consisted of five rooms, four of which had apses.
The 3rd-4th centuries floor mosaics are perhaps the most impressive part of the bath house, the only surviving intact mosaic in Armenia. They are made from stones in 15 hues and depict figures in mythology
The inscriptions on the mosaic are Greek but the facial types are oriental, depicting fish, Nereids and the Ichthyocentauri. One of the remaining inscriptions on the floor mosaic is in Koine Greek (the popular form of Greek that emerged in post-classical antiquity from ca. 300 BCE to ca. 300 CE) and reads: We receive no dead (fish) from the sea neither from the ocean Which can also be translated to mean, “Worked without pay”
Greek inscription attributed to Tiridates I on basalt rock from Garni Tiridates I is one of the principal characters in George Frideric Handel's opera Radamisto and Reinhard Keiser's opera Octavia
Garni Gorge Azat River
The Garni Gorge with well preserved basalt columns, carved out by the Azat River. This portion of the gorge is typically referred to as the "Symphony of the Stones". It is most easily reached via a road that leads left down the gorge just before reaching the temple of Garni. Another road leads to the gorge through the village, down a cobblestone road, and into the valley.
11th-century bridge crossing the Azat River in Garni Gorge (prior to reconstruction)
Example of basalt columns Symphony of the Stones along Garni gorge
Example of basalt columns Symphony of the Stones along Garni gorge
Example of basalt columns Symphony of the Stones along Garni gorge
