When I went to Armenia, we were shown unusual stones called vishapas.
I, of course, knew that Armenia is a country of miracles and surprises that travelers are waiting for at every step, but even when I saw these stones, I was surprised.
Vishapas were discovered a long time ago and are considered well-studied. But not so long ago archaeologists discovered numerous burial vishapas during excavations. And today still this mystery is not solved, it is not clear to anyone why the stones - vishapas were buried in the ground.
And the first vishap was found in Armenia in the 1st millennium BC. E. It was a vishap in the form of a fish, and found it in Imirsek.
The very word "vishap" was borrowed from the Persian language, and in Persian mythology there were such evil dragons who were the keepers of the water, and they were called vishapas.
Armenia itself, then, many centuries ago was called very poetic - "Nairi country", a country of rivers. And on the territory of Armenia there were always many waterfalls, lakes and rivers. But, and such stone statues were often installed near reservoirs and springs.
Sometimes vishapas reached 5 meters in height and, as is known, they come in different forms: they have the shape of fish, bull skins, there are vishapas and with images of cranes or storks, sometimes they are also seen with the image of a snake.
In the modern Armenian language the word "vishap" - վիշապ - means "dragon". According to mythological ideas in Armenia, vishapas live in the sky, in large lakes, or on mountain tops, and during a thunderstorm, heavenly vishapas descend, and vishapes of mountains and lakes rise to the sky. A large vishap can absorb the sun, from which solar eclipses take place.
But according to the Armenian folk epic vishapas take possession of water sources and are forced to sacrifice themselves to girls, but they enter into a duel with them and they are always defeated by national heroes. About vishapas are told in Armenian fairy tales.
Today on the territory of modern Armenia - at Lake Sevan see a mountain called Vishapa Mountain. There is also Lake Vishapalich nearby. There are also stelae in Armenia called vishapakarer, which translates into Russian as "vishapa stones". And the locals tell you a lot of mysterious legends and attachments about Sevan monsters.
According to one of these legends, Vishapu was worshiped, especially in a drought: it was believed that the Serpent (Dragon), dragging its long tail on the ground, indicated a place in which it was possible to dig canals.
According to another legend, it was believed that it was vishap that blocked access to life-giving moisture, and you could get water only by killing this evil dragon. And his main rival in Armenia was the god of the storm, which was called Vahagn here.
And later, with the adoption of Christianity, he was called Saint Gevorg (George). Yes, yes, we call him George the Victorious, who also kills the evil Serpent ...
If you've been to Armenia, you've often seen such vishapas in Yerevan parks, here they were transported from the Gegam Mountains.
Armenia is called a country of stones, and it is not by chance that every stone is a witness of history, which Armenian masters managed to turn into a unique architectural element.