Description
Astghik ("asterisk"), in Armenian mythology, the goddess of love and water.
The name Asthik goes back to the symbol of the goddess — the planet Venus. Later, Anahit and Asthik became independent deities. According to myths, Astghik, an extraordinary beauty, bathed every night in the Euphrates where it flows through a narrow rocky gorge.
To admire the naked goddess, young men lit fires on Mount Dagonats (Taron Mountain, within modern Turkey). Protecting herself from the eyes of others, Astghik covered the entire Taron Valley with fog.
According to other myths (which probably arose after the spread of Christianity), Asthik is the daughter of Xisutra (Noah), born after the flood.
After the death of Xisutr, a war broke out for power over the universe between his sons Zrvan, Titan and Iapetos. Astghik persuades them to stop their quarrels.
Titan and Iapetos recognize the power of Zrvan, but they stipulate the extermination of all his male children so that the descendants of Zrvan do not rule over them. After killing two of Zrvan's sons, Astghik, along with his wives, saves the others, sending them to the west, to Mount Dyutskets.
In the Hellenistic era, Astghik was identified with Aphrodite. Temples and places of worship of Asthik were located in Ashtishat, in the Anjevatsik region on Mount Palata (southeast of Lake Van), in Artamet on the shore of Lake Van, etc.
According to the Armenian calendar, in the middle of summer (at the end of the old year and at the beginning of the new one), the vardavar festival was held (probably from "ward", "rose" or "water"), Astghik was presented with a rose, doves were released, and the participants of the ceremony sprinkled each other with water.