Author: Jalatian Sonya

TURKEY’S MASSACRE OF ARMENIANS IN 1915 WILL NEVER BE AN ISSUE FOR THE
SWISS SENATE
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8. ARMINFO. Turkey’s massacre of Armenians in 1915
will never be an issue for the Swiss Senate, according to the
president of the Senate foreign-affairs committee Peter Briner.
According to Swissinfo, Peter Briner said other countries had no
business pointing the finger at Turkey 90 years after the disputed
events.Briner said the committee had decided that the death or
deportation of 800,000-1.8 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919
would not be the subject of a plenary session.
He said the committee agreed with the government that it was not
parliament’s job to decide whether the killings constituted genocide.
They have been recognised as such by the parliaments of several
countries, including the United States, France, Russia and Italy.
The Swiss House of Representatives recognised the genocide in 2003.
The Swiss government, however, does not officially speak of “genocide”
but of “mass deportation” and “massacre”.
Briner said the committee believed that it was up to the parties
involved, namely Turkey and Armenia, to reach an agreement.
Sabre-rattling A week is a long time in Swiss-Turkish politics, but
diplomatic relations need some serious resuscitation after a miserable
ten days for the two countries.
At the end of July the Swiss ambassador to Ankara had to deflect a
barrage of diplomatic flak concerning the Swiss investigation of a
Turkish politician who had proffered revisionist views about the
Armenian genocide in 1915.
Then on August 5 the Turkish authorities postponed indefinitely a
visit to Turkey in September by Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss,
citing agenda problems of his Turkish counterpart.
Few in Switzerland believe an inability to use a diary was the reason
for the cancellation.
“That’s a typical diplomatic excuse if you can’t think of a better
one,” said Briner.
“The important thing is that we now show some guts,” he said. “I get
the impression that the Turkish government wants to placate its people
with this sabre-rattling.”

Financial Times, UK
Aug 9 2005
Oil-for-food inquiry claims Sevan took $150,000 in payments
By Mark Turner at the United Nations
Published: August 9 2005 03:00 | Last updated: August 9 2005 03:00
Benon Sevan, former head of the United Nations’ Iraqi oil-for-food
programme, took almost $150,000 in illicit oil-related cash payments
in concert with two Egyptian businessmen, the UN’s independent
inquiry alleged yesterday.

The findings came a day after Mr Sevan resigned, insisting it was not
credible he would have compromised his career for such a sum.
The inquiry committee – chaired by Paul Volcker, former chairman of
the US Federal Reserve – also said it would continue to investigate
evidence that raised further questions about how much Kofi Annan, UN
secretary-general, knew of efforts by Cotecna, which employed Mr
Annan’s son Kojo, to win a UN inspection contract.
“Our conclusions are obviously significant and troubling,” Mr Volcker
said yesterday. He said he would ask the secretary-general to strip
Mr Sevan of his immunity from prosecution.
Mr Sevan “had knowledge that some of the oil was purchased by paying
illegal surcharges to Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions”,
the committee said.
It had traced the trail of proceeds from African Middle East
Petroleum’s (Amep) sale of about 7.3m barrels of Iraqi oil to a Swiss
bank account that was controlled by Fred Nadler, a friend of Mr
Sevan.
It says about $257,500 (208,000, £144,000) in cash withdrawals were
made from this account between late 1998 and late 2001, during
periods when Mr Sevan and/ or Mr Nadler were in Geneva and preparing
to return to New York. These withdrawals were soon followed by cash
deposits totalling $147,184 to the bank accounts of Mr Sevan and his
spouse in New York, the committee said.
“On the basis of available evidence, the report concludes that Mr
Sevan corruptly benefited from his request and receipt of Iraqi oil
allocations, and that Mr Nadler and [Fakhry] Abdelnour [Amep’s head]
financially benefited from and assisted in Mr Sevan’s corrupt
activity.”
The panel added that Mr Sevan and Mr Abdelnour had stopped
co-operating with the inquiry, while Mr Nadler had declined to
respond to any of the committee’s requests.
A previous report said both Mr Nadler and Mr Abdelnour were related
to former UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali. But the latest
findings should not be “construed as an opinion that other members of
the Sevan or Nadler families acted in a way that was wrong or
improper”.
Mr Sevan, who is in Cyprus, has expressed disappointment at Mr
Annan’s “expedient abandonment of Mr Sevan in the face of a
politically motivated investigation”. He says he would not have
compromised his career for so little.
But the report notes that “from mid-1997 through November 1998 the
Sevans’ finances were frequently stretched thin from the monthly
burden of funding two residences, debt obligations, credit card
charges, and related living expenses”.
During the period of alleged corruption, their situation improved,
with regular deposits made to their accounts. But “once the oil
stopped flowing for Amep, the cash soon stopped flowing into the
Sevans’ accounts”.
The report also says Mr Sevan played an important part in helping
Iraq win $300m for oil spare parts. It added that he expressed
displeasure in late 2000 at suggestions by the UN spokesman that the
Iraqi regime was imposing a surcharge on oil sales , saying it
“threatened to chill efforts by the secretary-general to entice the
regime to co-operate”.
And, as allegations of kickbacks mounted, Mr Sevan’s office told a
Security Council committee there was “no hard proof to corroborate”
them.
“If criminal charges are to be brought against Mr Sevan, the
prosecuting authority will need to obtain a waiver of Mr Sevan’s
immunity,” the report said. “The committee recommends that the
secretary-general accede to any properly supported request from an
appropriate law enforcement authority for such a waiver.”
The Volcker committee also found evidence that Alexander Yakovlev, a
UN procurement officer, “actively solicited” a bribe in connection
with the programme, as well as accepting illegal payments from UN
contractors outside the programme.
Mr Yakovlev, the report alleged, “secretly participated in a scheme
to solicit a bribe from Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), one
of the companies that submitted a bid for the oil inspection
contract.
“Mr Yakovlev furnished confidential bidding information to a friend
of his in France, Yves Pintore, who in turn approached SGS to see if
SGS would work with him and influential people in the UN in New
York.”
There was no evidence SGS paid a bribe. Mr Yakovlev also received
more than $950,000 in payments from various other UN contractors, the
report said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan Resumes Probe Into Xocali Killings
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Czech Republic
Aug 3 2005
(RFE/RL)
3 August 2005 — The office of Azerbaijan’s military prosecutor
says it has reopened a criminal investigation into the killing of
dozens of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces during the
Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The investigation had been suspended since March 1994.
A statement released today by Azerbaijan’s military prosecutor says
nearly 350 residents of Xocali, a predominantly Azerbaijani town of
Karabakh, were killed in February 1992 soon after the poorly defended
area fell into Armenian hands.
Earlier official figures released in Baku had put the number of
civilians killed in Xocali at nearly 500.
The Azerbaijani military prosecutor’s office also says it has opened
a criminal investigation into the February 1992 killing of nearly
50 residents of Qaradagli, an ethnic Azerbaijani village of the
predominantly ethnic Armenian separatist enclave.

NPR, DC
July 31 2005
Ten Larger-Than-Life Memoirs
Audio for this story will be available at approx. 10:00 a.m. ET

Author M.G. Lord, the daughter of a rocket engineer at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., weaves together the story
of her family’s life with that of the scientific journey to explore
Mars. Walker & Company
Morning Edition, August 1, 2005 · Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl
recommends books to Morning Edition listeners from time to time. Her
theme for this installment is the memoir.
Pearl has recommended 10 books. She says that she avoids
self-indulgent memoirs. What she looks for in a personal story is
wonderful writing first, and then context that makes the book
relevant to the wider world.
British aristocrat Jessica Mitford’s Hons and Rebels is at the top of
Pearl’s book pile. One of seven children, Mitford was a woman who
developed socialist beliefs even while two of her siblings became
attached to fascist ideas in the years before World War II. Mitford
developed into an accomplished journalist and applies those skills to
this book.
Black Dog of Fate is Peter Balakian’s tale of growing up Armenian in
New Jersey. His story is a journey of personal discovery centered on
the 1915 genocide that may have killed as many as one million
Armenians.
Going Back to Bisbee is a story that captures the beauty of the
desert through the story of a trip in Arizona, a state author Richard
Shelton has lived in since the 1950s.
Author M.G. Lord captures the detached, male culture of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in her book Astro Turf. Lord’s interest in the
JPL is personal. Her father was an engineer there working on Mars
exploration as she grew up in California.
Floyd Skloot’s In the Shadow of Memory is a collection of essays
detailing Skloot’s experience of losing his memory after being
infected by a virus. Gracefully written, the book also chronicles
Skloot’s struggle to regain memories lost to the illness.
The other memoirs recommended by Pearl are: Rain or Shine by Cyra
McFadden; Hole in the Sky by William Kittredge; How I Became Hettie
Jones by Hettie Jones; Minor Characters by Joyce Johnson and Mountain
City by Gregory Martin.

Orange County Register , CA
July 31 2005
Making news
By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register
Questions, questions, more questions – and few answers: Rarely has a
band inspired as many unsolvable head-scratchers as the one-of-a-kind
System of a Down.
For starters: How in the world did something so bizarre and
brilliantly antagonistic become so immensely popular? How did it
become the new giant of heavy rock?
It helps to start with some standard-issue queries, ones greener
journalists still ask, the sort initially put forth a decade ago when
L.A.- based System rose from the ashes of an ordinary metal band
called Soil, the first venture to pair polar-opposite creative forces
Serj Tankian (37, vocals and lyrics, primarily) and Daron Malakian
(29, guitars and music, primarily).
Obvious Question No. 1: What in the world is a System of a Down?
Best answer: You decide.
“It means different things to different people,” Tankian has said.
“That’s the beauty of it.” For the record, the name’s genesis started
with a poem by Malakian, titled “Victims of a Down.” “System” was
substituted because it seemed stronger. “Everything is a system,”
Malakian has said.
Obvious Question No. 2: How do you describe, System’s music, which
resists definition?
Every rock writer has tried to reduce its complex amalgamation of
art-rock, surreal political abrasiveness, Arabian exoticism, thrashy
metal and Frank Zappa absurdism to simple terms. Yet, as often occurs
with groundbreaking sounds, no one description has gotten it entirely
right.
Most pundits give up and dub the group a genre unto itself. The more
daring devise clever summations heavy on references that make critics
chuckle, like this stab from the June edition of Blender:
“Imagine the ‘mamma mia’ section of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ set
to a Bulgarian wedding dance as played by Slayer and punctuated with
a gaggle of vocal personal ads ranging from TV pitchmen to agitprop
hucksters to death-metal growlers to muezzin calling the faithful to
prayer – basically, Gilbert and Sullivan at Ozzfest.” I’d add: As
fronted by a bouncing and wailing guy who looks like Rasputin on
leave from a stint with Oingo Boingo.
I asked Tankian if he’s found an apt description. He paraphrased the
oft-quoted quip: “Talking about music is like dancing about
architecture.”
Then there are some seemingly straightforward questions that remain
unanswered even at this late point, with the outfit having issued
four monster albums (2001’s “Toxicity” racked up sales of 3.5
million) and about to embark on a stateside tour Thursday in Long
Beach while waiting for the November arrival of the second half
(“Hypnotize”) of a split-apart double-album that began with May’s
“Mezmerize,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album charts.
The first imponderable: Why must every piece about System of a Down
mention that the band members are of Armenian descent?
That’s a puzzler even a cursory glance at recent System clippings
proves true, one a reader reiterated to me after I pointed out the
quartet’s shared heritage in a review.
To listen to System’s albums, and consider its roots, it would seem
crucial to note. Three of members of the quartet – Tankian, Malakian
and bassist Shavo Odadjian – attended the same private Armenian high
school in Hollywood. (Drummer John Dolmayan joined the group in
1996.) Not surprisingly, System’s music, and especially Tankian’s
maniacal vocal style, is often laced with striking,
idiosyncraticstrains each member was raised with at home.
Further reason to play up the Armenian angle: On its self-titled,
1998 debut, System finished with a song, “P.L.U.C.K. (Politically
Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers),” that condemned the Ottoman Turks
of 1915-23 for the ethnic cleansing of Armenians, which killed 1.5
million, and the Turks of today for refusing to acknowledge the
atrocity occurred. The band, whose grandfathers were survivors of the
genocide and fled to Iraq and elsewhere, also plays an annual
L.A.-area show every April 24 (called “Souls”) commemorating and
aiming to boost awareness of the bloodshed.
Considering all of that, how can one not point out that these guys
are Armenian? It’s too intrinsic, isn’t it?
“Well, yes and no,” Tankian told me by phone from Rotterdam, the
Netherlands, where System was midway through a European tour. “The
problem we’ve had with articles from the beginning is that we just
don’t like being put in a box. At first they called us an Armenian
rock band. Then they called us a political band, which some people
still call us. We’re always finding more adjectives that put us in a
box, and anytime that happens, we naturally rebel against it.
“I think some people are probably tired of hearing about us being
Armenian. You know, Black Sabbath was an amazing band, but people
didn’t focus on them being English the whole time. The Beatles had
lots of political and social commentary in their songs, but no one
really called them a political band.”
Yes, but people eventually did brand John Lennon a political artist,
at least partly. Likewise, though Malakian now contributes as many
scathing indictments to System’s lyrics as his goateed, curly-haired
partner in barbed lunacy, it’s Tankian who represents the activist
face of the group. He is both the mouthpiece of its material and
co-founder of the protest organization Axis of Justice with friend
Tom Morello, formerly of Rage Against the Machine, now with
Audioslave.
Sometimes the invective in System’s songs is blatant, as in “Sad
Statue,” about generational apathy, or “B.Y.O.B.,” which wonders “why
do they always send the poor” to fight wars; other times it’s
over-the- top and screwy, as is the case with the phallic,
quasi-operatic “Cigaro,” in which bragging comparisons of male
anatomy becomes a starting point for globally aggressive stratagems.
Regardless whether the focus is outwardly social (“Prison,” the new
“Violent Pornography”) or inwardly anguished (the demented, suicidal
“Chop Suey!”), the foursome remains best known as outspoken critics
and caricaturists in an era saturated with meaningless pop and
largely devoid of resolute political outcry, apart from token
anti-war tunes.
But Tankian balks at the thought that System is spearheading a fresh
infusion of spiked diatribes into rock. “We do have a lot of
political and social stuff in our songs,” he says, “but there’s just
as much humorous stuff and personal narrative as well.”
As for drawing attention to the Armenian genocide: “I wish (it) was
something that we wouldn’t have to talk about. It would be great if
politically things were resolved and we wouldn’t have to talk about
it again. Nobody really wants to. But it’s a terrible tragedy and it
continues to affect us. It is a part of who we are, but it doesn’t
fully define our music.”
So if terms like “art-metal” and “Armenian rock” don’t paint a full
portrait of System, how would the band prefer to be described?
“How about nothing?” Tankian responded, laughing, perhaps realizing
that won’t happen. “How about just our name? I’d rather not do
interviews. Just have journalists smoke one and enjoy the music and
write whatever they want. Then you’re dealing with the actual
stimulus and subject matter, not the afterthought or the mental
breakdown of it.”
Which brings us back to that perplexing afterthought no one, either
in the group or merely observing it, can figure out.
The second imponderable: How did an act as strange as System of a
Down get to be so unbelievably popular?
“Man, I couldn’t tell you that,” Malakian told Blender recently. “I
mean, four Armenian guys? Who do you market that to? And our sound
like ‘B.Y.O.B.’ – that’sa single?”
Yet it is, dominating modern-rock outlets like KROQ/106.7 FM and
causing fervor among fans like nothing since the dawn of grunge.
Tankian can’t explain System’s success, either, though “one thing I
can say is our music is very honest. That might strike a chord with
some people.”
The band’s ascendancy seems to rest on two resonant factors: 1) Its
music defies categorization at a time when few others are pushing
boundaries, thus appealing to people looking for something different;
and 2) it gets at the heart of what many people, young and older, are
feeling during times of war abroad and political acrimony at home.
System ponders difficult issues that can’t be resolved in four-minute
songs; it raises questions but doesn’t offer answers.
Thus, it inspires listeners to think for themselves. “That’s how it
should be,” Tankian says.
Of course – in a utopian music biz where artistic pursuit trumps
commercial viability. The real question, though, is whether System’s
breakthrough will cause a shift toward increased creative freedom
within the industry. Will other acts follow its revolutionary lead?
Will labels foster and promote it?
Tankian isn’t so hopeful. “I think there’s a dichotomy at play –
industry vs. art. And the industry is actually worse off now than it
used to be, in terms of conglomerations having maximum control and
fewer major labels all merging and cutting staff. There’s less room
for artistic development in the music industry today than there was
10 years ago – which was less than there was 20 years ago, which was
less than there was 30 years ago.
“So the industry is not something to look at. Bands just have to do
their thing, create the music that comes from their heart and somehow
go directly to the public with it. It’s never been the easy way of
doing it. But that’s the only way.”
In a roundabout fashion, that’s exactly what System has done, by
fomenting a grass-roots network of fans in Southern California while
striking up a relationship with producer Rick Rubin, who has
co-produced all of System’s albums for his American Recordings
imprint. If nothing else, System stands as proof that flukes can
inexplicably work.
But flukes are just that – flukes.
“Yeah,” Tankian says, “but it’s time for more flukes.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 28, 2005 Thursday 11:25 AM Eastern Time
Well-known Rssn businessman decorated with Legion of Honor order
PARIS
President Jacques Chirac of France has signed a decree on decorating
the well-known Russian businessman Ara Abramian, who chairs the Union
of Russian Armenians and is a UNESCO good will ambassador, with the
Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest state award in this
country.
“Ara Abramian did very much for the promotion of Russian-French
relations,” Russia’s ambassador to France, Alexander Avdeyev said.
“He is a co-chairman of the Russian-French Dialogue public
association that was set up at the initiative of Presidents Vladimir
Putin and Jacques Chirac.”
“Mr. Abramian helped to install a monument to the Soviet soldier at
Pere La Chaise cemetery in Paris to commemorate the 60th anniversary
since the end of World War II,” Avdeyev said.
“He also organized fruitful bilateral business meetings and the
festival of Russian movies in Honfleur in Normandy,” he said.
“Mr. Abramian’s activity in the area of Russian-French relations
combines warm feelings with concrete moves, and that’s why I think
the French President’s decision to decorate him with the Order of the
Legion of Honor is totally well-grounded,” Avdeyev said.
“He’s definitely one of the people who mold a new Russian-French
partnership with their own hands,” the ambassador indicated.
The Order of the Legion of Honor, an award having five degrees of
distinction, was instituted by Napoleon in 1802. It is awarded for
outstanding services to France.

International Journalist’s Network
July 26 2005
Environmental magazine announces journalism contest
August 20 is the deadline for journalists in Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia to enter a contest for the region’s best investigative
reports on environmental issues.
Caucasus Environment magazine is organizing the contest, to be
officially announced in their next issue. Submissions can cover any
specific environmental problem in the Caucasus, from pollution and
waste management to environmental legislation in the region.
Articles should be two to three pages long. All entries should be
sent to the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Catherine Nakashidze, at
[email protected] or [email protected].
Caucasus Environment launched in early 2002 with funding from the
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Online
subscriptions are available at

Armenian Students’ Association Welcomes Two Newest Board Members
PRESS RELEASE
333 Atlantic Avenue
Warwick, RI 02888
(401) 461-6114
[email protected]
Website:
NEW YORK, NY – The Armenian Students’ Association (ASA) is proud to announce
the addition of two new members to its Board of Trustees. Aleksandr V.
Gevorkyan and Rafi Hovsepian were officially elected to the Board during the
ASA’s 96th Annual Convention Meeting last month on June 18th. Also
re-elected to their Board seats during the meeting were longtime Board
members Azarig Kooloian, Jr. and R. Carol Norigian.
Mssrs. Gevorkyan and Hovsepian trace their involvement in the ASA to the
organization’s New York branch, where they made a name for themselves by
holding a series of cultural and social events aimed at keeping the New York
City Armenian community viable and vibrant. Hovsepian first joined the New
York ASA branch as a member in 1996, while Gevorkyan’s membership with the
branch began in 2000. Both have also served as capable and personable
branch presidents: Hovsepian from 2000-2002 and Gevorkyan from 2002-2005.
The ASA’s Board of Trustees is made up of nine members that are elected to
terms of three years apiece. In addition to the above-mentioned four
individuals, the Board members include Brian Assadourian, Beatrice Babgouni,
George Chakoian, Thomas Pitts, Jr. and Robert Semonian. Hovsepian’s term,
along with those of Kooloian and Norigian, is set for the standard
three-year period. Gevorkyan’s term, however, is scheduled to last for one
year, as he took over the seat of a Board member who had resigned earlier
this year.
Headquartered in Warwick, RI, the Armenian Students’ Association is the
oldest major Armenian organization founded in the United States, established
in 1910. The purposes of this Association are educational and charitable,
in that it shall encourage educational pursuits by Armenians in America and
the raising of their intellectual standards, provide financial assistance in
the form of scholarships and loans to deserving Armenian students, develop
fellowship among them, cultivate in them the spirit of service in the public
interest, and acquaint them and the entire American community with Armenian
culture.
For more information, please contact the national office of the Armenian
Students’ Association at (401) 461-6114 or visit the organization’s Web site
at

GOVERNOR OF VENETO HIGHLY ESTIMATES INITIATIVE OF HOLDING
ITALIA-ARMENIA FRIENDSHIP DAYS IN ARMENIA
VENICE, JULY 22, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Ruben Shugarian, the
Ambassador of Armenia to Italy visited Venice on July 18, where he met
with Giancarlo Galan, the Governor of Veneto. The goal of the meeting
was to discuss holding of Italia-Armenia Friendship Days in Armenia in
autumn, bearing in mind that display of treasures of the Venice San
Lazzarro (Surb Ghazar) Island took the central place among those great
cultural events. Giancarlo Galan highly estimated that initiative
mentioning that the Governor’s Office of Veneto is ready to have
practical participation in the events, and accepted Shugarian’s
invitation to visit Armenia during those days with pleasure. Yeghia
Kilaghbian, the General Abbot of the Mechitarist Congregation was also
present at the meeting. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign
Ministry’s Press and Information Department, before that, on July 13,
Ambassador Shugarian met in Rome with Anna Blefari-Melazzi, the
Director General for Cultural Promotion and Cooperation of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iatly, as well. Issues concerning
holding of the Italia-Armenia Friendship Days were discussed at the
meeting.

FIRST IRANIAN GODDESS OF PRODUCTIVITY AND VALUES
By Manouchehr Saadat Noury – Persian Journal
Persian Journal, Iran
July 21 2005
INTRODUCTION:
A myth (in Persian: Afssaaneh or Osstureh) is an ancient story or set
of stories, especially explaining in a literary way the early history
of a group of people or about natural events and facts. These stories
usually deals with mythical creatures or heros which are imaginary or
not real. Most of the times, a myth relates the events, conditions,
and deeds of gods and goddesses or superhuman beings that are outside
ordinary human life and yet basic to it. These events are set in a
time altogether different from historical time, often at the
beginning of creation or at an early stage of prehistory. A culture’s
myth is usually closely related to its religious beliefs and rituals.
One of the famous myths in Iranian culture is considered to be the
Myth of ANAHITA who is also known as the first Iranian Goddess (in
Persian: Nakhosteen Khodda Zan-e-Iran). In this article the precedent
for early worship in Iran, various names and meanings of ANAHITA,
mythological and the historical aspects of ANAHITA, the First Iranian
Goddess of Productivity and Values, are studied and discussed.
EARLY WORSHIP IN IRAN:
In studying the ancient religions of the peoples of the Iranian
plateau, researchers documented that a powerful sacred group, the
Magi (in Persian: Magh-haa), dominated the Median Dynasty or Medes
(728-550 BC) and Achaemenid Dynasty or Persian Empire (550-330 BC).
According to Greek historian Herodotus, the Magi (the plural of
Magus) were the sacred sects of the Medes. But their power was
curtailed by Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, and
by his son Cambyses II. Then the Magi revolted against Cambyses II
and set up a rival claimant to the throne, one of their own, who took
the name of Smerdis. The Persians under Darius I (521-486 BC)
defeated Smerdis and his forces. The sects of the Magi continued in
Persia, though their influence was limited after that political
setback. During the Classical era (555 BC to AD 300), some Magi
remained in Iran, and some migrated westward, settling in Greece, and
then in Rome, Italy.
The Magi were responsible for chanting accounts of the origin and
descent of the gods and the goddesses in pre-Zoroastrian times. The
chief god of the pre-Zoroastrian era was AHURA MAZDA, the creator of
the universe and the one who maintains the cosmic and social order.
MITHRA was the second most important deity. Other major deities
included ANAHITA, the goddess of productivity and values; RASHNU, the
god of justice; and astral deities such as TISHTRYA or Tistriyn,
identified with the star Sirius. Until the reign of Achaemenian
Artaxerxes II (ruled 404-358 BC), the ancient Iranians did not use to
build temples or make images of their gods and goddesses, and they
preferred to worship in the open. The central ritual consisted of a
festive meal at which the worshipers made animal sacrifices and
invited the deity to attend as a guest. Fire was regarded as a sacred
element. The sacred drink named Hauma, which contained a
mind-altering medicine, was used to inspire worshipers with insight
into truth (in Persian: Raasti) and to stimulate warriors (in
Persian: Delavaraan or Razmandeggaan) going into battle. The name of
the drink was possibly derived from HAOMA or Homa that was the lord
of all medicinal plants in the ancient Iranian mythology.
NAME OF ANAHITA IN DIFFERENT CULTURES:
In Persian culture, the myth is called as Anahita, Anahit, Anahiti,
and Ardvi Sura Anahita. In Modern Persian, it is called as Nahid
(spelled also as Naheed), which is the name of planet Venus. In Greek
culture, it is called as Anahitis. The Greeks also associated
Anahitis with either Athena or Aphrodite. It should be noted that
there is a complete distinction between the Persian Myth of Anahita
and Anat or Anath. In contrary to Anahita, Anat or Anath was a
goddess of the Canaanites, Phoenicians, and Egyptians, which was
regarded as the goddess of war and violence. The Egyptians usually
depicted Anat carrying a spear, axe and shield, and wearing a tall
crown surmounted by two ostrich feathers.
VARIOUS MEANINGS OF ANAHITA:
Here is the list of the various meanings of Anahita as reported by
different groups of researchers: productivity (in Persian:
Faraavaresh or Soodmandi), values (Arzesh-haa), fertility (Baarvari),
immaculate (Biggonaah-o-Moghadass), perfect (Dorost-o-Tamaam-Ayaar),
water (Aab), plants and green (Nabaat-o-Sabz), clean (Paak),
untainted (Bi-aib), innocent (Biggonaah-o-Mobaraa), benefactor
(Niko-Kaar), patroness or supporter of females (Poshtibaan-e-Zanaan),
and pure (Naab-o-Sareh).
THE MYTHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ANAHITA:
Anahita was and still is regarded as an ancient Persian Myth. She
embodied the physical and metaphorical qualities of water, especially
the productive flow of water from the fountain in the stars. She also
ruled semen and human fertility. She was viewed as the “Golden
Mother”, “Goddess of Productivity”, and as a “Warrior Maiden”. She is
associated with rivers and lakes, as the “Water of Birth”. Though
Anahita as a myth is originally considered as an ancient Persian
Myth, some authors have also reported that she may have been a direct
borrowing from the Near East, or may have acquired Near Eastern
characteristics from a confrontation between Iranian and Mesopotomian
cultures. However, there is no reliable evidence to support those
reports.
Anahita is usually portrayed as a virgin, dressed in a golden cloak,
and wearing a diamond tiara (sometimes also carrying a water
pitcher). The dove and the peacock are her sacred animals. Anahita is
also represented dressed in gleaming gold with a crown and jewels.
Anahita is often shown wearing a golden kerchief, square gold
earrings, and a jeweled diadem, and wrapped in a golden-embroidered
cloak adorned with thirty otter skins. (Otter is a four-legged mammal
with short brown fur, which swims well and eats fish). Anahita is
also portrayed and honored with offerings of green branches and white
heifers. And she is sometimes depicted as driving a chariot drawn by
four white horses, representing Wind, Rain, Clouds, and Hail. (A
chariot was a two wheeled vehicle used in ancient times for racing
and fighting and a horse used to pull it).
THE HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF ANAHITA:
The first Iranian goddess of productivity, and values, ANAHITA, was
widely worshiped in ACHAEMENIAN TIMES. Achaemenian Artaxerxus II who
reigned from 404 Bc to 358 BC ordered that images of Anahita should
be erected in all the principal cities of the Persian Empire. It is
documented that many temples were also built in her honor in Susa or
Shoosh (the first Iranian federal capital), Ecbatana (city of
Hamadaan located 400 km southwest of Tehran in present-day Iran), and
in Babylon (about 110 km south of Baghdad in present-day Iraq).
Later, Anahita was widely worshiped in various parts of Armenia, Asia
Minor and the West. Armenians called out to Anahita as the “Great
Lady Anahita, Nation Glory and Life-Giver, Mother of Sobriety, and
Benefactor of Humanity.”
Anahita is not present in the earliest parts of the AVESTA; her cult
would have been alien or unfamiliar to the Henotheistic Spirit (the
devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods)
of the Zarathushtra presented in the GATHAS. By the later AVESTIC
PERIOD (from about 553 BC to about AD 200) and onward, however, more
lenient Zoroastrian Clergies (in Persian: Moabedaan-e-Zartoshti) had
adapted the goddess to the new religion. The fifth Yasht, the “Hymn
to the Water”, praises Anahita as one “who hates the gods of Daevas
(in Persian: Deev-haa) or the enemies of true religion and obeys the
laws of Ahura”.
By the HELLENISTIC era (330 ? 310 BC), if not before, Anahita’s cult
came to be closely associated with that of MITHRA.
The ANAHITA TEMPLES have been built in many Iranian cities like
Kangavar, Bishapur ( an ancient city in south of present-day Faliyan)
and other places during different eras. An inscription from 200 BC
dedicates a SELEUCID temple in western Iran to “Anahita, as the
Immaculate Virgin Mother of the Lord Mithra”. The ANAHITA TEMPLE at
Kangavar city of Kermanshah (a western province in present-day Iran)
is possibly the most important one. It is speculated that the
architectural structure of this temple is a combination of the Greek
and Persian styles and
some researchers suggest that the temple is related to a girl named
Anahita, the daughter of Din Mehr, who enjoyed a very high status
with the ancient Iranians.
TODAY, DIFFERENT CONSTRUCTIONS (HOUSES, STORES, STREETS, ETC) HAVE
BEEN BUILT ON THE SURFACE OF THIS VALUABLE HISTORICAL SITE, AND ONLY
A PART OF THE TEMPLE HAS REMAINED INTACT BECAUSE IT NEIGBORS THE
MOSQUE OF IMAMZADEH (IN PERSIAN: MASJED-E-EMAAMZAADEH).