MAIASP. 2022. No. S1

S.A. Yatsenko (Moscow, Russia)

THE GODS OF SARMATIANS

DOI: 10.53737/2713-2021.2022.89.30.006

Access this article (PDF File)

<< Previous page

Pages: 143—184

The anthropomorphization process and the probable identification of nine Sarmatian gods and goddesses are considered. There are two times fewer visualized female deities than male ones. Some of the characters were visualized only in a single case, others had two or even three versions of the iconography. Few of them are visualized without the obvious influence of other cultures (Nos. 1, 9), in most cases Greek-Roman iconography was used. For four characters the contribution of Central Asia is traced. Of great importance is the presumed identification of the characters with specific deites known in the Alano-Ossetian tradition or among other Iranian peoples. It was possible to do it in all cases. Identification is hindered by the short existence of Sarmatian groups, when the tradition was quickly interrupted. The analysis of oral descriptions in the folklore texts turned out to be quite effective. Three deities the Sarmatians (Nos. 10—12) were not visualized in art but their appearance at this time can be imagined from other sources.

Key words: gods of Sarmatians, identification with Alano-Ossetian personages, variants and stages of anthropomorphization of images, the use of images of foreign deities, 2^nd c. BCE — 4^th c. CE.

Received November 30, 2022

Accepted for publication December 12, 2022

About the author:

Yatsenko Sergey Aleksandrovich (Moscow, Russia). Dr. habil., Professor, Russian State University for the Humanities

E-mail: sergey_yatsenko@mail.ru