Pantheon •
Bochi (ბოჩი) - the
Horned God of fertility and cattle breeding. The first written account of this deity comes from
Euthymius of Athos. Bochi was typically depicted in the form of a goat, and his name literally translates as "male goat". According to
Prince Teimuraz, Bochi was worshipped both in
Colchis and in
Iberia. He states that Bochi’s main temple was located in Colchis, on the site of what is now the
Pitsunda Cathedral. After Christianity became the dominant religion, the temple was destroyed, and a church was built on its ruins. •
Adgilis Deda (ადგილის დედა) – A goddess of fertility and livestock revered by the inhabitants of the mountainous areas of northeastern Georgia (such as
Khevsureti) as the patroness of certain places and of travellers. She is portrayed as a beautiful lady with silver jewellery. She later became associated with the
Virgin Mary when the area was converted to Christianity. Her name means "Mother of Locality". •
Ainina and Danina (აინინა და დანინა) – A pair of goddesses who are mentioned in
The Conversion of Kartli and the mediaeval
Georgian Chronicles. •
Elia (ელია) – The god of rain and thunder in Georgian mythology. His original name from the pre-Christian, pagan period is unknown. After the Christianization of Georgia, the pagan deity became identified with the biblical prophet
Elijah. Despite efforts by the official Church, Christianity was unable to eradicate the cult of Elia, merely incorporating certain Christian elements into it. •
Apsat (აფსათი) – A male god of birds and animals in
Svan mythology. •
Shavkhan (შავხანი) – God of blacksmithing in
Svan mythology. •
Bedis Mtserlebi (ბედის მწერლები) – Deities who write the fate of humans and all other spiritual beings with the help of their magic book. •
Armazi (არმაზი) – Chief of the gods; central figure in the official religion of (Caucasian)
Iberia (=
Kartli) established by King
Pharnavaz I of Iberia (4th century BC). According to the
Life of Saint Nino an immense statue of Armazi – along with images of other deities and the temple that housed them – was destroyed by a storm of giant
hailstones raised by the prayers of
Saint Nino. Armazi is also the name of an ancient fortress near
Mtskheta that dates from the same period. •
Barbale (ბარბალე) – The goddess of cattle and poultry fertility, the sun, women's fertility, and healing. where she watches over and protects wild animals. She sometimes shares animals with hunters, as long as they respect her rules by not hunting more than their needed amounts or taking aim at animals that are her manifestations. In some myths, she will enter into a sexual relationship with a hunter, while warning him not to reveal their liaison upon pain of death by causing him to fall to his death from a cliff, usually during a hunt •
Tamar (თამარი) – Goddess who enslaved the
Morning Star and controlled the weather patterns; was called "eye of the earth" and rode a
serpent. •
Tetri Giorgi (თეთრი გიორგი, "White George"), form of
Saint George venerated in
Kakheti, variously identified as a reflex of the ancient lunar god, and as a reflex of the ancient storm/weather god (
Kopala). •
Tevdore (თევდორე) – God of agriculture and horses. After Christianization, he became associated with
St. Theodore. In feudal times the special festival of Tedoroba was organised to honor him and ensure a bountiful harvest. •
Ghvtis Shvilni (ღვთის შვილნი, Children of God or Children of Gmerti) – A group of demigods who protected humans, assured good crops and milk yields, fought against devis and kudiani witches. Amiran, Giorgi, Iakhsar, and Kopala were among them, and they fought alongside Iakhsar and Kopala to drive out the devis from the land, and to help Giorgi to raid the impregnable fortress of the kajis to plunder their treasures, cattle, and women. He and Iakhsar lead a campaign to drive underground the devis who are persecuting humans in the middle realm. His weapons include a
mace and an iron
bow made for him by the
blacksmith god Pirkusha (პირქუშა) (with whom compare Ossetian divine smith
Kurdalægon and Circassian
Tlepsh). He alone has the power to defeat the most stubborn demons, believed to seize a person's soul and cause madness, and, by this means, he cures those afflicted by insanity. Their name may be related to the word for "flame" (ალი). This supernatural being occurs not only in the folklore of the Caucasus, but also in the folk beliefs of
Iran,
Central Asia and
Mongolia and conceptions of its appearance may derive from folk memories of
relict hominins (see also
Almas (cryptozoology)). •
Devi (დევი) – Many-headed ogres whose heads can regenerate if any of them are cut off (compare
Lernaean Hydra). These malevolent giants live in the underworld or in remote mountains, where they hoard treasure troves and keep their captives. In Georgian mythology, they live in a family, consisting usually of nine brothers. Bakbak-Devi (ბაყბაყ-დევი) was the strongest and the most powerful of the devis. To defeat them, heroes would outwit them by means of various tricks and games. They appear prominently in
Shota Rustaveli's
Vepkhistkaosani (ვეფხისტყაოსანი), in which the Kajis abduct Princess Nestan-Darejan and fight the heroes at Kajeti fortress, although Rustaveli
euhemerises them, portraying them, not as a race of supernatural beings, but a tribe of human
wizards (albeit wizards of awe-inspiring power). The Kajis also feature in
The Snake-eater by another celebrated Georgian poet,
Vazha-Pshavela, in which they appear as the preparers of a stew of snake-meat that confers
occult wisdom on the hero, Mindia (compare
The White Snake). Their name is related to the Armenian storm and wind spirits, the kaj (
Armenian: քաջ, k'aǰ; plural: քաջք k'aǰk'). •
Kudiani (კუდიანი) – A type of hideous hunchbacked witch, having large teeth and a tail, from the latter of which her name is derived (kudi, კუდი, "tail"). Kudianis can disguise themselves as humans in order to bewitch them. The leader of the kudianis, Rokap (როკაპი), often summons them to a special mountain (compare
Brocken,
Łysa Góra,
Lysa Hora (Kyiv) and
Lysa Hora (folklore)) where they hold a festival similar to the European
Walpurgis Night. •
Ochokochi (ოჩოკოჩი) – A forest being in
Mingrelian folklore who comes into conflict with hunters. Instead of hair on his chest, he has a protuberance in the form of a pointed bone or a
stone axe, which he uses to kill passersby by embracing them. He often chases Tkashmapa, the beautiful Queen of the Forest, out of
lust, but his uncouth advances are just as often thwarted by mortal hunters (with the worthiest of whom she prefers, on occasion, to mate). •
Paskunji (ფასკუნჯი) – A
phoenix-like being who helps heroes and humans. He lives in the underworld, and fights the serpents there. Heroes summoned him by burning one of his feathers, and he could transport them to other places and heal wounds and illnesses. In certain other myths, by contrast, paskunjis are portrayed as being hostile to humans and to have persecuted them. •
Rashi (რაში) – A magical winged horse (compare
Pegasus,
Buraq,
Tulpar,
Chollima and
Rakhsh). There are three types of rashis: land rashis are well disposed to heroes and humans and could perceive the future; sea rashis are more hostile, but can take humans to the bottom of the sea, while their milk was believed to cure many illnesses; and heavenly rashis have wings and can breathe fire, and are difficult to subdue yet loyal to their owners. •
Rokap (როკაპი) – An evil spirit, leader of the Kudiani (witches). Ghmerti punished him by chaining him to a column under the earth, where he devours human hearts brought to him by the Kudiani . Every year, he tries to free himself, but he always fails. • '''T'q'ashmapa''' (ტყაშმაფა) is a forest entity in
Mingrelian folklore. In most tales she appears as a pale woman with very long white hair, her dress and accessory (if she wears any) is also all white. She is very strong as well as vicious and violent when displeased. She seeks out men - has a preference for virgin lads - and tries to make them her lovers. Those who refuse will suffer heavy beating and other kinds of physical abuse at her hands. ==See also==