Aralez (Old Armenian: արալէզ, արալեզ; plural: արալէզք), also called arlez (առլեզ) or yaralez (յարալէզ, modern Armenian haralez), are winged dog-like creatures or spirits in Armenian mythology that descend to lick the wounds of dead heroes in order to resurrect them.
The aralezes are most prominently associated with the story of the legendary Armenian king Ara the Handsome. According to this legend, the Assyrian queen Semiramis (Shamiram) called on the aralezes to lick the wounds of and revive Ara the Handsome after he was killed in battle.[1] By popular interpretation, this was the origin of the word aralez, from the name "Ara" and lez, the root of the word lizel 'to lick'.[1] According to the Armenian history attributed to Faustus of Byzantium, after Mushegh Mamikonian was killed, his relatives placed his corpse on a tower, hoping that the aralezes would revive him.[1] This indicates that belief in the aralezes was still current in fourth- and fifth-century Armenia, following the Christianization of the country.[2][3]
It has been suggested that tower-like structures in Armenia and Anatolia may have been associated with belief in the aralezes.[4]