Dzerassæ (Ossetian: Дзерассæ) is a figure in Ossetian mythology best known as the daughter of the water deity Donbettyr[1] and the mother of several Nart saga heroes.[2] She was the wife of Akhsartag.[2] With him, she was the mother of the twin heroes Uryzmaeg and Haemyts.[2] She was also the mother of Syrdon [ru], with Gaetaeg [ru].[3][4] After her death, the archangel Uastyrdzhi revived her and they became lovers in her tomb. Her daughter, the Nart Satanaya, was born thereafter.[5]

She was usually depicted with golden hair, and was able to change her shape into a deer or a fish.[6] Anthropologist Kevin Tuite has noted that this makes her similar to the Svan goddess Dali, who was also golden-haired and could change into animals.[6]

The Dzerassa Planitia on Venus is named for Dzerassae.[7]

References

  1. ^ Paris, Catherine (1992). Caucasologie Et Mythologie Comparée: Actes Du Colloque International Du CNRS, IVe Colloque de Caucasologie, Sèvres, 27-29 Juin 1988 (in French). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9782877230421.
  2. ^ a b c Petrosyan, Armen (2002). The Indo-european and ancient Near Eastern sources of the Armenian epic: myth and history. Institute for the Study of Man. ISBN 9780941694810.
  3. ^ "Cie Izidoria Les Héros: La Légende des Nartes" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Осетинская мифология". www.ossetia.ru. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  5. ^ Juan-Galan, Santiago. Terra Barda - Tome 1: Les Indo-européens (in French). Editions Publibook. p. 261. ISBN 9782748373134.
  6. ^ a b Tuite, Kevin (1998). "Achilles and the Caucasus" (PDF). Journal of Indo-European Studies. 26 (3): 27.
  7. ^ "Dzerassa Planitia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. Retrieved 2018-09-21.

Further reading


Categories