Tork Angegh

Tork Angegh[1] (Armenian: Տորք Անգեղը, romanized: Torkʻ Angeġë[2]) was an ancient Armenian masculine deity of strength, courage, of manufacturing and the arts. A creature of unnatural strength and power, Tork was considered one of Hayk's great-grandsons and reportedly represented as an unattractive male figure. He is mentioned by Armenian 5th Century historian Movses Khorenatsi and considered one of the significant deities of the Armenian pantheon prior to the time when it came under influence by Iranian and Hellenic religion and mythology. Taken in the context of Proto-Indo-European religions, it is conceivable that an etymological connection with Norse god Thor/Tyr is more than a simple coincidence.

Monument to Tork Angegh. in Yerevan, Armenia. Sculptor: Karlen Nurinjanyan.

An analogy is frequently made with the Middle-Eastern god Nergal, also represented as an unattractive male.

Description

Tork was a giant with rough figure, cruel look, and huge power. He was named Angegh (« Ugly ») because of his aspect. He could hurl boulders across the seas, flatten the surfaces of rocks, and draw pictures on them with his nails.


Tork did not look like an ordinary man as he was giant and very frightening.

His eyes were like a blue sea enlightened with the sun’s light.

His black eyebrows were like a dark cloud thickly piled on the eyes.

His crooked nose was like a hill, his teeth were like adzes,and his nails like swords.

His breast was like the slope of a mountain, his back was like a rock and his hands like logs

In short, a beast and not only big, no one had ever seen such a giant

He was huge and had more strength than fifty buffaloes put together….

(Excerpt from Ghazaros Aghayan’s “Tork Angegh” poem)

The myth

Tork Angegh was a shepherd, but not an ordinary one, he was heroic. When lions and tigers saw him, they approached him thinking that he also was a beast and their mighty king. One spring Tork was sad, and he couldn’t get rid of his sadness. He was wondering days and nights looking at the sun with his sad eyes.

The goddess Astghik seeing him from the sky, came down to him and asked the reason of his sadness. Tork replied that the reason oh his sadness was  his loneliness, being without love, and no one would  love someone giant and ugly like him. And the goddess of love told him about the beautiful virgin Haykanush, only she could  love Tork. Tork found the beauty, he got mutual love and it dispelled  his sadness.

Tork Angegh didn’t use either a sword or arrows, he aroused horror in his enemies only with his appearance. But if they overcame their shock, then he used  his strength. Once, invaders came to the shore of Pontic sea on ships and attacked the Armenian settlements. Tork got the news of great devastation and went against the enemies. From a distance, they saw his terrifying height and fierce power, and ran back to their ships. Tork arrived to the shore when the fleet of the enemy was already quite far. Furious, he cut rocks in the size of hills and threw them at the enemy: when the rocks hit the sea, powerful surges rose and sank the enemies’ ships.

The origin

It is generally assumed that Tork Angegh is a combination of two deities, who have left traces of themselves in his name: Tarku, the ancient Anatolian deity of fertility, and Angegh, a pagan god who was venerated mainly in the province of Angegh, in south-western Armenia. Historian Movses Khorenatsi also states that he was a prince of that province, hence the references in Armenian history to Angegha tun (the House of Angegh). According to this view, the name Tork Angegh means Tork of Angegh rather than Tork the Ugly. It is also interesting to note that in the ancient Armenian translation of the Bible, the name of the Babylonian god Nargal (4 Kings 17: 30) is rendered Angegh.

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References
  1. Petrosyan 2002, p. 32–38.
  2. Abełyan 1985, p. 154–155.


Bibliography

  • Petrosyan, Armen (2002). The Indo‑european and Ancient Near Eastern Sources of the Armenian Epic. Washington, D.C. : Institute for the Study of Man. ISBN 9780941694810.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Petrosyan, Armen (2016). "Indo-European *wel- in Armenian mythology". Journal of Indo-European Studies. 44: 129–146. ISSN 0092-2323.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Abełyan, Manuk (1985). Pion, Hakobyan; Sargis, Harutyunyan (eds.). Երկեր [Works]. 8. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciencess.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  1. Petrosyan 2002, p. 32–38.
  2. Abełyan 1985, p. 154–155.
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