Mount Ararat with the historic Khor Virap monastery visible at center-left

Mythology

In Movses Khorenatsi's History of the Armenians (5th century CE), the founding myth of Hayk Nahapet presents a legendary patriarch who led his clan from Babylonia and slew the giant Bel with a single arrow. This is a mythological narrative, not a verified historical event; the Armenian self-designation Hay is traced to Hayk's name in the literary tradition.

In Movses Khorenatsi's History of the Armenians (5th century CE), the founding myth of Hayk Nahapet presents a legendary patriarch who led his clan from Babylonia and slew the giant Bel with a single arrow. This is a mythological narrative, not a verified historical event; the Armenian self-designation Hay is traced to Hayk's name in the literary tradition.

1129Mythology