Who wants to visit a pagan temple? Indeed, not a single period of paganism remained on the territory of the post-Soviet space.
We go ahead to the east of Armenia to the majestic Garni temple. The village of the same name is located 27 km from Yerevan. This is a very nice place located at the foot of the mountains that make up the Geghama Range.
The temple of the God of the Sun – Mithras, built in the 1st century by the Armenian king Trdates I. During the period of the adoption of Christianity by Armenia, and as you know, it was the first in the world to adopt Christianity in 301 at the state level, all pagan temples were destroyed. Only the Garni temple survived thanks to the king’s sister and wife. This majestic building was built on a triangular promontory above the gorge of the Azat River, which protects it from two sides, and from the third side the approaches are guarded by a fortress wall. The temple was built in a Hellenistic style using local architectural traditions. The summer residence of the kings was located here. Nearby you can see the ruins of a palace and a church. On the territory there is a bathhouse built in the 3rd century.
English
Русский
