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88 ARMENIA AND THE NEAR EAST
a templc of the goddess Rhea,1 who comes within the same
primitive category of divinity. She is, in fact, the goddess
of fertility, the Great Mother, the God Mother, often called
radiantly golden or spotless (cf. Leucothea), who was wor
shipped all over Asia Minor, in Armenia (as described later),
and in the parts adjoining the Black Sea (cf. Hecate among the
Thracians, p. 19) ; and she must have belonged to the early
religion of the tribes in Georgia.
But the chief god of the Georgians at a later time was
called by the Iranian nåme of Armaz—the Persian Ahura
Mazda (lord of wisdom) or Ormuzd. His holy place was at
Mtskhetha, where there was a copper statue of him with
breast-plate, helmet, and shoulder-armour of gold, and eyes
of beryl and emerald. His worship was connected with human
sacrifices. Beside him stood two other statues, representing
the old divinities Ga and Gatzi. It is a triad of gods such as
is often found among Eastern peoples (cf. also the Christian
Trinity). Moreover, other deities—Zaden, Ainina (= Ana
hit ?), Danana (=Nane?), and " Aphrodite "—are stated
to have had holy places in the same neighbourhood. Adding
these gods together we obtain the holy number seven,
corresponding to the previously mentioned heavenly bodies,
viz., sun, moon, and five stars.
In addition to this cult, with temples and images of the
gods, which was the state religion proper, fire-worship
evidently spread widely as time went on, especially among the
upper classes. There was also a certain amount of Jahve
worship, introduced by the numerous Jewish immigrants.
The Georgian nation gradually evolved a form of social
organization which was to some extent its own, and was
retained throughout the succeeding ages. The state was
based on a feudal system with a number of superior chieftains
and a king as the supreme feudal lord. All land was in the
hands of the powerful nobles, the king, and the Church.
Strabo’s account (XI, 3, 6 and 4, 7) shows that even in heathen
times both Iberia and Albania had a wealthy and influential
priesthood. After the nobility and the Church came the
peasants and labourers, some of whom were serfs, while
Cf. Arian, Pcriplus 11.
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