Is Historical Accuracy a Casualty in `East of Byzantium’?

15-06-2008 13:47:41 – KarabakhOpen

A new production is brewing in Hollywood, one that will recreate a much
celebrated event from Armenia’s heroic past: the Vartanants War. As was
reported in the May 31st edition of The Armenian Reporter, a new film
titled `East of Byzantium’ is in the planning stage, whose producers
are currently holding fundraisers to finance the production. If the
roster of the individuals involved in the upcoming production is any
indication, the film promises to be in the best traditions of
Hollywood’s epic movies: Roger Kupelian, the man behind the visual
effects of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Flags of Our Fathers;
Serj Tankian from the System of a Down, who will write the music score;
comedian Vahe Berberian, etc. In fact, the producers consider the film
to be the Armenian `Braveheart’. Surely, such an undertaking deserves
applause and all the encouragement and success.

As most would agree, film and cinematic art in general offer the most
influential medium in influencing popular perceptions and forming
public opinions. Therefore, accurate depiction of the historical events
and their overall context is of paramount importance. Yet, the scant
information that is publicly available already offers cause for
concern. Specifically, the article published in The Armenian Reporter
and titled `L.A. organizations will join forces to fundraise for an
epic film on Armenian history’ (pg 8,
) quoted Mr. Alex Kalognomos,
director of the Arpa International Film Festival, who noted that “The
characters of East of Byzantium are epic men and women of Armenian
history – Gregory the Illuminator, Vartan Mamigonian, and the great
warrior goddess Anahita.” It must be noted that this quote not only
mispronounces the name of the Armenian pagan goddess Anahit, but it
also mischaracterizes the true nature of this deity.

First, the name of the goddess in Armenian is Anahit. Anahida (or
Anahita) was the name used to refer to the same (or similar) goddess in
the old Persian pantheon. Strabo, the Greek geographer, in narrating
about Armenia refers to the same goddess as Anaitis. In fact, if one
refuses to use the accurate Armenian version Anahit, it would be more
logical (yet still incorrect) to use the Greek version Anaitis rather
than the Persian Anahida. Afterall, the ancient Greek civilization, in
contrast to the ancient Persian civilization, lies in the foundation of
the Western civilization, to which this film production belongs.
Nevertheless, calling goddess Anahit as Anahida (or even Anaitis) in
`East of Byzantium’ would be equivalent to calling William Wallace in
`Braveheart’ with his Arabic (or French) version or pronunciation.

Second, Anahit was not the goddess of war, but that of motherhood and
fertility. Here is how Sargis Haroutyounyan describes Anahit in his
book on ancient Armenian myths and tales: `The most worshipped and
loved goddess Anahit was the daughter or the wife of Aramazd. She was a
mother goddess, depicted with a child in her hands, with a special
hairstyle unique to Armenian mothers and women ¦ As a mother deity
Anahit was the embodiment of motherhood, harvest and fertility’ (
html#2 ). Please note
that Sargis Haroutyounyan is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of
History and Philology of the Yerevan State University’s Armenian
Philology department, head of the department of archeology, history and
mythology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of
Armenia, doctor of philological sciences, professor. In short, he is
considered an authority on Armenian mythology. Even if Anahit was
confused by another deity in the same region and was assigned some
features of divinity of war (e.g. its counterpart in the
Assyrian/Babylonian pantheon, goddess Ishtar, who was the divinity of
love, fertility and war), Anahit was still worshipped in Armenia as the
goddess of motherhood and fertility. In the Armenian pantheon the god
of war was Vahagn.

As noted earlier, it is of utmost importance that such a significant
period in the history of Armenia is presented in an accurate manner. It
is not yet known what other inaccuracies exist in the script or what
other unintentional misrepresentation could creep in as an inevitable
result of artistic freedom. As is customary, the development of the
script and further production of `East of Byzantium’ should include the
advice of trusted and respected scholars of Armenian history. It would
be rather prudent to enlist experts from Armenia’s own academic
circles, in order to exclude the possibility of `alternative’ (i.e.
false or inaccurate) interpretations of Armenian history present in
foreign academia. Otherwise, knowing the enthusiasm with which
Armenians embrace any presentation of Armenian history or culture in
the mass media, a new generation of Armenians could potentially develop
the wrong perception of that period in our own history. This also
concerns the foreign audiences, who would base their understanding of
Armenian history and civilization solely on cinematic interpretations.

Stepan Sargsyan
Contributing Correspondent (Los Angeles),
ARARAT Center for Strategic Research

Published by Ararat-Center at 1:41 am under Article