JAMES RUSSELL OF HARVARD DISCUSSES 
ARMENIAN EPICS IN LECTURE AT NAASR 

        The role and importance of Armenian epics was the subject of a well-attended and enthusiastically received talk Prof. James R. Russell, Mesrob Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University, on Thursday evening, April 19, at the Center and Headquarters of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont, Mass. The lecture, entitled "The Role of the Epic in Armenian Literature," covered a multiplicity of topics in Armenian history, literature, folklore, religion, and art.
        Prof. Russell has written and lectured widely on the Armenian epic Sasuntsi Davit (David of Sasun) and other works of epic literature, both Armenian and non-Armenian, in addition to teaching courses on the Armenian epic, Armenian history, and Classical and Modern Armenian at Harvard. He is the author of Zoroastrianism in Armenia (co-published by NAASR and the Harvard Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations) and Hovhannes Tlkurantsi and the Medieval Armenian Lyric Tradition. His most recent work is An Armenian Epic: The Heroes of Kasht, a translation and commentary on a largely unknown but important work.

The Nature of Epics

        Following an introduction by Robert O. Krikorian, Director of NAASR's Institute for Armenian Studies and Research, in which Russell's numerous accomplishments as a scholar and a spokesperson for Armenian issues were delineated, Prof. Russell began by briefly discussing what an epic is, at least for the purposes of his talk. "An epic is a poetic composition employing old, recognizable, respected features common particularly to the oral expression of the literature of a culture." Furthermore, such works, which deal "with matters of high and serious concern to the culture in which they are composed," are often "changed or reused over time, the same old stories being adapted to new conditions and situations -- cultural, religious, and political."
        Epics are, furthermore, works which are legendary but not necessarily mythical; the difference, as Russell explained, is that legends tell of "human heroes who might have existed but who in the course of time have become themselves symbolic beings" whereas myths are outside the realm of the possible. Thus, while Odysseus or David of Sasun may or may not have really existed, they could have.
        Starting with the one of the oldest known Armenian texts, the pre-Christian poem on the birth of the god Vahagn which is preserved in Movses Khorenatsi's History of the Armenians, Russell identified the motif of dragon-slaying which figures in the poem and can be traced through countless other works, Armenian and non-Armenian alike, including ones from Persia, Cappodocia, and on down to England, where the dragon-slaying Saint George (of Cappodocian origin) is the nation's patron saint.

Epics Cross Cultural, Religious Lines

        One of the most revealing aspects of Russell's talk was the remarkable fluidity of components of various epics in moving across cultural and religious borders. Thus, he was able to identify aspects of the stories of two of the most important events in Armenian history - the mission of the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew to Armenia and the conversion of King Tiridates by St. Gregory the Illuminator - which have their roots in pre-Christian epic tales. In the case of the former, the pre-Christian epic is that of Artaxias (Artashes) from the second century B. C.; in the latter it is the Persian epic of Cyrus and Ardeshir. It is hardly surprising, nor unique to Armenia, that the stories told in one era and in one cultural mode should be built on those of earlier ones. As Russell stated, "Thus, in early Christian Armenia the language of expression of the new faith, at least in chronicles, was still inseparable from the previous epic tradition."
        David of Sasun is seen as the Armenian epic par excellence, and Russell spent some time analyzing its connections to other epics. Aspects of the epic are very old - as far back as the Urartean period of pre-Armenian history - and other aspects are not so old - the ninth century uprisings against the Arab caliphate form the backdrop to much of the action. Two of the epic's heroes - Medz Mher and Pokr Mher - are named after the Iranian god Mithra (who is Mher in Armenian) and portions of the epic have analogues in the Persian epic The Shah-name. Likewise, Russell pointed out the similarity of the ending of the epic of Sasun, when Pokr Mher fights the angel of death before being confined to a cave in suspended animation, to the Greek myth of Alcestis as well as the reconstructed epic of Zariadris.

Heroes of Kasht Continues Tradition

        Russell's translation of The Heroes of Kasht focuses attention on yet another epic with ancient roots, but which exists only in a modern retelling by the Armenian-American poet Karapet Sital, who was born in the Lake Van region of historic Armenia and settled in Philadelphia in the U. S. Just as in earlier times epic structures, themes, and plots were adapted, transferred, or borrowed wholesale, Sital collected and transcribed versions of this oral epic and recast it to reflect "the themes of class struggle and the Soviet Union's desperate struggle against the Nazi invader." However much Sital introduced elements which may seem anachronistic in a story set in time of Tamerlane, the motif of dragon-slaying recurs yet again, along with other elements which unmistakably tie the Kasht epic to ancient exemplars.
        What Sital did was, in fact, in keeping with Soviet cultural policy regarding epics and other folk poetry. Russell noted that in the 1930s the publication of the long-awaited critical edition of David of Sasun was a major event in Soviet Armenia, and "T-34 tanks of the Red Army with the name of David of Sasun emblazoned on their turrets rolled into battle against the Germans" while in America the cover of the 1943 Baikar annual showed these same tanks, in the words of the artist, Zaven Melik, "pouring out from behind the great buildings and factories of Erivan" while overhead "the Spirit of the Great Vardan [Mamigonian] point[s] the way toward the Axis storm." 
        Finally, Russell spoke about the little-known "Hymn of the Pearl," which is found in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas. Calling it a "kind of stripped-down epic, a quest narrative reduced to formulaic essentials," with Manichean overtones, Russell detailed some of its similarities to the other epics under discussion. He concluded that although the author or even the religious sect of the author is unknown, "What is certain is that it was intended to be received by an audience whose ears were attuned to the recitation of heroic epics involving quests and dragon-slayings, letters that fly through the air, and demons and deceivers." 

Enthusiastic Audience Response

    Following his talk, Prof. Russell answered a large number of questions from the audience, who were clearly caught up in the remarkable sweep of his presentation. Questions covered such diverse topics as the relationship between Urartu and Zoroastrianism in Armenian history, the Caucasian Iranian ethnic group the Alans, some of whom, Russell explained, ended up living in Wales and transferring the legend of the sword and the stone from Irano-Armenian myth to the story of King Arthur. Discussion continued on as Prof. Russell signed copies of his new book and refreshments were served.