Epic
The Myth of Amirani
ამირანი
Anonymous · 1890
Synopsis
In pursuit of an elusive mouflon, a hunter strays onto the highest slopes of the Caucasus and spends the night in the cave of Dali, the goddess who guards the game; she welcomes him into her cave and into her bed. From this union is born Amirani, taken before term from his mother's womb and raised by mortals. He grows up stronger than men, fights the giants of the borderlands, and ends by defying God himself.
Context
The parallel with Prometheus is so clear that Hellenists have wondered who borrowed from whom, and several hold the Caucasian version to be the older. The myth was sung in the high valleys, and some two hundred variants have been collected since the nineteenth century, in Georgia above all but also among the Abkhaz, the Circassians and the Ossetians; mountain people still produce them, which makes it one of the few epics still alive in Europe. The variants agree neither on the hero's fault, nor on the name of his mother, nor on what becomes of the dog.
Who it is for
A short narrative, existing in dozens of variants. It helps to know that the Svan and Khevsur versions differ markedly, and that the one we read is always a collector's choice.
Prizes and reception
Studied by comparatists since Dumézil, taught in Georgia, and the source of an abundant literature.