In imaginations of many peoples the high mountains appear as the main habitat and field of action of gods, heroes and saints, who not only act in those landscapes, but are also buried (= reborn) there. The omnipresent category for the Armenian mountains is the vishap (= Arm. for dragon). This is visible both in corresponding archaeological and ethnological materials. According to them, the vishap appears both as deity, and as hero (= giant) and saint. Moreover, these functions are either intermingled or contradicted to each other.

Keywordsgods heroes saints vishap high altitude zones archaeological sites folk-tales.