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ISSN 2223-165X

V.I. ABAEV NORTH-OSSETIAN INSTITUTE FOR HUMANITARIAN AND SOCIAL STUDIES

OF VLADIKAVKAZ SCIENCE CENTRE OF RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

AND THE GOVERNMENT OF NORTH OSSETIA-ALANIA

ИЗВЕСТИЯ СОИГСИ

GUTIEVA E.T. THE HISTORICAL FACE OF EPIC SATAN / SHATAN Print

A comparative textual analysis of  the Narts’ sagas, Ossetian tales and of the chronicles of Flavius Josephus from "Jewish Antiquities" enables to conclude, that a popular heroine of the Ossetic epic Satan had more than one prototype, one of her prototypes may be Helen / Ellen, the Queen of Adiabene, a vassal state of the Parthian empire. The coincidence of the number of motives suggests neither migration of the story nor its borrowing. Satan of the Narts is the 20-century-long preservation and development within Alano-Ossetian epic tradition stories about their compatriot Queen of Adiabene, the great ruler of the 1st century. While written in the Greek language the work of Josephus the history of the life and blessings of the royal family, whose members had converted to Judaism, and whom the author could know personally, are recorded directly in the time when these events took place. Accordingly, the emphasis in this work is different, highlighting the fact of proselytism. This presumption is based on the comparison of the proper names and data of archaeological research as well as on coinciding plot motives. This approach may not only be the key to unlocking the history of the character, but also helps to clarify the available historical data on location and migration of Alans in the 1st century AD, this approach allows to attract attention and to include in the discussion of the religious confrontations not only Zoroastrianism, paganism, early Christianity, but also Jewish monotheism.

Keywords: historical prototype, Narts, kadag, hunger, incest, proselytism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism.


 

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