nemruti:Armenian Mythology: AstghikAlso known as Astlik or Asya, Astghik was the Armenian goddess of
nemruti:Armenian Mythology: AstghikAlso known as Astlik or Asya, Astghik was the Armenian goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She was also associated with springs and other sources of water. She was the personification of the planet Venus and, later, the moon was also worshiped in her honor (to contrast the worship of the sun in honor of her lover Vahagn). Her principal seat was in Ashtishat (located to the North of Moush), where her main temple was called “Vahagn’s chamber” and featured statues of them side by side. Her birds were the dove and the swallow, and her flower was the rose. Every July, the festival of Vartavar was (and still is) celebrated in her honor, when worshipers would make offerings and celebrate by dancing and splashing each other with water. This custom comes from the legend of Astghik spreading love throughout the land of Armenia by sprinkling rose water. -- source link