Gatsi ( ka, გაცი) and Gaim (გაიმ; or Ga, გა) were, according to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

in a

pre-Christian Pre-Christian may refer to: *Before Christianization (the spread of Christianity): **Historical polytheism (the worship of or belief in multiple deities) **Historical paganism (denoting various non-Abrahamic religions) *Before Christ (BC), the era ...

pantheon of ancient

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

of Kartli ( Iberia of the Classical sources). The Georgian hagiographic work "The Life of

St. Nino Saint Nino ( ka, წმინდა ნინო, tr; hy, Սուրբ Նունե, Surb Nune; el, Αγία Νίνα, Agía Nína; sometimes ''St. Nune'' or ''St. Ninny'') ''Equal to the Apostles and the Enlightener of Georgia'' (c. 296 – c. 33 ...

" reports that when St. Nino, a 4th-century female Christian baptizer of Georgians, arrived at the city of

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of T ...

, she saw that on the right side of the chief idol of Armazi "there stood another image, made of gold, with the face of a man. Its name was Gatsi, and on the left of it was a silver idol with a human face, the name of which was Gaim." Another passage from the medieval chronicle relates that Gatsi and Ga(im) were believed to have governed "all of mysteries." Melikishvili, Giorgi ''et al.''. (1970), საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები (''Studies in the History of Georgia'')
Vol. 1.
Tbilisi: Sabch’ota Sakartvelo. Beyond the passages from the medieval Georgian annals, we lack contemporary records and archaeological evidence about these cults, however. Both these deities, reportedly brought by the semi-legendary ruler Azoy from his original homeland

Arian-Kartli Aryan Kartli or Arian Kartli (meaning " Iranian Kartli"; ka, არიან-ქართლი) was a country claimed by the medieval Georgian chronicle " The Conversion of Kartli" (მოქცევაჲ ქართლისაჲ, ''mokc'e ...

, may have been a version of the Anatolian Attis and Cybele. Tseretheli 1935, cited in Toumanoff, Cyril (1967). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', p. 90, n. 124.

Georgetown University Press Georgetown University Press is a university press affiliated with Georgetown University that publishes about forty new books a year. The press's major subject areas include bioethics, international affairs, languages and linguistics, political sc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatsi And Gaim Georgian mythology