Zaden (; ka, ზადენი, tr) was, according to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

of fruitfulness in a pre-Christian pantheon of the ancient

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

(

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

of the Classical sources). King

Parnajom of Iberia Pharnajom or Pharnajob ( ka, ფარნაჯომი, ფარნაჯობი; died 90 BC) was a king (''mepe'') of Iberia from 109 to 90 BC, the fourth in the P'arnavaziani line. He is known exclusively from the royal list included in th ...

(109–90 BC) is reported to have built a fortress at Mount

Zedazeni Zedazeni Monastery ( ka, ზედაზნის მონასტერი) is a Georgian Orthodox monastery, located on the Zedazeni mountain the hills of Saguramo Range, northeast to Mtskheta and to the east side of the Aragvi River. The mon ...

to house the colossus of Zadeni which, along with other pagan idols, are said to have been destroyed through the prayers of

St. Nino Saint Nino (sometimes St. Nune or St. Ninny; ka, წმინდა ნინო, tr; ; ; c. 296 – c. 338 or 340) was a woman who preached Christianity in the territory of the Kingdom of Iberia in what is now Georgia (country), Georgia. Her pr ...

, a 4th-century female baptizer of Georgians. Beyond the passages from the medieval annals and the surviving toponym of Zedazeni (from ''Zeda Zadeni'', i.e. "Upper Zaden"), we lack contemporary records and archaeological evidence about this cult, however. Zaden is surmised by several modern scholars to have been a Georgian version of the

Luwian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...

Santas or the Hittite Sandon, but the identification with

Yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

has also been suggested.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts''. Peeters Bvba, .

Legacy

The crater Zadeni in the southern hemisphere of the dwarf planet

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid and first to be discovered * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion ...

was named after this deity.

References

{{Georgian mythology Georgian mythology Fertility gods