Ara the Handsome

The etymology of the name Ara (also spelled Արայ, Aray) is uncertain, but it is phonologically similar to the Armenian descendants of Proto-Indo-European *h₂nḗr, such as ayr 'man'; some of the derivatives of this root begin with ar-, like ari 'brave'.

[1] The name has been compared with that of Ares, the Greek god of war; Ara, a figure in the Avesta; and with Er, a character in a tale recounted in Plato's Republic who returns from the dead (see below).

[7] Stepan Ahyan and Georges Dumézil contend that Hayk, Aram and Ara the Handsome correspond to the triad of Indo-European mythology, representing sovereignty, war, and fertility, respectively.

[8][9] According to Armen Petrosyan, Ara's death at the hands of Shamiram marks the end of the "'sacred' mythical era of the forefathers of Armenia" and the beginning of "history" in Armenian mythology.

[1] Ara is considered to be the Armenian version of a common Near Eastern mythical male figure who is the beautiful son or lover of a goddess; other expressions of this myth include Ishtar and Tammuz (Inanna and Dumuzid), Aphrodite and Adonis, and Cybele and Attis.

[7] In James R. Russell's view, Movses Khorenatsi's telling of the legend in particular is likely a version of the story of Cybele and her beautiful lover and son Attis, who is killed but resurrects with the coming of spring.

[10][a] In the later Armenian historical epic known as the War of Persia (known from the 5th-century Buzandaran Patmutʻiwnkʻ), Mushegh Mamikonian corresponds to Ara, as he is placed on a tower to be revived by the mythical arlezes.

The story begins as a man named Er (Ancient Greek: Ἤρ, gen.: Ἠρός), son of Armenios (Ἀρμένιος), of Pamphylia dies in battle.

To avoid continuous warfare with the Armenians, Semiramis, reputed to be a sorceress, took his body and prayed to the gods (the arlezes)[b] to raise Ara from the dead.

[16][25] In Movses Khorenatsi's History of Armenia, Ara the Handsome is presented as the son of Aram and a descendant of Hayk, the legendary forefather of the Armenians.