[4] Vahagn is etymologically derived from *Varhraγn, the Parthian name for the Iranian god Verethragna, although there are key differences between the two deities.

[5] Vahagn was worshipped at a tripartite temple complex together with his bride Astghik and the goddess Anahit in the district of Taron, on the slopes of a mountain called Karke near the settlement of Ashtishat.

[3][6][7] After Armenia came under Hellenistic influence in antiquity, Vahagn was identified with the Hellenic deity Heracles, but also rarely with Apollo.

[4] For example, in the history attributed to Agathangelos, Armenian king Tiridates III evokes the triad of Aramazd, Anahit and Vahagn in a greeting to his people: "May health and prosperity come to you by the help of the gods, rich fullness from manly Aramazd, providence from Anahit the Lady, and bravery come to you from brave Vahagn.

Khorenatsi does not give the rest of the song, but states that it tells of how Vahagn fought and conquered vishaps, which are the dragons of Armenian mythology.

"[1] The 7th-century Armenian author Anania Shirakatsi relates a myth where Vahagn steals some straw from Barsham (i.e., Baalshamin) and drops it on his way back, creating the Milky Way.

[3][6][7] According to Agathangelos, after King Tiridates III's conversion to Christianity in the early fourth century, the first head of the Armenian Church Gregory the Illuminator went to Ashtishat and destroyed the temple of Vahagn.

[13] Vahagn has frequently been regarded as a counterpart of Indra, but Armen Petrosyan considers the similarities between the two to be underlying Indo-European commonalities rather than the result of direct borrowing, since in that case the dissimilarity with Verethragna would be inexplicable.

[1][14] Philologist Vyacheslav Ivanov considered the Song of Vahagn recorded by Khorenatsi to be "one of the striking examples of Indo-European poetry.

[15] Petrosyan has also drawn parallels between Vahagn and the Vedic fire deity Agni, based on similarities in the accounts of their birth.