"Tree of Knowledge. Winemaking in Armenia" - Armen MERUZHANYAN
Armen Meruzhanyan's article "The Tree of Knowledge: Winemaking in Armenia" is devoted to the history, mythology, and religious-symbolic interpretation of viticulture and winemaking on the Armenian Highland — one of the most ancient centers of this culture in world civilization.
Introduction and Methodology
The author draws on archaeological data, testimonies of ancient authors (Herodotus), linguistic observations, and religious-mythological texts (the Bible, apocrypha, Sufi poetry), constructing a multilayered narrative about wine both as a material product and as a sacred symbol.
Key Thesis
Meruzhanyan asserts that winemaking in Transcaucasia, and in Armenia in particular, is among the oldest in the world — its origins going back to the 5th–4th millennia BC, that is, practically to the very emergence of agriculture. The author presents arguments in favor of the Armenian origin of the word "wine" itself (from Armenian "gini").
Historical-Archaeological Section
- excavations at the Urartian fortress of Teishebaini, which yielded 480 wine karases (large clay vessels) and eight grape varieties identified by Professor L. Janpoladyan;
- mention of Assyrian tribute paid in wine and the origin of the name of the "kharji" grape variety;
- Herodotus's description of trading vessels carrying Armenian wine down the Euphrates to Babylon;
- archaeological finds of wine presses and karases from the 7th century in Dvin.
Mythological and Religious Symbolism
Special attention is given to the image of the grapevine as the "Tree of Life" and the "Tree of Knowledge": the author cites an Armenian legend about the grape as the forbidden fruit, the apocryphal "Apocalypse of Baruch," and the reliefs of the Church of Surb Khach on the island of Aghtamar. The author traces the transition of wine symbolism from the ancient cult of Dionysus to the Christian Eucharist, noting:
- Christ's words about the vine and the Last Supper;
- a distinctive feature of the Armenian Apostolic Church — the use during the liturgy of pure, undiluted wine, unlike the Western tradition introduced by Pope Alexander I.
Linguistic and Ethnographic Aspect
The author examines the etymology of the words "alcohol," "spirit," and the Armenian "voghelits" ("imbued with spirit"), and describes folk customs of winemaking — the harvest festival, the rite of a young man's initiation through the first cup of grape juice, and the state concern of rulers for the planting of vineyards (mentioning the Urartian inscription of Rusa, son of Argishti).
Conclusion
The article's key conclusion is that winemaking in Armenia was never merely an economic practice — it constituted an inseparable part of the people's spiritual culture, uniting agricultural labor, solar cult, the philosophy of immortality, and Christian theology. In the Armenian tradition, wine appears as the "tree of knowledge" — a source of joy, spiritual illumination, and man's connection with the divine principle.
The article traces how winemaking on the Armenian Highland — from Urartian karases to the Armenian liturgy — became a form of spiritual understanding of existence rather than merely an ancient economic practice.
Wine as the Tree of Knowledge