K'op'ala

K'op'ala ( _ka. კოპალა) is a traditional hero or demigod revered in the highlands of Pshavi in the Republic of Georgia. It is said that he once was in a boulder-throwing contest against a number of "devebi", or ogres, to see who could throw a boulder the farthest. The ogres' champion picked up a boulder and hurled it across the valley to the mountain on the other side of the Aragvi river. K'op'ala tested a boulder, but decided it was too light. So he picked up another boulder, pressed it against the first, and threw them both across the valley. These nearly failed to surpass the ogre's throw, but at the crucial moment the god K'viria struck the boulder with his whip, causing it to fly further than the ogre's boulder, and it landed on top of the ogres' fortress of Tsikhetgori. As a result of their defeat in an ensuing battle which K'op'ala fought with his companion Iakhsari, the surviving ogres retreated underground allowing mankind to settle in the area unmolested.

See also

*Georgian mythology

References

*cite journal
author = Tuite, Kevin
title = Lightning, sacrifice and possession in the traditional religions of the Caucasus
year=2000