During a long and exhausting war with the Persians, the Armenian king Araks had a troubling dream. In it, he saw himself losing the decisive battle.

The following morning, a stranger appeared in his military camp and introduced himself as an astrologer. He told the king that victory would come only if he sacrificed two maidens of exceptional beauty and purity.

Araks ordered the stranger to be driven away. Yet his words left the king in despair: the fairest maidens were his own twin daughters.

All night, shut inside his chambers, Araks cried out in anguish and threw himself against the walls. By morning, he had made a terrible decision. He ordered two twin sisters to be sacrificed—but they were the daughters of one of his high officials, not his own.

Now another father was consumed by grief and fury. Nevertheless, he concealed his wounded pride and resentment.

The sacrifice took place, and victory over the Persians followed.

Then, seizing his opportunity, the bereaved father slipped into the bedchamber of Araks’s daughters and killed them. He mounted his horse and left the country forever.

When Araks learned of his daughters’ deaths, he was overwhelmed by grief. He threw himself from a rocky cliff into the waters of the River Halmos.

From that day onward, according to the legend, the river was called Araks—a name that preserved this sorrowful story of a father’s love, betrayal, and revenge.