Ethiopia

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In Greek mythology, Ethiopia (or Aethiopia), literally meaning 'the land of burnt faces', was the name given to a kingdom based at Joppa in Phoenicia.^{[citation needed]} Aethiopia also referred to an ancient Egyptian military colony in the Caucasus mountains on the river Alazani (now in modern-day Georgia). Its inhabitants were described as being black and or swarthy with curly or woolen hair.^[1]

Ethiopia in the myth of Andromeda

The Ethiopia referred to in the myth of Andromeda was believed by ancient mythographers to be a kingdom based at Joppa in Phoenicia.^{[citation needed]} Cepheus and Cassiopeia, king and queen of Joppa, were the parents of Andromeda, who was chained to rocks in the sea off the Levantine coast and rescued by Perseus. Andromeda and Perseus, through their son Perses, were ancestors of the Mycenaen rulers, including Heracles. The Phoenician Ethiopians: Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Andromeda, each feature among the 88 modern constellations of stars.

Greek and medieval literature

Several notable personalities in Greek and medieval literature were identified as Ethiopian, including several rulers, male and female: Memnon, who may have been the King of Persia and Ethiopia in Africa, whose capital was Susa, and his brother Emathion, King of Arabia. Homer in his description of the Trojan War mentions several other Ethiopians, including Epaphus and Phineus. Ptolemy the geographer and other ancient Greek commentators believed that the Ethiopian Olympus of Kilimanjaro was where the gods lived when they were not in Greece.

References

1. ^ Hyde Clarke "Egyptian Colony and Language in the Caucasus and its Anthropological Relations," 1874

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