Ethiopia (mythology)
Encyclopedia
Aethiopia first appears as a geographical term in classical sources, in reference to the Upper Nile region, as well as all the regions south of the Sahara desert. Its earliest mention is in the works of Homer
: twice in the Iliad
, and three times in the Odyssey
. The Greek historian Herodotus
specifically uses it to describe Sub-Saharan Africa
including Sudan
and modern Ethiopia
. The name also features in Greek mythology
, where it is sometimes associated with a kingdom said to be seated at Joppa
, or elsewhere in Asia.
(c. 700 BC) and Pindar
(c. 450 BC) speak of Memnon
as the "king of Aethiopia", and further state that he founded the city of Susa
(in Elam
).
In 515 BC, Scylax of Caryanda
, on orders from Darius the Great of Persia, sailed along the Indus River
, Indian Ocean
and Red Sea
, circumnavigating the Arabian peninsula
. He mentioned Aethiopians, but his writings on them have not survived. Hecataeus of Miletus (ca. 500 BC) is also said to have written a book about Aethiopia, but his writing is now known only through quotations from later authors. He stated that Aethiopia was located to the east of the Nile, as far as the Red Sea and Indian Ocean; he is also quoted as relating a myth that the Skiapods ("Shade feet") lived there, whose feet were supposedly large enough to serve as shade. The philosopher Xenophanes
, who lived around the same time, noted that "The Thracians
make their gods like them, with blue eyes and fair (or red) hair, while Aethiopians make their gods like them, black".
(ca. 440 BC) Herodotus presents some of the most ancient and detailed information about "Aethiopia". He relates that he personally traveled up the Nile to the border of Egypt as far as Elephantine Island (modern Aswan
); in his view, "Aethiopia" is all of the inhabited land found to the south of Egypt, beginning at Elephantine. He describes a capital at Meroe
, adding that the only deities worshipped there were Zeus
and Dionysius
. He relates that in the reign of Pharaoh Psamtik I (c. 650 BC), many Egyptian soldiers deserted their country and settled amidst the Aethiopians. He further wrote that of Egypt's 330 Pharaohs, 18 were "Aethiopian" (i.e. the "Kushite dynasty
"). He asserts that Aethiopia was one of the countries that practiced circumcision
.
Herodotus tells us that king Cambyses
of Persia (ca. 570 BC) sent spies to the Aethiopians "who dwelt in that part of Libya
(Africa) which borders upon the southern sea." They found a strong and healthy people. Although Cambyses then campaigned toward their country, by not preparing enough provisions for the long march, his army completely failed and returned quickly.
In Book 3, Herodotus defines "Aethiopia" as the farthest region of "Libya" (i.e. Africa): "Where the south declines towards the setting sun lies the country called Aethiopia, the last inhabited land in that direction. There gold
is obtained in great plenty, huge elephants abound, with wild trees of all sorts, and ebony
; and the men are taller, handsomer, and longer lived than anywhere else.
(c. 300 BC) listed Egypt's Kushite (25th) dynasty, calling it the "Aethiopian dynasty". Moreover, when the Hebrew Bible
was translated into Greek (c. 200 BC), the Hebrew appellation "Kush, Kushite" became in Greek "Aethiopia, Aethiopians", appearing as "Ethiopia, Ethiopians" in the English King James Version.
Greek and Roman historians of a later era, such as Diodorus Siculus
and Strabo
, confirmed much of Herodotus' account of several distinct nations within the vast region of "Ethiopia" south of the Sahara desert, such as the Troglodytae
and Ichthyophagi
, described as living all along the African Red Sea coast (in modern Sudan
, Eritrea
, Djibouti
and Somaliland
), as well as several other peoples farther west. These authors also described second-hand stories of the mountainous part of Ethiopia where the Nile was said to rise. Strabo also stated that some previous authors had considered Aethiopia's northern border to begin at Mount Amanus, thus including all of Syria, Israel and Arabia.
Pliny the Elder
described Adulis
, which port he said was the Ethiopians' principal trading town. He also stated that the term "Ethiopia" was derived from an individual named Aethiops
, said to be the son of Hephaestus
(aka Vulcan). This etymology was followed by all authorities, until around 1600, when Jacob Salianus in Tome I of his Annales first proposed an alternate hypothesis deriving it from the Greek words aitho "I burn" and ops "face". This is according to a Spanish priest by the name of Francisco Colin (1592–1660), in his book "Sacra India" which includes a lengthy chapter on Ethiopia. Colin mentioned Salianus' opinion as one tentative new hypothesis for the source of the name. The 'burnt face' derivation next appeared in works by German authors Christopher von Waldenfels (1677) and Johannes Minellius (1683), and was soon adopted as standard by most European scholars.
was placed at Joppa
in Phoenicia
. Stephanus of Byzantium
(c. AD 500) asserted that the name of Joppa (Yoppa) itself was a contraction of "Aethiopia", and that in antiquity its rule had extended eastward as far as Babylonia
.
Cepheus
and Cassiopeia
, the parents of Andromeda, are presented as the king and queen of Joppa. Pliny the Elder
observed a tradition that associated a rock off the coast of Joppa with the mythical rock where Andromeda had been chained. However, the Argonautica says Perseus' "return flight" took him "above the sands of Libya [Africa]".
and his brother Emathion
, King of Arabia. Homer in his description of the Trojan War mentions several other Aethiopians, including Epaphus
and Phineus
. Ptolemy
the geographer and other ancient Greek commentators believed that the "Aethiopian Olympus
" was where the gods lived when they were not in Greece.
The name Aethiopia was also occasionally connected with other locations in Asia, such as Lydia
or elsewhere in Asia Minor, the Zagros Mountains
, or India
. After about AD 400, there was particularly a great deal of confusion among Mediaeval European geographers as to whether Aethiopia was located in remotest Africa or Asia.
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
: twice in the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
, and three times in the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
. The Greek historian Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
specifically uses it to describe Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
including Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and modern Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. The name also features in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, where it is sometimes associated with a kingdom said to be seated at Joppa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, or elsewhere in Asia.
Before Herodotus
Homer (c. 800 BC) is the first to mention "Aethiopians" (Αἰθίοπας); he mentions that they are to be found at the southern extremities of the world, divided by the sea into "eastern" (at the sunrise) and "western" (at the sunset). The Greek mythologists HesiodHesiod
Hesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
(c. 700 BC) and Pindar
Pindar
Pindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian described him as "by far the greatest of the nine lyric poets, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich...
(c. 450 BC) speak of Memnon
Memnon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Memnon was an Ethiopian king and son of Tithonus and Eos. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. During the Trojan War, he brought an army to Troy's defense. The death of Memnon echoes that of Hector, another defender of Troy whom Achilles also...
as the "king of Aethiopia", and further state that he founded the city of Susa
Susa
Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....
(in Elam
Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
).
In 515 BC, Scylax of Caryanda
Scylax of Caryanda
Scylax of Caryanda was a renowned Carian explorer and writer of the 6th and 5th centuries BCE.-Exploration and literary works:In about 515 BCE, Scylax was sent by King Darius I of Persia to follow the course of the Indus River and discover where it led. Scylax and his companions set out from city...
, on orders from Darius the Great of Persia, sailed along the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
, Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, circumnavigating the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. He mentioned Aethiopians, but his writings on them have not survived. Hecataeus of Miletus (ca. 500 BC) is also said to have written a book about Aethiopia, but his writing is now known only through quotations from later authors. He stated that Aethiopia was located to the east of the Nile, as far as the Red Sea and Indian Ocean; he is also quoted as relating a myth that the Skiapods ("Shade feet") lived there, whose feet were supposedly large enough to serve as shade. The philosopher Xenophanes
Xenophanes
of Colophon was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and social and religious critic. Xenophanes life was one of travel, having left Ionia at the age of 25 he continued to travel throughout the Greek world for another 67 years. Some scholars say he lived in exile in Siciliy...
, who lived around the same time, noted that "The Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
make their gods like them, with blue eyes and fair (or red) hair, while Aethiopians make their gods like them, black".
In Herodotus
In his HistoriaeHistories (Herodotus)
The Histories of Herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that...
(ca. 440 BC) Herodotus presents some of the most ancient and detailed information about "Aethiopia". He relates that he personally traveled up the Nile to the border of Egypt as far as Elephantine Island (modern Aswan
Aswan
Aswan , formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist centre...
); in his view, "Aethiopia" is all of the inhabited land found to the south of Egypt, beginning at Elephantine. He describes a capital at Meroe
Meroë
Meroë Meroitic: Medewi or Bedewi; Arabic: and Meruwi) is an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site are a group of villages called Bagrawiyah...
, adding that the only deities worshipped there were Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
and Dionysius
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
. He relates that in the reign of Pharaoh Psamtik I (c. 650 BC), many Egyptian soldiers deserted their country and settled amidst the Aethiopians. He further wrote that of Egypt's 330 Pharaohs, 18 were "Aethiopian" (i.e. the "Kushite dynasty
Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt
The twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, known as the Nubian Dynasty or the Kushite Empire, was the last dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt....
"). He asserts that Aethiopia was one of the countries that practiced circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
.
Herodotus tells us that king Cambyses
Cambyses
Cambyses can refer to two ancient rulers and two plays:-*Cambyses I, King of Anshan 600 to 559 BCE*Cambyses II, King of Persia 530 to 522 BCE*Cambyses, a tragedy by Thomas Preston...
of Persia (ca. 570 BC) sent spies to the Aethiopians "who dwelt in that part of Libya
Ancient Libya
The Latin name Libya referred to the region west of the Nile Valley, generally corresponding to modern Northwest Africa. Climate changes affected the locations of the settlements....
(Africa) which borders upon the southern sea." They found a strong and healthy people. Although Cambyses then campaigned toward their country, by not preparing enough provisions for the long march, his army completely failed and returned quickly.
In Book 3, Herodotus defines "Aethiopia" as the farthest region of "Libya" (i.e. Africa): "Where the south declines towards the setting sun lies the country called Aethiopia, the last inhabited land in that direction. There gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
is obtained in great plenty, huge elephants abound, with wild trees of all sorts, and ebony
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
; and the men are taller, handsomer, and longer lived than anywhere else.
Other Greco-Roman historians
The Egyptian priest ManethoManetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
(c. 300 BC) listed Egypt's Kushite (25th) dynasty, calling it the "Aethiopian dynasty". Moreover, when the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
was translated into Greek (c. 200 BC), the Hebrew appellation "Kush, Kushite" became in Greek "Aethiopia, Aethiopians", appearing as "Ethiopia, Ethiopians" in the English King James Version.
Greek and Roman historians of a later era, such as Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
and Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, confirmed much of Herodotus' account of several distinct nations within the vast region of "Ethiopia" south of the Sahara desert, such as the Troglodytae
Troglodytae
The Troglodytae or Troglodyti , were a people mentioned in various locations by many ancient Greek and Roman geographers and historians including Agatharcides, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, Tacitus, Josephus, etc....
and Ichthyophagi
Ichthyophagi
Ichthyophagi , the name given by ancient geographers to several coast-dwelling peoples in different parts of the world and ethnically unrelated....
, described as living all along the African Red Sea coast (in modern Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
and Somaliland
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
), as well as several other peoples farther west. These authors also described second-hand stories of the mountainous part of Ethiopia where the Nile was said to rise. Strabo also stated that some previous authors had considered Aethiopia's northern border to begin at Mount Amanus, thus including all of Syria, Israel and Arabia.
Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
described Adulis
Adulis
Adulis or Aduli is an archeological site in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, about 30 miles south of Massawa. It was the port of the Kingdom of Aksum, located on the coast of the Red Sea. Adulis Bay is named after the port...
, which port he said was the Ethiopians' principal trading town. He also stated that the term "Ethiopia" was derived from an individual named Aethiops
Aethiops
The term aethiops can refer to a number of different things:*Aethiops, a son of the Greek god Hephaestus from whom, according to Pliny the Elder , Aethiopia derived its name.*Zeus Aethiops an epithet of the Greek god Zeus....
, said to be the son of Hephaestus
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods - or else, according to some accounts, of Hera alone. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes...
(aka Vulcan). This etymology was followed by all authorities, until around 1600, when Jacob Salianus in Tome I of his Annales first proposed an alternate hypothesis deriving it from the Greek words aitho "I burn" and ops "face". This is according to a Spanish priest by the name of Francisco Colin (1592–1660), in his book "Sacra India" which includes a lengthy chapter on Ethiopia. Colin mentioned Salianus' opinion as one tentative new hypothesis for the source of the name. The 'burnt face' derivation next appeared in works by German authors Christopher von Waldenfels (1677) and Johannes Minellius (1683), and was soon adopted as standard by most European scholars.
Aethiopia in the myth of Andromeda
Various Greek myths make reference to the kingdom of "Aethiopia" said to be somewhere in Asia. This kingdom in the myth of AndromedaAndromeda (mythology)
Andromeda is a princess from Greek mythology who, as divine punishment for her mother's bragging, the Boast of Cassiopeia, was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. She was saved from death by Perseus, her future husband. Her name is the Latinized form of the Greek Ἀνδρομέδη...
was placed at Joppa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
in Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
. Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...
(c. AD 500) asserted that the name of Joppa (Yoppa) itself was a contraction of "Aethiopia", and that in antiquity its rule had extended eastward as far as Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
.
Cepheus
Cepheus, King of Aethiopia
In Greek mythology, Cepheus is the name of two rulers of Ethiopia, grandfather and grandson.Cepheus son of Belus was the son of Belus and Achiroe, making him the brother of Danaus, King of Libya, and Aegyptus, King of Egypt. He had a wife named Iope and a son who he named Agenor after his paternal...
and Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia (mythology)
Cassiopeia is the name of several figures in Greek mythology.-Wife of Cepheus:The Queen Cassiopeia, wife of king Cepheus of Æthiopia, was beautiful but also arrogant and vain; these latter two characteristics led to her downfall....
, the parents of Andromeda, are presented as the king and queen of Joppa. Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
observed a tradition that associated a rock off the coast of Joppa with the mythical rock where Andromeda had been chained. However, the Argonautica says Perseus' "return flight" took him "above the sands of Libya [Africa]".
Greek and medieval literature
Several notable personalities in Greek and medieval literature were identified as Aethiopian, including several rulers, male and female: MemnonMemnon
Memnon may refer to:* Saint Memnon the Wonderworker — early Christian saint from Egypt, hermit and hegumen of one of Egyptian monasteries* Memnon and those erroneously named after him in the Graeco-Roman era:...
and his brother Emathion
Emathion
- Ethiopian king :Emathion was king of Aethiopia, the son of Tithonus and Eos, and brother of Memnon. Heracles killed him.- Samothracian :Emathion was king of Samothrace, was the son of Zeus and Electra , brother to Dardanus, Iasion, Eetion, and Harmonia...
, King of Arabia. Homer in his description of the Trojan War mentions several other Aethiopians, including Epaphus
Epaphus
In Greek mythology, Epaphus , also called Apis, was the son of Zeus and Io and a king of Egypt.The name/word Epaphus means "Touch". This refers to the manner in which he was conceived, by the touch of Zeus' hand. He was born in Euboea or, according to others, in Egypt, on the river Nile, after...
and Phineus
Phineus
Phineus may refer to:* Phineus, killed by Perseus. See Andromeda * Blind King Phineus or Phineas of Thrace, visited by Jason and the Argonauts* Phineas Nigellus, a deceased headmaster in the Harry Potter universe...
. Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
the geographer and other ancient Greek commentators believed that the "Aethiopian Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
" was where the gods lived when they were not in Greece.
The name Aethiopia was also occasionally connected with other locations in Asia, such as Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
or elsewhere in Asia Minor, the Zagros Mountains
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains are the largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. With a total length of 1,500 km , from northwestern Iran, and roughly correlating with Iran's western border, the Zagros range spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Strait of...
, or India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. After about AD 400, there was particularly a great deal of confusion among Mediaeval European geographers as to whether Aethiopia was located in remotest Africa or Asia.