Aithiopia
Aithiopia ( ancient Greek Αιθιοπία , ethnonym aithiops αἰθίοψ , derived in antiquity from aithō αἴθω 'burn' and ōps ὤψ 'face', as the name of the dark-skinned inhabitants; Latin Aethiopia ) is an ancient geographical name for a large region that is next to Ethiopia proper nor included the historical regions of Nubia , Sudan and parts of Libya , actually all of Africa south of the well-known Libya and Egypt .
According to Herodotus , Aithiopia was included in India because it was assumed that there was a land connection between Africa and India, which would have made the Indian Ocean an inland sea.
Since Aithiopia was on the edge of the known world for antiquity, legendary peoples, animals and cities were often located there. One example of this are the numerous more or less legendary Ethiopian animal species that can be seen in the Nile mosaic of Palestrina . It was also a popular element in the ancient novel , e.g. B. in the Aithiopika ( Αἰθιοπικά ) of Heliodorus .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Herodotus Histories 3.97