Ethiopia: A Cultural History of an Ancient Land - Paperback

by Gary R. Varner (Author)

According to ancient Ptolemaic writings, Ethiopians were the first men that ever lived and the first to worship the gods and to honor the gods with sacrifice. Some believe that the Ethiopians were the origination of Egyptian religion in the worship of Osiris as well as the worship of Zeus. The Ethiopians, according to Herodotus, "reverence of the gods Zeus and Dionysos alone, and these they greatly honour; and they have an Oracle of Zeus established, and make warlike marches whensoever this god commands them by prophecy and to whatsoever place he commands." Science was also believed to have traversed from the Upper Nile, the homeland of the Ethiopians, into Egypt. Before these gods, however, the ancient Ethiopians worshipped the serpent and even sacrificed to it. Today many believe Ethiopia is the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. This book is an ethnographic analysis of the ancient cultures of Ethiopia, their religious beliefs and current environmental and political challenges.