Ethiopia, the oldest independent nation in Africa, has a heritage dating back to the first century AD. Traders from Greece, Rome, Persia and Egypt knew of the riches of what is now Ethiopia, and by the first century AD, Axum was the capital of a great empire. This realm became one of the first Christian lands of Africa. Late in the 10th Century, Axum declined and a new Zagwe dynasty, centred in what is now Lalibela, ruled the land. Axum, Lalibela and Gonder now provide the greatest historical legacy. It was in the 16th Century that the son of the great explorer Vasco Da Gama came to Ethiopia. He found a land of many kingdoms and provinces beset by feuds and war. Ethiopia is a nation comprised of more than 80 different ethnic groups, the heritage and traditions of each blending to form a unique and colourful mosaic. Ethiopia is old beyond imagination, dating to the very beginning of mankind. It is also the land of the Queen of Sheba, a place of legendary rulers, fabulous kingdom sand ancient mysteries. Ethiopia is the epitome of the entire sub-Sahara ecosystem where rare indigenous animals roam free, birdlife abounds and colourful wild flowers and native plants carpet the land.
TAKE A LOOK
To get a glimpse into the beliefs, culture and history of Ethiopia, it’s necessary to journey to a tiny little town in the Northern part of the Country – Axum. Axum, once the Capital of Ethiopia, is a perfect example of how remnants of ages long gone are still preserved in monuments and traditions of modern day Ethiopians.
The Arc of the Covenant
Legend has it that Moses descended from Mount Sinai after his little chat with God with a bunch of rules; 10 to be precise. These commandments were stored in a case also known as the Arc of the Covenant. Legend has it that the Arc of the Covenant has been preserved to this very day and lies in the repository of St. Mary of Zion in Axum. Only one designated priest is allowed to enter this Chapel and this extraordinary claim will remain as another one of life’s unsolved mysteries.
Stelae Fields
Before Christianity arrived, the Ethiopians believed in Pagan Gods and also believed that their dead were to be buried under huge stelae or obelisks to guarantee good fortune in the after life. Many of the 20 odd metre long stelae were carved out of single pieces of stone and transported from the quarry and erected at the burial site; which is an engineering miracle for that age. The Stellae carved out for the Kings were extremely intricate while all the peasants got was an oval rock in the mud. The 1700-year-old Obelisk of Aksum was broken into 3 parts packaged and shipped to Rome during Mussolini’s attempts at colonizing Ethiopia (which didn’t last too long). After a UN directive in 1947, it was finally returned to Ethiopia in 2005.
Yeha Monastery
Built in the 6th Century A.D., this is one of the oldest structures in East Africa. Yeha monastery is surrounded on all sides by hills and definitely sits on prime real estate. A lot of excavation work has been done to piece together the monastery. Adjacent to the monastery is a relatively new (and by that I mean only 50 years old) Church holding Ethiopian artifacts.
Preceding artifacts found:
http://www.theorangemango.com/the-seven-wonders-of-axum-ethiopia/
Sacred Amulet
http://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/relic/ethiop-m.htm
It used to be a commonplace for people to make an amulet containing a sacred text and wear it around their neck for protection and luck. That's what this is, except that there's no text inside the sealed box, nor ever was. So its an "imitation" amulet, assumed to be made by and/or for people who didn't read. In another step toward "barbarism," similar things are just plaques, actually two plates with no space between. Probably late 19th century, definitely not modern (and not silver either!) The beads are molded imports. On original greasy string.
Geometric Bronze Warrior (8th Century BCE) This bronze statue is one of the nude pieces discovered, which had been rare or completely non-existent in other cultures around the Mediterranean at the time. The nude body expresses the beginnings of a move towards more humanistic art as past human representations had depicted clothing and/or symbolic markings that would represent class or political standing, whereas this man, bare, represents a person merely being a person.
Hera of Samos (560 BCE) The vast majority or sculpture of this time was embedded into the stone it was carved from. This figure of Hera of Samos is "Monumental", meaning it is free-standing and alone, leaving it far more susceptible to damage and destruction. This piece, however, symbolizes the breaking away from a larger picture, and individual sanding alone.
Polykleitos, Doryphoros (c. 450-440 BCE) This piece by Polykleitos is a very classical statue; a realistic, proportional man, having all of his weight on one leg and relaxing the other, expressing a play-off between the two. The artist wrote treaties, and wrote a piece about how he created this sculpture using the measure of one of the digits of a finger as the unit of measure for the proportions of the entire body. The accuracy of these proportions, while scientific, created stunningly realistic figures and beautiful art work, which would become associated with humanism and its natural beauty.
Niobi Chiaramonti (3rd Century BCE) Most early Greek sculpture was less advanced with regards to technique, ability, and ideas of how to express the human form. In the midst a progression into a more realistic form exposing the body, this piece of a young woman running expresses character and a sensual beauty that had begun to be explored.
Nike (Or Winged Victory) of Samothrace (c. 190 BCE) This piece, whose sculptor is unknown, is another great example of movement. The ideology behind this piece is very congruent with typical Ancient Greece connotation; it expresses victory, strength, and tenacity. It is very interesting, too, that the artist chose to sculpt a female figure, expressing the greatness of the Greek culture via a symbol of strong femininity.
Alexandros of Antioch, Aphrodite/Venus de Milo (150-125 BCE) Yet another thematic expression of female beauty and the Greek ideal of woman, because this statue is only half nude, it also incorporates a lush decorative accent, perhaps, in fact, stabilizing a changed ideal of femininity.
