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Ethiopian Greeks

(Redirected fromGreeks in Ethiopia)

Ethiopian Greeks,orGreeks in Ethiopia,areethnic Greeksfrom Ethiopia. Today they number about 500 persons and can be traced back to ancient times. They are mainly located in the capital,Addis Ababa,and the city ofDire Dawa.

Ethiopian Greeks
የኢትዮጵያ ግሪኮች
Έλληνες της Αιθιοπίας
GreeceEthiopia
Total population
c.500
Regions with significant populations
Addis Ababa,Dire Dawa
Languages
Greek·Amharic·English
Religion
Greek Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
African Greeks·Egyptian Greeks,Sudanese Greeks

History

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The nameEthiopiaitself is Greek and means "of burned face".[1]It is first attested in the Homeric epics but it is unlikely to have referred to any particular nation, but rather, to people of African descent in general.[2][3]

Beginning in theHellenistic agearound the third century BC, Greek culture permeated the regions of ancient Ethiopia. Greeks established colonies in Ethiopia, withPtolemais TheronandAxumbecoming major capitals of Ethiopian Greek culture. In the second century BC,Ptolemy III Euergetesannexed several northern Ethiopian cities such asTigrayand the port ofAdulis,which became major trading hubs for Ethiopian Greeks.[4][5]

Axumites of Ethiopia

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Further information:Axumite Empire
Axumitecoinage that reads "AΦIΛAC BACIΛEYC" – "KingAphilas"
Saint Elesbaan,King of Axum

After the Romans annexed the Ptolemaic Empire, the Axumite kingZoskales(Ancient Greek:Ζωσκάλης) established theAxumite Empire(Ancient Greek:Ἀξωμίτης) (c. 100 AD–c. 960 AD), which maintained Ethiopian Greek culture and used Greek as itslingua franca.In the city ofAxum,many obelisks, statues, and architecture made inEgyptian Greekstyle still mark the landscape.[4][6][7][8][9][10]

As the Islamic conquest of North Africa severed Axum's link with the Greek world in the seventh century, Greek culture and knowledge waned; Muslim presence in the Red Sea also caused Axum to suffer economically and it declined in power. Axum's final three centuries are considered a dark age, in which Ethiopian Greek culture disappeared; the Axumite Empire finally collapsed around 960 AD.[11]Despite its position as one of the foremost empires of late antiquity, Axum fell into obscurity as Ethiopia remained isolated throughout the Middle Ages.[12][13]

Abyssinian Greeks

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Further information:Abyssinian Empire
AnilluminatedEvangelist portraitofSaint Mark,from theGarima Gospels,6th century, Kingdom of Aksum, influenced byByzantine art[14]

Later Abyssinian Greeks were attested in the 1700s, largely descending from Greek craftsmen and sailors residing in Abyssinia, who facilitated commerce between Abyssinia and Europe.[15][3]The explorerJames Brucereported that a number of Greek refugees fromSmyrnahad also arrived inGondarduring the reign of EmperorIyasu II.The Smyrniot refugees included twelve silversmiths, whom the emperor put to work producing a variety of items for both his court and the churches of Gondar.[16]

Abyssinian Greeks held many of the highest positions in theAbyssinian Empire;the principal Abyssinian Greek community stayed with theAbyssinian Emperorin the capital, Gondar.[17]EmperorTheodore IIspecifically made known that he favored the Abyssinian Greeks, because of their virility and integrity of character.[18]

Modern Ethiopian Greeks

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The Ethiopian Greek community saw its heyday in the early part of the 20th century with the establishment of the Holy Metropolis of Axum by thePatriarchate of Alexandriain 1908 and of the Greek organizations in Addis Ababa (1918) and Dire Dawa (1921).[19]

In 1969, an Association of Ethio Hellenic Studies was formed. The Founder President of the Association was Greek Metropolitan Methodios Fouyas of Aksum and the Vice presidents were Rev. Fr. Dr. V.C. Samuel, Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Dr. P. Petrides of the French Academy of Science. The Very Rev. L.S. Babte Mariam Workeneh was the Secretary General and Nicolas Geoprgkas, President of the Greek Community in Addis Ababa was the Treasurer. H.I.H. Merid Asfa Wossen Crown Prince of Ethiopia was the Patron and H.B. Archbishop Theophilos of Harar and Acting Patriarch of Ethiopia was the Chairman. To promote the scholarly works concerning Ethiopia and Greece and their historical and ecclesiastical heritage and achievements the Year Book ABBA SLAMA was published from 1970 to 1976.[20]

In the post-war period the community grew to 3,000 persons. It suffered during therevolutionthat overthrewHaile Selassiein 1974, when the hostility of theDergtowards all foreign communities drastically reduced its size to the current population of about 500.[19]

Today there is still a Greek school located in the capital as well as a Greek Orthodox church in the same city (St. Froumendios). The school has about 120 students, many of whom receive scholarships to continue their studies in Greece.[21]However there is an increasing initiative by Greeks to take advantage of the investment opportunities currently available in Ethiopia.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert,A Greek-English Lexicon(Online ed.), Tufts University,retrieved2009-01-02
  2. ^Natsoulas, Theodoros (1975),The Greeks in Ethiopia: Economic, Political and Social Life, c,1740-1936,Ph.D. dissertation, Syracuse University,OCLC8152015
  3. ^abDombrowski, Franz Amadeus (1985),Ethiopia's access to the sea,Leiden: E.J. Brill, p. 43,ISBN90-04-07680-8
  4. ^abThe Encyclopaedia Britannica: A-Androphagi.Cambridge University Press. 1910. p. 89.
  5. ^"The" Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 17.Royal Geographical Society. 1847. p. 63.
  6. ^George Hatke (2013).Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa.NYU Press. p. 26.
  7. ^Africa and Its Exploration as Told by Its Explorers: Mungo Park, Clapperton, the Landers, Livingstone, Volume 1.S. Low, Marston, Limited. 1891. p. 98.
  8. ^Louis François Jauffret (1852).Travels of Rolando, Or, A Tour Round the World.C.S. Francis & Company. p. 261.
  9. ^English explorers (1875).The English explorers, comprising details of the more famous travels by Mandeville, Bruce, Park and Livingstone, with chapter on Arctic explorations.William P. Nimmo. p. 184.
  10. ^William Henry Ferris (1913).The African Abroad: Or, His Evolution in Western Civilization, Tracing His Development Under Caucasian Milieu, Volume 1.Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Press. p. 494.
  11. ^Derat, Marie-Laure (2020). "Before the Solomonids: Crisis, Renaissance and the Emergence of the Zagwe Dynasty (Seventh–Thirteenth Centuries)". In Kelly, Samantha (ed.).A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea.Leiden: Brill. p. 34.ISBN978-90-04-41958-2.
  12. ^Fritsch, Emmanuel; Kidane, Habtemichael (2020). "The Medieval Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Its Liturgy". In Kelly, Samantha (ed.).A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea.Leiden: Brill. p. 169.ISBN978-90-04-41958-2.
  13. ^Muḥammad Jamāl al-Dīn Mukhtār (1990).UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. II, Abridged Edition: Ancient Africa.University of California Press. p. 234.
  14. ^De Lorenzi, James (2015),Guardians of the Tradition: Historians and Historical Writing in Ethiopia and Eritrea,Rochester: University of Rochester Press, pp. 15–16,ISBN978-1-58046-519-9.
  15. ^Natsoulas, Theodoros (1975),The Greeks in Ethiopia: Economic, Political and Social Life, c,1740-1936,Ph.D. dissertation, Syracuse University,OCLC8152015
  16. ^Raymond Silverman and Neal Sobania,"Mining a Mother Lode: Early European Travel Literature and the History of Precious Metalworking in Highland Ethiopia",History in Africa,31 (2004), p. 348
  17. ^James Bruce (1812).Travels Between the Years 1765-1773... Into Abyssinia... Comprehending an Interesting Narrative of the Author's Adventures in Abyssinia... Being the Substance of the Original Work. [With Engravings, Including a Portrait.]J. & J. Cundee. pp. 46, 47.
  18. ^Abba Salama Volumes 1-2.University of California. 1970. p. 54.
  19. ^abBilateral Relations Between Greece And Ethiopia,Greece: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, archived fromthe originalon 2006-07-15,retrieved2009-01-02
  20. ^ABBA SALAMA A review of the Association of Ethio Hellenic Studies Addis Ababa 1970.
  21. ^Greeks in Ethiopia,AusGreekNet,retrieved2009-01-02
  22. ^"VI. The Greek Community",Hellenic & Ethiopian Bilateral Relations,Greece: Embassy of Ethiopia, archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-21,retrieved2009-01-02

Further reading

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  • Fouyas, P. G. (1971), "James Brice of Kinnaird and the Greeks in Ethiopia",Abba Salama(2): 161–178,OCLC63208888
  • Natsoulas, Theodore (1977),The Hellenic Presence in Ethiopia: A Study of a European Minority in Africa (1730-1946),Addis Ababa,OCLC14575420{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).Reviewed inSbacchi, Alberto (1980), "Reviewed work...",The International Journal of African Historical Studies,13(4), Boston University African Studies Center: 726–727,doi:10.2307/218207,JSTOR218207
  • Ghanotakis, Anestis John (1979),The Greeks of Ethiopia, 1889-1970,Ph.D. dissertation, Boston University,OCLC9544485
  • Fanouris, Mellina (2005),Meskel: An Ethiopian Family Saga,Tsehai Publishers,ISBN0-9748198-9-1
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