Greece and Ethiopia: THURSDAY

NOVEMBER 14 7:30pm

THE EARLY CONNECTIONS

University of Missouri–St. Louis FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

THE DR. NICHOLAS MATSAKIS MEMORIAL LECTURE

University of Missouri-St. Louis366 Social Sciences & Business Building1 University Blvd. | St. Louis, MO 63121-4400

Greece and Ethiopia: The Early Connectionsby Prof. Elizabeth A. Fisher, Randolph-Macon CollegeThursday, November 14, 7:30pm University of Missouri–St. Louis | Millennium Student CenterFREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

The Annual Dr. Nicholas Matsakis Lecture

From literally the beginning of Greek literature, line 22 in Homer’s Odyssey, Ethiopia is featured as a special place, known to the Greeks and Romans as the source of the Nile River and many exotic materials.Beginning in the Bronze Age, the Greeks traded extensively with Egypt. Is there any evidence that they also visited Ethiopia? In the Classical period, Herodotus knew about trade in ivory from Ethiopia. Later, the Ethiopians were among the first to convert to Christianity. What were the connections between Greece and Ethiopia in antiquity? Why do we know so little about it? This presentation shows some of the archaeological and ethnological evidence from the Horn of Africa.

ELIZABETH FISHER is the Shelton H. Short III Professor in the Liberal Arts at Randolph-Macon College, and an archaeologist who has excavated at numerous sites worldwide. In 2015-2016 she taught and researched in the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management at the Aksum University

in Aksum, Ethiopia, as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. Her current research project is on the connections between Greece and Ethiopia from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period. Sponsored by UMSL Global, Hellenic Government-Karakas Family Foundation Professorship in Greek Studies, and The Karakas Family Foundation Alliance for the Advancement of Hellenic Studies