Aksum An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity Stuart Munro-Hay

Heaven, Earth and Ares (in Greek), or Astar, Beher and Mahrem (Ge`ez) is also known 
from Ezana's Geza `Agmai inscription (
Ch. 11: 5
).  
The worship in Ethiopia of South Arabian gods (Ryckmans 1951: 19ff) like Astar 
(Venus), Ilmuqah (Sin, the moon, chief god and protector of the Sabaeans), Nuru (the 
luminous, the dawn), Habas (Hawbas, probably an aspect of the moon- god), Dhat 
Himyam (the incandescent) and Dhat Ba`adan (the distant) both female aspects of Shams, 
the sun, perhaps representing the summer and winter sun, is indicated by inscriptions on 
incense-altars and the like, and also by a number of rock inscriptions from the pre-
Aksumite period. One block, found in the walls of the basilican church at Enda Cherqos 
near Melazo, doubtless came from one of the pre-Aksumite sanctuaries, and is dedicated 
to what is essentially a solar triad, consisting of Venus, the moon in two aspects, and the 
sun in two aspects; Astar, Habas and Ilmuqah, Dhat-Himyam and Dhat Ba`adan. It has 
been suggested that some of these gods were still worshipped in Aksum, according to an 
interpretation of the inscription of GDR nagashi of Aksum on a bronze implement found 
at Addi Galamo (Atsbi Dera) as a dedication to Ilmuqah (Jamme 1957); but this 
interpretation, which included an unknown deity called Erg or Arg — and various 
theories constructed on it (Kobishchanov 1979: 48-9, 226) — appears to be wrong 
(Schneider 1984: 151). A number of other gods, of whom nothing further is known, are 
mentioned in pre-Aksumite inscriptions (Schneider 1973).  
Illustration 54. A pre-Aksumite altar from Addi Grameten near Kaskase with a dedication 
in the South Arabian script to the goddess Dhat-Himyam.  
The Aksumite inscriptions do not mention Ilmuqah, but concentrate mainly on Astar, 
Beher, Meder and particularly Mahrem, identified with Ares. The latter was the Aksumite 
royal or dynastic god, who was regarded as the father of the king, and his invincible 
guard from danger. Possibly Mahrem had taken on some of Ilmuqah's attributes. If he 
was the god honoured on the coins, as is possible since he was the special royal patron, it 
may have been he who was represented by the disc and crescent formerly a characteristic 
of the old South Arabian coins and altars. Alternatively these could have been the 
symbols of other gods of the Aksumite pantheon, or of its chief god Astar. Astar (Athtar 
in South Arabia), though a god in this case, bears the same name as the northern Semitic 
goddess Ishtar, Astarte, Ashtaroth and so on, the fertility deity represented by the planet 
Venus. Where a triad is mentioned he is always the first of the three, and was probably 
therefore the head of the Aksumite pantheon, as his identification with Zeus would also 
imply. In the translation (supposedly done in 678AD; see Trimingham 1952: 48 n. 1; 
Cerulli 1968: 20, questions this date) of the Greek version of Ecclesiasticus into Ge`ez, 
the word for theos (god) which the translators selected was Astar; in the final analysis the 
Ethiopian's choice for a word to describe the Christian god was egziabher, `Lord of the 
Land' (in the sense of the whole world), using a combination employing the same word as 
the old divine name Be her. Beher and Mahrem were also masculine divinities, whilst 
Meder appears to have been feminine.  
Mahrem, the war-god of the Aksumites, was also the royal and dynastic patron. The 
expansionist state, under kings who were war- leaders, is proclaimed by the inscriptions, 

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which are almost exclusively on the subject of war; and these inscriptions particularly 
mention Mahrem/Ares as the helper of the king and the recipient of the thank-offerings 
after the campaigns (
Ch. 11: 5
). He is mentioned with other gods, sometimes apparently 
as part of a trinity. He possessed lands, flocks and herds, and prisoner-slaves (unless 
these were actually sacrificed to him), and gold, silver and bronze statues which were the 
gifts of the king. Ezana dedicated to him also the inscriptions themselves on which he 
detailed his conquests, accompanying these monuments with curses against anyone who 
interfered with them. He also offered to Mahrem a SWT and a BDH (in Greek COY'ATE 
and BE?IE); two words of unknown meaning (Bernand 1982; Geza `Agmai inscription, 
see 
Ch. 11: 5
).  
Sanctuaries of the older gods are known in Ethiopia from Yeha and the Hawelti-Melazo 
region, which includes the sites of Gobochela and Enda Cherqos. These sites are of 
particular interest in that they furnish information about the paraphernalia of the temples, 
from which one can gain some idea of the pre-Christian observances of Ethiopia. Though 
much of this material is pre-Aksumite, it is worth noting here since the old religion still 
persisted to a certain degree into Aksumite times.  
At Yeha there is of course the famous temple, dating from the period of strongest 
Sabaean influence. The very existence of this large and very well-constructed structure 
on Ethiopian soil testifies to the importance of the cult practised there. Later (and 
infinitely more humble) pre-Aksumite religious buildings are also known. At Gobochela 
was found a rectangular structure in an enclosure, with inscriptions on plaques and altars 
mentioning Ilmuqah (Leclant 1959ii). Incense-altars of South Arabian type still lay on a 
sort of raised bench in this `temple', some bearing the disc and crescent symbol, or the 
club or mace also connected with Ilmuqah. Such altars testify to the use of aromatics in 
the worship of the gods in Ethiopia as well as Arabia. An inscription from Gobochela 
alluded to the dedication of an altar by a mukarrib of D`MT and Saba to Ilmuqah. Also 
found were the statue in white stone of an animal (probably a bull like the alabaster and 
schist examples found at Hawelti  — see below), and two round altars on tripod legs, 
made of alabaster, comparable to two round altars with disc and crescent symbols and 
inscriptions found at Hawelti. At Enda Cherqos (de Contenson 1961ii) a rectangular 
basilican church dating to perhaps the fifth century was revealed, with, built into it, the 
remains of older inscriptions mentioning the gods Astar, Hawbas and Ilmuqah, Dhat-
Himyam and Dhat-Ba`adan as well as the title `mukarrib of D`MT and Saba' (Schneider 
1961).  
Illustration 55. The interior of the great pre-Aksumite temple at Yeha; the best preserved 
of all the ancient structures in the country.  
At the site of Hawelti (de Contenson 1963ii) two more rectangular structures were found, 
surrounded with a sort of bench on which had been placed ex-voto pottery figures of 
bovids and other animals, including a leopard and a tusked boar, primitive models of 
steatopygous women (forming an interesting comparison with the female statuettes found 
at Adulis and Matara, see Ch. 
12: 1
 & 
5
), model houses, and miniature yokes. From here 
also came an elaborately-carved throne and a statue in white limestone (parts of others 

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