Factoid of the day

I was reading a novel that retells the story of the Odyssey, including parts about the Trojan war, and they mentioned Memnon and the Ethiopians fighting for Priam and the Trojans.

And yes, he is mentioned in the Odyssey because he killed old king Nestor's son (the Iliad doesn't cover the fall of Troy) but I hadn't noticed it.

Like a lot of the heroes, his background and legend is a bit confused, not from racism as much as because there are several oral traditions on all these heroes, and often they linked heroes with the gods or applied the names of heroes to different stories.

Also, the links between the various Bronze age civilizations became legend during the Greek dark ages after the Bronze age collapse. Some theorize that when Homer wrote, they didn't realize that Ethiopia was black, but later contact during the classical period, with the black Nubian pharaohs of Egypt made them change the depiction of him in their art. more HERE.
and HERE.

Modern archeology is trying to rediscover this lost history, including that of the ancient African civilizations.

And you can watch a lecture on his story on YOUTUBE:



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Factoid number two, from Wikipedia:

In the prologue to his Prose Edda, the Icelandic scribe Snorri Sturluson states that Memnon (whom he says is also known as Munon) was one of the kings present at Troy, who married Troana, the daughter of king Priam. He further relates that they gave birth to their son Tror, that is, Thor, born with hair "fairer than gold", who later becomes king of Thrace, and ancestor to all the Germanic kings.

heh. Wonder if the Nazis knew about this...