Elementi romani nella tradizione letterari aksumita

Abstract

The presence of literary works of Roman origin or milieu inside the Christian Aksumite tradition allows us to reconstruct the image of the Empire circulating among the Christians of Aksum. An antagonism between Church and State and a mistrust of any form of political and social organization were the basic concepts that works like the “Shepherd” of Hermas and the “Antichrist” of Hyppolitus transmitted to Ethiopian Christianity, particularly its monastic centres. In contrast to this tendency, a literary trend dating back to the ancient core of the “Kebra nagaśt” supported the aspirations of the Aksumite leadership by promoting an image of the Christian Ethiopian king as a hero in the end of the days in keeping with millenarian expectations.