Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Friday, 16 August 2013
Saturday, 3 August 2013
7 International Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Nigerian
Photos: You Won’t Believe This! 7 International Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Nigerian
Sade Adu, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chamillionaire, Wale, Tine Tempah and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are Nigerians, everyone knows that.
This list has dug a little deeper and discovered 7 more celebrities you never thought could be Nigerian.
Get ready to be shocked as we present you 7 well-known International celebs who are Fellow Nigerians;
1) Hugo Weaving- Do you remember Agent Smith in Matrix? Yes! Neo’s arch-rival is Nigerian. How? Well the 53 year old actor was born in Nigeria at the University College Hospital in Ibadan. This makes him Nigerian by birth. His parents moved back to England a year after. Hugo Weavinghas acted in several blockbusters such as V For Vendetta, The Matrix Trilogy and Lord of The Rings Trilogy, Transformers Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy and Captain America. Who said Ibadan boys don’t go far?
2) Taio Cruz- The 25 year old British singer is of Nigerian heritage. He was born to a Nigerian father and Brazilian mother. Taio Cruz who started penning songs at 12, began writing professionally 7 years later. He released his debut album Departure in 2008. The following year he released his sophomore Rokstarr which featured the hit song ‘Dynamite’. He dropped his 3rd album TY.O three years ago. Taio Cruz has won several awards including the BRIT Awards, Billboard Music Awards, ASCAP Awards and American Music Awards.
3) Tyler the Creator- Yes, do not be shocked. The ‘Black Eminem’ is Nigerian. Tyler the Creator’s actual names are Tyler Okonma. His father is Igbo. The leader of the music collective ‘Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All’ claims he never met his father. Maybe that is why he is not too fond of him. In 2009 Tyler released his first album Bastard. His buzz started growing from then on mainly backed by his offensive, homophobic and disgusting lyrics. He released his second albumGoblin two years later and became a national sensation without the backing of any major record label in America. He released his third album Wolf this year.
4) Dizzie Rascal- Dizzie (Dylan Kwabena Mills) is one of the most respected rappers in the UK and also happens to be Nigerian. His Nigerian father died when he was young and he was raised by his Ghanaian mum. He had a rebellious childhood and that’s how he got the name Rascal. He was a friend of Nigerian footballer Danny Shittu when he was a kid. At 16 he produced his first single ‘I Luv U’ and in 2002 formed the collective Roll Deep Crew. Dizzie Rascal has released 5 solo albums till date making him one of the biggest rappers in the UK. He performed at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London and won the Best International Act at the BET Awards in 2010.
5) Richard Ayoade- This is another Brit-Nigerian. Richard Ayoade was born to a Nigerian father and Norwegian mother. The 36 year old comedian, actor and writer has written several awards winning stage plays in the UK. He is also a known face on British TV having starred in the highly popular The IT Crowd. He made his Hollywood debut in 2012 after starring in the comedy The Watchalongside Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill.
6) Donald Adeosun Faison: Fans of the popular television Comedy-drama “Scrubs” would know this one. Not only is he one of our favorite character, you probably didn’t know this American actor’s middle name is Yoruba.
7) Lemar: Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), professionally known simply as Lemar, is an English R&B singer–songwriter and record producer. His Nigerian fans probably didn’t know that the UK singer who was born in Tottenham, England is son to Nigerian parents of Enugu State, South Eastern Nigeria.
http://www.informationng.com/2013/07/photos-you-wont-believe-this-7-international-celebrities-you-didnt-know-were-nigerian.html
http://www.informationng.com/2013/07/photos-you-wont-believe-this-7-international-celebrities-you-didnt-know-were-nigerian.html
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Memnon of Africa B=]
Memnon (mythology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2010) |
In Greek mythology, Memnon (Greek: Mέμνων) was an Ethiopian king and son of Tithonus and Eos. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. During the Trojan War, he brought an army to Troy's defense. The death of Memnon echoes that of Hector, another defender of Troy whom Achilles also killed out of revenge for a fallen comrade, Patroclus. After Memnon's death, Zeus was moved by Eos' tears and granted him immortality. Memnon's death is related at length in the lost epic Aethiopis, composed after The Iliad circa the 7th century BC. Quintus of Smyrna records Memnon's death in Posthomerica. His death is also described in Philostratus' Imagines.
Contents
[hide]Memnon in Quintus of Smyrna's Posthomerica[edit]
Memnon arrives at Troy in the immediate aftermath of an argument between Polydamas, Helen, and Priam that centres on whether or not the Aethiopian King will show up at all. Memnon's army is described as being too big to be counted and his arrival starts a huge banquet in his honour. As per usual the two leaders (Memnon and, in this case, Priam) end the dinner by exchanging glorious war stories, and Memnon's tales lead Priam to declare that the Aethiopian King will be Troy's saviour. Despite this, Memnon is very humble and warns that his strength will, he hopes, be seen in battle, although he believes it is unwise to boast at dinner. Before the next day's battle, so great is the divine love towards Memnon that Zeus makes all the other Olympians promise not to interfere in the fighting. In battle, Memnon killsNestor's son, Antilochos, after Antilochos has killed Memnon's dear comrade, Aithops. Seeking vengeance and despite his age, Nestor tries to fight Memnon but the Aethiopian warrior insists it would not be just to fight such an old man, and respects Nestor so much that he refuses to fight. In this way, Memnon is seen as very similar to Achilles - both of them have strong sets of values that are looked upon favourably by the warrior culture of the time. When Memnon reaches the Greek ships, Nestor begs Achilles to fight him and avenge Antilochos, leading to the two men clashing while both wearing divine armour made by Hephaestus, making another parallel between the two warriors. Zeus favours both of them and makes each man tireless and huge so that the whole battlefield can watch them clash as demigods. Eventually, Achilles stabs Memnon through the heart, causing his entire army to flee in terror. In honour of Memnon, the Gods collect all the drops of blood that fall from him and use them to form a huge river that on every anniversary of his death will bear the stench of human flesh.[1] The Aethiopians that stayed close to Memnon in order to bury their leader are turned into birds (which we now call Memnons) and they stay by his tomb so as to remove dust that gathers on it.[2]
Memnon in Africa[edit]
Roman writers and later classical Greek writers such as Diodorus Siculus believed Memnon hailed from "Aethiopia", a geographical area in Africa, usually south of Egypt. Because the original historical work by Arctinus of Miletus only survives in fragments, most of what is known about Memnon comes from post-Homeric Greek and Roman writers. Homer only makes passing mention to Memnon in the Odyssey.[3] Herodotus called Susa "the city of Memnon,"[4] Herodotus describes two tall statues with Egyptian and Ethiopian dress that some, he says, identify as Memnon; he disagrees, having previously stated that he believes it to Sesostris.[5] One of the statues was on the road from Smyrna to Sardis.[6] A carved figure matching this description has been found near the old road from Smyrna to Sardis.[7]
Pausanias describes how he marveled at a colossal statue in Egypt, having been told that Memnon began his travels in Africa:
In Egyptian Thebes, on crossing the Nile to the so called Pipes, I saw a statue, still sitting, which gave out a sound. The many call it Memnon, who they say from Aethiopia overran Egypt and as far as Susa. The Thebans, however, say that it is a statue, not of Memnon, but of a native named Phamenoph, and I have heard some say that it is Sesostris. This statue was broken in two by Cambyses, and at the present day from head to middle it is thrown down; but the rest is seated, and every day at the rising of the sun it makes a noise, and the sound one could best liken to that of a harp or lyre when a string has been broken.[8]
Philostratus of Lemnos in his work Imagines, describes artwork of a scene which depicts Memnon:
Now such is the scene in Homer, but the events depicted by the painter are as follows: Memnon coming from Ethiopia slays Antilochus, who has thrown himself in front of this father,28 and he seems to strike terror among the Achaeans – for before Memnon’s time black men were but a subject for story – and the Achaeans, gaining possession of the body, lament Antilochus, both the sons of Atreus and the Ithacan and the son of Tydeus and the two heroes of the same name.
In Blacks in Antiquity, Frank Snowden examined the later Greek and Roman tradition tying Memnon to African "Ethiopia". Snowden notes that according to Greek tradition, Memnon was the progenitor of the Ethiopians, which in this context referred to African people. Through changing depictions of Memmnon on vase paintings and scenes of the Trojan War, Snowden shows that the Asiatic portrayal of Memnon was abandoned in favor of an African origin. Literary accounts of the Trojan war, as well as numerous Roman authors, consistently describe Memnon with African characteristics as an Ethiopian from Sudan and Egypt.[10]
In Snorri Sturluson[edit]
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.
References
Herodotus on Aethiopia (Afrika Ancient).
In Herodotus[edit]
In his Histories (c. 440 BC) Herodotus presents some of the most ancient and detailed information about "Aethiopia".[3] He relates that he personally traveled up the Nile to the border of Egypt as far as Elephantine Island (modern Aswan); in his view, "Aethiopia" is all of the inhabited land found to the south of Egypt, beginning at Elephantine. He describes a capital at Meroe, adding that the only deities worshipped there were Zeus (Amun) and Dionysus (Osiris). He relates that in the reign of Pharaoh Psamtik I (c. 650 BC), many Egyptian soldiers deserted their country and settled amidst the Aethiopians. He further wrote that of Egypt's 330 Pharaohs, 18 were "Aethiopian" (i.e. the "Kushite dynasty"). He asserts that Aethiopia was one of the countries that practiced circumcision.
Herodotus tells us that king Cambyses of Persia (c. 570 BC) sent spies to the Aethiopians "who dwelt in that part of Libya (Africa) which borders upon the southern sea." They found a strong and healthy people. Although Cambyses then campaigned toward their country, by not preparing enough provisions for the long march, his army completely failed and returned quickly.
In Book 3, Herodotus defines "Aethiopia" as the farthest region of "Libya" (i.e. Africa): "Where the south declines towards the setting sun lies the country called Aethiopia, the last inhabited land in that direction. There gold is obtained in great plenty, huge elephants abound, with wild trees of all sorts, and ebony; and the men are taller, handsomer, and longer lived than anywhere else."[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aethiopia_(Classical_Greek_term)
Hesiod (c. 8th century BC) speaks of Memnon as the "king of Aethiopia".
Hesiod (c. 8th century BC) speaks of Memnon as the "king of Aethiopia".
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