Beher was the pre-
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
n (
Aksum
Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015).
It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole region ...
ite) god of the sea. He was apart of a trinity of pre-Christian Ethiopian religion, together with
Astar (god of sun and moon) and
Mahrem (god of war and head god).
Article body

Beher is the god of the land and of the sea and is associated with agricultural fertility.
He also appears to be identified with Meder, the Earth-Mother. Beher can be derived from the Ethiopian Christian word for God, egziabher, originally 'Lord of the Land' as well as 'Lord of the World'.
All of these names appear together in the writings of
Ezana in which the throne is dedicated to Astar, Beher, and Meder.
For the Askumites, these gods are comparable to the greek's. Astar was associated with
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...
while Mahrem was paralleled with
Ares
Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war ...
. Beher is associated to
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
.
References
African gods
Axumite gods
Sea and river gods
African shamanism
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