Libya is located in North Africa, with 1,770km of coastline
along the Mediterranean White Sea.
It is bordered by Egypt from the east, Algeria and Tunisia from the west, and
Chad, Niger and Sudan from the south. The current situation of
the country is "stateless".
The chaos and instability that resulted from the UN-authorised bombing campaign
of 2011 had flung the country back to the stone age.
Libya in prehistoric times was inhabited by the Berbers ('Imazighen') –
the indigenous people of North Africa including most of Ancient Egypt. Many
of the Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses were Berber in
origin. According to Herodotus,
the ancient Libyans were the first to know civilisation, and no one knew of
Poseidon and Athena before them. By Athena he means Tannit ('Neith') because it was the custom in ancient Greece for Greek scholars and writers to refer to foreign gods by theu Greek name.
Among the things invented by the ancient Libyans
are mythology, religion, the wheel, the chariot, and the banking system (the Berber fortified
granaries of today). The advancements made by the ancient Libyans in
the fields of art, science and in many other aspects of human
culture require decades of dedicated work to document.
In later times the Libyans comprised two major groups: the agricultural population
of the coastal regions, and the shepherds or the nomads of the interior, of which Numidae is
the Latin form. The Numidae of the Second Punic War were essentially the Berber
tribes of the Masaesyli and the Massyli, the subjects of the Berber kings Syphax
and Masinissa respectively. The Numidian kingdom of Masinissa eventually included
all of Tripolitania.
In the 7th century Libya was invaded by the Arabs, who,
with the later help of European colonial intruders, ended up dividing North
Africa into Arab countries such as Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. The term "Arab" was introduced into Libya's official name for the first time
in history by Gaddafi when he renamed the Kingdom of Libya "The
Libyan Arab Republic" in 1969.
The Origin of The Name Libya
The Etymology of The Name Libya
There are several theories attempting
to explain the origin of the name, but it is almost certain that it comes from
the ancient Berber tribe known to the ancient Egyptians as Rebu or Ribu;
from which the Greeks derived the name
"Libya" (following the universal
linguistic rule of L = R), and which the Arabs of today's Egypt know as Lubia,
whence Lubians, in line with their relatives and neighbours the Nubians.
The name "Libia", as found in the archaeological site of Qaser
Libia, in Cyrenaica, is widely thought to have been derived from the ancient
village of Olbia. Some sources also derive the
names "Libya" and "Lubda" (Leptis
Magna) from Lewwa, one of the Berber ancestors given
by Ibn Khaldun. However, the Greek form Leptis itself was derived from the
Berber and Punic Libqi, which
Bates also linked to the Berber Ribu.
According to the Berber
Leo Africanus (1600, p.13), it was called "Libya" by the Greeks,
"Because it was in old time conquered by Libs the king of Mauritania.
In the holie scriptures it is called Chamesis, by the Arabians and Ethiopians
Alkebulam, and by the Indians Besecath.”
In the Bible the Libyans appeared as the Lubim, the Lehabim of the
Old Testament (after the Hebrews decided to add the letter 'h' to several
names, like Abram becoming Abraham, and Sara ending up as Sarah); the son
of Mizraim, which
Oric Bates was the first to identify
with the modern variant Ta-Mazight – an appellation
widely applied to the proud Berbers of North Africa.
The proposed etymology of 'Libya' being moisture has no support
other than the "Libyan
wind" which brought rain to Greek mainland; and as it is obvious
that Greek Libu is the same as Egyptian Ribu one does not need to propose a Greek etymology for
a name that is not Greek.
The proper etymology must be sought in the mother language
of the given word - the ancient Libyan language: Tamazight (else known as 'Berber'). Egyptian and Berber languages
are both members of the Hamitic branch of the Hamito-Samitic linguistic family,
and many of the ancient Egyptian and Berber mythical gods and goddesses are
still represented on the rock art of the great Mother Sahara, in what is known
as the largest collection of prehistoric
art in the world – well over one hundred thousand rock art sites.
The Mythology of The Name Libya
Libya was also the name of the Goddess known to the Greeks
as the Goddess Libya, and also of the whole continent before the Romans
named it Africa (after the Berber Goddess Afri). Her name also appeared as Libica in Michelangelo's
Sistine Chapel. In mythology, the "Goddess
Libya" had three sons by the Libyan Sea-God Poseidon: Belus, Agenor
and Lelex. King Belus ruled at Chemmis or Chamesis of
Leo Africanus, Agenor migrated to Cana'an (the Middle East), and
Lelex became king of Megara. The wife of Belus Anchinoe, daughter
of the Nile-god Nilus, bore him three sons: Aegyptus, Danaus and Cepheus,
and one daughter: Lamia, the Libyan Snake-goddess. The myth relates an
interesting "deception tale" in
which Danaus was sent to rule Libya where he had fifty daughters, and Aegyptus,
who had fifty sons, ruled over Egypt.
However, since the Greek were in the habit of referring to foreign gods and goddesses by their country of origin, the Goddess Libya can be none other than the Libyan Goddess Neith, and hence after the Roman occupation of Libya both the country "Libya" and the Goddess "Libya" became known by the name "Afri" or "Africa". This means that the names Neith, Tannit, Libya and Afri or Africa refer to the same Goddess par excellence: the Libyan Goddess Neith; and that the names Afri, Africa and Libya are all Berber names in origin.
Libyan stamp showing the Goddess Libya.
The Libyan Sibyl; The Ancestors of Christ (1510-12); Vault of the Sistine Chapel; by Michelangelo.
Source: Wikipedia
Commons.
The Great Berber Goddess Libya has so many names (or titles) including Sibyl, Isis and Libica. She gracefully lifts Her "heavy" book as about to rise. The book represents the scale of Berber civilisation created by Berber women in prehistoric times. This matriarchal Tamazight civilisation had inspired Libya's neighbours (like Ancient Egypt and Greece) to incorporate the obscure mysteries of Libyan lore into their mythologies long before they ended up as corrupt "political cartoons" in classical mythology.
Experts say Michelangelo used "foreshortening techniques" in the Sibyl's arms to create the impression that the arms move farther away from us as She reaches forward - Libya's gift to humanity. One of the cherubs mirrors Her position as a stark reminder that he is one part of a dual reflection of the Sibyl's nature!
The powerful muscular body reflects both: the power the Goddess had (and still has, and will always have), and the power Berber women had in prehistoric times before the onslaught of patriarchy sent them to misery and slavery where they remained so to this day. Berber women were the goddesses of the Goddess (regulating religion); the priestesses of the temple (venerating Mother); the oracles (foretelling the future); the Queens (governing the egalitarian kingdom); and the Amazon fighters (defending the nation). Men then suckled like babies in the cradle of civilisation: LIBYA.
The prophesy of Libyan Sibyl was simple: "coming of the day when that which is hidden shall be revealed."
