King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba:

Several historical/mythological factors are addressed in this myth. The story describes how the Queen of Sheba, who was once thought to be purely myth, comes to power. It also describes her relationship with the historical figure of Solomon. The most intriguing aspect of this myth is at the very end when it explains how the Ark of the Covenant, which was also thought to be entirely mythical at one time, left the possession of King Solomon and was taken to an unknown location somewhere in Ethiopia by the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. These different parts help to convey ideas of geography, time, and place. This myth, and others like it, plays a significant part in society, especially concerning history.

The myth of the Queen of Sheba plays an even more important role in the society of Ethiopia. Through this myth, the story is told of how Ethiopia got his freedom. It is interesting because most of the myths that I am used to—ones of European heritage—consist of a country’s or a people group’s “savior” being a person who frees them from another person. However, in this case, the tyrant, or evil ruler, is a serpent. The people of the land have to be saved by an outsider. Again, in many of the myths to which I am accustomed entail a person, usually a man, who rises up from within the people rather than coming from another land. However, another aspect of the myth that is quite similar to other myths, including the ones that I am familiar with, is that after the individual delivers the people from the tyrannical rule they make that person their king. These points help to illustrate the fact that myths and stories are not uniform but differ amongst peoples, times, and places, but can certainly share some common factors.

The Separation of the Darassa and the Jam-Jamo and How Rule Passed from Men to Women:

These myths illustrate greed for power. In one story, the greed stems between people groups, or tribes, and in the other, it is between genders. The myths show us that the desire for power cannot simply be attributed to one people group or gender; it stretches across all types, colors, and genders of people. People want to be able to decide things for themselves. These stories remind me of the saying, “Every kingdom has a beginning and an end. None can last forever.” By the same token, though, these myths also show that people who are not represented by the leaders who rule over them want, naturally, some say in how they are ruled over. While “The Separation of the Darassa and the Jam-Jamo” seems to be a typical story of overthrowing tyranny, “How Rule Passed from Men to Women” exhibits a different type of desire. It is the desire of the majority of a population to say how they want things run, which, of course, makes perfect sense. While the minority—women—should not be completely controlled by the majority—men—the men should most certainly be in control because there are more of them than women. This has been seen throughout history the masses overthrowing the minority rulers.