Sara-pi-on


Seero= border
Biyo= water
Oon= thirst
Sara-pi-on
Is this guy onto something with his theory, or is it just a bunch of hot air?
Last edited:
The Greeks might have just called it that of their own accord.
Serapion is a name there are even recorded ancient figures with that name. The name is rooted in the name of a Greek-Egyptian idol Serapis.
It might be related to that or this might be coincidental and it really is a Greek version of a local name.
I don't buy this etymology though. It is almost unheard of for a Somali place name to end in 'N'- try listing one. Maybe I'm wrong and there used to be more in the past.
For example, the city of Rhapta on the Azanian Coast (Southern Somalia) is from the Greek for sewn boats rhapton ploiarion i.e the beden ships. Greeks seem to name things as they feel like lol
There is literally Hafun that ends with an ‘N’, but more importantly the Periplus did not invent names for existing cities but was a travel guide for sailors, hence what those cities were called in the Periplus is roughly what they were actually known as at the time, the only issue is that we today only have the Greek or Hellenic pronunciation of these ancient emporiums. For example; Opone, pronounced as ‘Opun’ is really their attempt at trying to say Afun or Hafun.
@Sophisticate also mentioned once several other historical towns that have been identified with their Hellenised names;
“Greco-Roman records and urban archeology regarding over 150 BCE–550 CE show that there had been a socioeconomically organized nation along the Somali coast. Some of the Greco-Roman named towns, such as Avalites, Mundu, Gaza, Pano, and Opone, are respectively identified with the historical and still enduring towns of Awtal > Awdal, Xiis, Gawa, Bina, and Ḥafūn.”
@Three Moons I accept your point do you acknowledge that an n ending is not common though
I forgot about these city names that they had just hellenised.
What do you think about the apparent meaning of Rhapta though?
@Fobnimo Till I Dhimo Looks like your Oday might be right
Buraan, Cayn, Iskushuban, Wanlaweyn, Karin, Hudun, etc?
Raphta was somewhere in Tanzania, that’s for the Iraqw Cushites to figure out.![]()