Ancient Aethiopia (Greek Αἰθιοπία) first appears as a geographical term in classical sources in reference to the Upper Nile region, as well as all certain areas south of the Sahara desert and south of the Atlantic Ocean. Its earliest mention is in the works of Homer: twice in the Iliad, and three times in the Odyssey. The Greek historian Herodotus specifically uses it to refer to such parts of Sub-Saharan Africa as were then known within the inhabitable world.

Ethiopia (; , , ), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ, ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Fēdēralāwī Dīmōkrāsīyāwī Rīpeblīk ), is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti, and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With over 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world, as well as the second-most populous nation on the African continent after Nigeria. It occupies a total area of , and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa.