Aethiopian Sea

Aethiopian Sea Aethiopian Ocean البحر الأثيوبي
Ethiopian Sea section of Mathew Carey's 1795 Africa map.
Location	Southern Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	15°0′S 5°0′W / 15.000°S 5.000°W / -15.000; -5.000Coordinates: 15°0′S 5°0′W / 15.000°S 5.000°W / -15.000; -5.000
Type	Ocean
Basin countries	Southwestern coast of Africa, Brazil

Aethiopian Sea, Æthiopian Ocean or Æthiopic Ocean (Latin: Æthiopicum Mare or Oceanus Æthiopicus; Arabic: البحر الأثيوبي‎‎) was the name given to the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean in classical geographical works. The name appeared in maps from ancient times to the turn of the 19th century.

The Ethiopian Sea, Ethiopic Ocean or Ethiopian Ocean (Okeanos Aithiopos), is an old name for what is now called the South Atlantic Ocean. It is separated from the North Atlantic Ocean by a narrow region between Natal, Brazil and Monrovia, Liberia. The term Ethiopian Ocean appeared until the mid-19th century, for example on the map Accuratissima Totius Africae in Lucem Producta, engraved by Johann Baptist Homann and Frederick de Wit and published by Jacob von Sandrart in Nürnberg in 1702.

The name Aethiopian Sea to refer to the ocean was related to referring to large swathes of the continent of Africa as Aethiopia. Nowadays the classical use of the term has become obsolete, as the modern nation of Ethiopia is located in the northeastern area of Africa and not near the actual Ethiopic Ocean.

Ancient Greek historians Diodorus and Palaephatus mentioned that the Gorgons lived in the Gorgades, islands in the Aethiopian Sea. The main island was called Cerna and, according to Henry T. Riley, these islands may correspond to Cape Verde.