War Against the Atlantioi: Led by Queen Myrina, the Amazones invaded the Atlantioi

Diodorus Siculus, a 1st-century B.C. Greek historian from Sicily, wrote Library of History, a universal history in 40 books (15 fully surviving). It spans mythology and events up to 60 B.C., synthesizing earlier sources to cover regions like Egypt, Greece, and Africa, often blending myth—like the Amazons—with history.

Summary of names and events

Summary of the provided text from Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 3. 53. 1 – 55. 3 and 3. 10. 11, focusing on names and events:

Names:

1. Diodorus Siculus: Greek historian from the 1st century B.C., author of the Library of History.
2. Amazones (Amazons): A race of warlike women from western Libya, ruled by women who practiced warfare and maintained virginity during military service.
3. Myrina: Queen of the Amazones, led an army of 30,000 foot-soldiers and 3,000 cavalry, founded a city named after herself.
4. Atlantioi (Atlanteans): A civilized people near Mount Atlas and the shore of Okeanos, defeated by the Amazones; later allied with Myrina.
5. Gorgones (Gorgons): A neighboring tribe hostile to the Atlantioi, fought and partially defeated by Myrina’s Amazones.
6. Hesperides: Mythical figures associated with the island Hespera, linked to the Amazones’ homeland in some accounts.
7. Makhlyes (Machlyes): A legendary warrior-women tribe near Lake Tritonis, possibly inspiring the Amazones narrative.
8. Perseus: Hero mentioned in a later passage, encountered the Gorgon tribe after the Amazon-Atlantean-Gorgon war.
9. Herakles (Hercules): Mentioned as visiting the Hesperides in the same context as Perseus.
10. Aithiopian Ikhthyophagoi (Fish-Eaters): Inhabitants of Menê, a sacred city on the Amazones’ island.

Events:

1. Amazones’ Rule in Libya: In western Libya near the edge of the inhabited world, a women-led race practiced warfare and lived on an island called Hespera in the marsh Tritonis, near Okeanos and Mount Atlas.
2. Conquest of the Island: The Amazones subdued all cities on their island except Menê (Moon), a sacred city with volcanic activity and precious stones (anthrax, sardion, smaragdos).
3. Founding of Kherronesos: After conquering neighboring Libyans and nomads, the Amazones founded a great city called Kherronesos (Chersonese) in the marsh Tritonis.
4. War Against the Atlantioi: Led by Queen Myrina, the Amazones invaded the Atlantioi, defeating them in a battle at the city of Kernê (Cerne). They razed Kernê, enslaved women and children, and killed men, terrifying the Atlantioi into submission.
5. Alliance with Atlantioi: After their surrender, Myrina treated the Atlantioi honorably, founded a new city named Myrina to replace Kernê, and formed a friendship with them.
6. War Against the Gorgones: At the Atlantioi’s request, Myrina led the Amazones against the Gorgones, winning a major battle, killing many, and taking 3,000 prisoners. She attempted but failed to burn out the survivors in a wooded area.
7. Disappearance of Tritonis: The marsh Tritonis vanished due to an earthquake, splitting apart near Okeanos.
8. Mythical Connections: Diodorus blends tales of the Hesperides, the Makhlyes tribe, and Plato’s Atlantis, rationalizing them as history. The Atlantioi are tied to Mount Atlas or Phoenician colonies, and the Gorgones link to Perseus’ myth.

Additional Notes from 3. 10. 11:

• Diodorus critiques historians of Aigyptos (Egypt) and Aithiopia (Africa), noting some relied on false reports or invented tales, casting doubt on their reliability. Aithiopia here refers broadly to Africa, including Libya and the Atlas region.

This summary highlights the key figures (Myrina, Amazones, Atlantioi, Gorgones) and events (wars, city foundations, natural disasters) central to Diodorus’ narrative.

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 3. 53. 1 – 55. 3 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.)

“We are told, namely, that there was once in the western parts of Libya, on the bounds of the inhabited world, a race which was ruled by women and followed a manner of life unlike that which prevails among us. For it was the custom among them that the women should practise the arts of war and be required to serve in the army for a fixed period, during which time they maintained their virginity . . .
As mythology relates, their home was on an island which, because it was in the west, was called Hespera (Evening), and it lay in the marsh Tritonis. This marsh was near Okeanos (the Ocean) which surrounds the earth and received its name from a certain river Triton which emptied into it; and this marsh was also near Aithiopia [Africa] and that mountain by the shore of Okeanos which is the highest of those in the vicinity and impinges upon Okeanos and is called by the Greeks Atlas. The island mentioned above was of great size and full of fruit-bearing trees of every kind, from which the natives secured their food . . .
The Amazones (Amazons), then, the account continues, being a race superior in valour and eager for war, first of all subdued all the cities on the island except one called Menê (Moon), which was considered to be sacred and was inhabited by Aithiopian Ikhthyophagoi (Fish-Eaters), and was also subject to great eruptions of fire and possessed a multitude of the precious stones which the Greeks call anthrax, sardion, and smaragdos; and after this they subdued many of the neighbouring Libyans and nomad tribes, and founded within the marsh Tritonis a great city which they named Kherronesos (Chersonese) (Peninsular) after its shape.
Setting out from the city of Kherronesos, the account continues, the Amazones embarked upon great ventures, a longing having come over them to invade many parts of the inhabited world. The first people against whom they advanced, according to the tale, was the Atlantioi (Atlanteans), the most civilized men among the inhabitants of those regions, who dwelt in a prosperous country and possessed great cities; it was among them, we are told, that mythology places the birth of the gods, in the regions which lie along the shore of Okeanos, in this respect agreeing with those among the Greeks who relate legends, and about this we shall speak in detail a little later.
Now the queen of the Amazones, Myrina, collected, it is said, an army of thirty thousand foot-soldiers and three thousand cavalry, since they favoured to an unusual degree the use of cavalry in their wars. For protective devices they used the skins of large snakes, since Libya contains such animals of incredible size, and for offensive weapons, swords and lances; they also used bows and arrows, with which they struck not only when facing the enemy but also when in flight, by shooting backwards at their pursuers with good effect. Upon entering the land of the Atlantioi (Atlanteans) they defeated in a pitched battle the inhabitants of the city of Kernê (Cerne), as it is called, and making their way inside the walls along with the fleeing enemy, they got the city into their hands; and desiring to strike terror into the neighbouring peoples they treated the captives savagely, put to the sword the men from the youth upward, led into slavery the children and women, and razed the city. But when the terrible fate of the inhabitants of Kernê became known among their fellow tribesmen, it is related that the Atlantioi (Atlanteans), struck with terror, surrendered their cities on terms of capitulation and announced that they would do whatever should be commanded them, and that the queen Myrina, bearing herself honourably towards the Atlantioi, both established friendship with them and founded a city to bear her name [i.e. Myrina] in place of the city which had been razed; and in it she settled both the captives and any native who so desired. Whereupon the Atlantioi presented her with magnificent presents and by public decree voted to her notable honours, and she in return accepted their courtesy and in addition promised that she would show kindness to their nation. And since the natives were often being warred upon by the Gorgones (Gorgons), as they were named, a folk which resided upon their borders, and in general had that people lying in wait to injure them, Myrina, they say, was asked by the Atlantioi to invade the land of the afore-mentioned Gorgones. But when the Gorgones drew up their forces to resist them a mighty battle took place in which the Amazones, gaining the upper hand, slew great numbers of their opponents and took no fewer than three thousand prisoners; and since the rest had fled for refuge into a certain wooded region, Myrina undertook to set fire to the timber, being eager to destroy the race utterly, but when she found that she was unable to succeed in her attempt she retired to the borders of her country . . .
The story is also told that the marsh Tritonis disappeared from sight in the coruse of an earthquake, when those parts of it which lay towards Okeanos were torn asunder.”
[N.B. For the Libyan Amazones, Diodorus combines accounts of the mythical Hesperides and the legendary warrior-women of the Makhlyes (Machlyes) tribe of Lake Tritonis. The Gorgones are based on the monsters encountered by the hero Perseus who is actually mentioned in the passage which follows. Here he encounters the Gorgon0tribe some time after the Amazon-Atlantean-Gorgon war occurred. Herakles is mentioned in the same context visiting the Hesperides. The Atlanteans are either an indigenous people dwelling about Mount Atlas in North Africa or are based on the Phoenician colonies of the region. Diodorus also refers to Plato’s story of the sinking of Atlantis in the last line of the passage quoted above. The unusual combination of myths and legends is an Hellenistic Greek attempt to rationalize a variety of stories and present them as true history.]

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 3. 10. 11

“[Diodorus briefly discusses sources for the ancient Greek histories of Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, Libya and the Atlas region–the last three are all referred to as Aithiopia (Ethiopia) :] Concerning the historians, we must distinguish among them, to the effect that many have composed works on both Aigyptos (Egypt) and Aithiopia (Ethiopia), of whom some have given credence to false report and others have invented many tales out of their own minds for the delectation of their readers, and so may justly be distrusted.” [N.B. Aithiopia is the ancient Greek term for the whole of Africa, not just the land of Ethiopia.]