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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §3.52.1-3.52.4

History and Antiquity of the Libyan Amazons

Passage 213 of 406 · Greek

Summary

In connection with the previously described regions of Libya, the author begins to relate the history of the ancient Libyan Amazons based on Dionysius. He notes that the Libyan Amazons were far older than the well-known ones of the Thermodon river, and introduces other warlike Libyan women such as the Gorgons.

§3.52.1τούτων δʼ ἡμῖν διευκρινημένων οἰκεῖον ἂν εἴη τοῖς προειρημένοις τόποις διελθεῖν τὰ περὶ τὰς Ἀμαζόνας ἱστορούμενα τὰς γενομένας τὸ παλαιὸν κατὰ τὴν Λιβύην.
These matters having been clarified by us, it would be appropriate, in connection with the aforementioned places, to go through the history related about the Amazons who existed in ancient times in Libya.
οἱ πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ ὑπειλήφασι τὰς περὶ τὸν Θερμώδοντα ποταμὸν ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ λεγομένας κατῳκηκέναι μόνας ὑπάρξαι· τὸ δʼ ἀληθὲς οὐχ οὕτως ἔχει, διὰ τὸ πολὺ προτερεῖν τοῖς χρόνοις τὰς κατὰ Λιβύην καὶ πράξεις ἀξιολόγους ἐπιτελέσασθαι.
For most people have assumed that those said to have dwelt around the Thermodon river in Pontus were the only ones to exist; but the truth is not so, because those in Libya were much earlier in time and performed remarkable deeds.
§3.52.2οὐκ ἀγνοοῦμεν δὲ διότι πολλοῖς τῶν ἀναγινωσκόντων ἀνήκοος φανεῖται καὶ ξένη παντελῶς ἡ περὶ τούτων ἱστορία· ἠφανισμένου γὰρ ὁλοσχερῶς τοῦ γένους τῶν Ἀμαζονίδων τούτων πολλαῖς γενεαῖς πρότερον τῶν Τρωικῶν, τῶν δὲ περὶ τὸν Θερμώδοντα ποταμὸν ἠκμακυιῶν μικρὸν πρὸ τούτων τῶν χρόνων, οὐκ ἀλόγως αἱ μεταγενέστεραι καὶ μᾶλλον γνωριζόμεναι τὴν δόξαν κεκληρονομήκασι τὴν τῶν παλαιῶν καὶ παντελῶς ἀγνοουμένων διὰ τὸν χρόνον ὑπὸ τῶν πλείστων.
And we are not unaware that to many of the readers the history concerning them will appear unheard of and entirely strange; for since this race of Amazons disappeared completely many generations before the Trojan War, whereas those around the Thermodon river flourished shortly before those times, it is not without reason that the later and better-known ones inherited the fame of the ancient ones who, because of the lapse of time, are entirely unknown to most people.
§3.52.3οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς εὑρίσκοντες πολλοὺς μὲν τῶν ἀρχαίων ποιητῶν τε καὶ συγγραφέων, οὐκ ὀλίγους δὲ καὶ τῶν μεταγενεστέρων μνήμην πεποιημένους αὐτῶν, ἀναγράφειν τὰς πράξεις πειρασόμεθα ἐν κεφαλαίοις ἀκολούθως Διονυσίῳ τῷ συντεταγμένῳ τὰ περὶ τοὺς Ἀργοναύτας καὶ τὸν Διόνυσον καὶ ἕτερα πολλὰ τῶν ἐν τοῖς παλαιοτάτοις χρόνοις πραχθέντων.
Nevertheless, since we find that many of the ancient poets and historians, and not a few of the later ones, have preserved a memory of them, we shall attempt to record their deeds in summary, in accordance with Dionysius who composed the history of the Argonauts and Dionysus, and many other things done in the most ancient times.
§3.52.4γέγονε μὲν οὖν πλείω γένη γυναικῶν κατὰ τὴν Λιβύην μάχιμα καὶ τεθαυμασμένα μεγάλως ἐπʼ ἀνδρείᾳ·
Now there existed in Libya several warlike races of women who were greatly admired for their courage.
τό τε γὰρ τῶν Γοργόνων ἔθνος, ἐφʼ ὃ λέγεται τὸν Περσέα στρατεῦσαι, παρειλήφαμεν ἀλκῇ διαφέρον· τὸ γὰρ τὸν Διὸς μὲν υἱόν, τῶν δὲ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν Ἑλλήνων ἄριστον, τελέσαι μέγιστον ἆθλον τὴν ἐπὶ ταύτας στρατείαν τεκμήριον ἄν τις λάβοι τῆς περὶ τὰς προειρημένας γυναῖκας ὑπεροχῆς τε καὶ δυνάμεως· ἥ τε τῶν νῦν μελλουσῶν ἱστορεῖσθαι ἀνδρεία παράδοξον ἔχει τὴν ὑπεροχὴν πρὸς τὰς καθʼ ἡμᾶς φύσεις τῶν γυναικῶν συγκρινομένη.
For we have received the tradition that the nation of the Gorgons, against whom Perseus is said to have campaigned, excelled in valor; for the fact that the son of Zeus, and the best of the Greeks of his time, performed his greatest labor in the campaign against them, one might take as a proof of the preeminence and power of the aforementioned women; and the courage of those whose history is now about to be related has a paradoxical superiority when compared with the nature of the women of our own time.

Notes

  1. §3.52.1τοῖς προειρημένοις τόποις — Dative case. It modifies the adjective `οἰκεῖον` ("suitable to" or "appropriate for"), meaning "appropriate in connection with the aforementioned places."
  2. §3.52.1τὰς περὶ τὸν Θερμώδοντα ποταμὸν ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ λεγομένας κατῳκηκέναι μόνας ὑπάρξαι — Accusative with infinitive construction acting as the object clause of the main verb `ὑπειλήφασι`. The accusative subject of `ὑπάρξαι` (infinitive) is `τὰς ... λεγομένας`, in which the participle `λεγομένας` takes another infinitive `κατῳκηκέναι` as its complement.
  3. §3.52.2ἠφανισμένου γὰρ ὁλοσχερῶς τοῦ γένους τῶν Ἀμαζονίδων τούτων ... τῶν δὲ περὶ τὸν Θερμώδοντα ποταμὸν ἠκμακυιῶν — Two genitive absolute constructions coordinated contrastively by `γάρ` (in place of `μέν`) and `δέ`. In the first, the subject is `τοῦ γένους` and the participle is `ἠφανισμένου`. In the second, the subject is `τῶν ...` (referring to the implied Amazons) and the participle is `ἠκμακυιῶν`. They explain the two contrasting historical reasons (the chronological gap) for the main clause's conclusion.
  4. §3.52.4τὸ γὰρ τὸν Διὸς μὲν υἱόν ... τελέσαι — An articular infinitive construction introduced by the neuter article `τό`, with its subject in the accusative `τὸν Διὸς μὲν υἱόν...` and the infinitive `τελέσαι`. This entire clause stands in apposition to `τεκμήριον` ("proof"), which is the direct object of the potential optative `ἄν τις λάβοι` ("one might take") in the main clause.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §3.52.1-3.52.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:3.52.1-3.52.4

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