The Atlantians & Amazons in Libya - The Atlantians of Libya

The Titan-Atlantes spread their gods and mythology to the world

In the following chapters and paragraphs, Diodorus Siculus describes the life of the Atlantians, elements from their mythology and their origin from the Titans, Also, how were their gods born that their worship spread to many peoples of the earth, even to the ancient Greeks:

Chapter 56.

1. But since we have made mention of the Atlantians, we believe that it will not be inappropriate in this place to recount what their myths relate about the genesis of the gods, in view of the fact that it does not differ greatly from the myths of the Greeks.

2. Now the Atlantians, dwelling as they do in the regions on the edge of the ocean and inhabiting a fertile territory, are reputed far to excel their neighbours in reverence towards the gods and the humanity they showed in their dealings with strangers, and the gods, they say, were born among them. And their account, they maintain, is in agreement with that of the most renowned of the Greek poets (meaning the Homer) when he represents Hera as saying:

"For I go to see the ends of the bountiful earth, Oceanus source of the gods and Tethys divine. Their mother." (See Homer, Iliad 14 200‑1).

3. This is the account given in their myth: Their first king was Uranus, and he gathered the human beings, who dwelt in scattered habitations, within the shelter of a walled city and caused his subjects to cease from their lawless ways and their bestial manner of living, discovering for them the uses of cultivated fruits, how to store them up, and not a few other things which are of benefit to man; and he also subdued the larger part of the inhabited earth, in particular the regions to the west and the north.

4. And since he was a careful observer of the stars he foretold many things which would take place throughout the world; and for the common people he introduced the year on the basis of the movement of the sun and the months on that of the moon, and instructed them in the seasons which recur year after year.

5. Consequently the masses of the people, being ignorant of the eternal arrangement of the stars and marvelling at the events which were taking place as he had predicted, conceived that the man who taught such things partook of the nature of the gods, and after he had passed from among men they accorded him immortal honours, both because of his benefactions and because of his knowledge of the stars and then they transferred his name to the firmament of heaven, both because they thought that he had been so intimately acquainted with the risings and the settings of the stars and with whatever else took place in the firmament, and because they would surpass his benefactions by the magnitude of the honours which they would show him, in that for all subsequent time they proclaimed him to be the king of the universe.

And Diodorus Siculus continues with the birth of the Titan race:

57 1. To Uranus, the myth continues, were born forty-five sons from a number of wives, and, of these, eighteen, it is said, were by Titaea, each of them bearing a distinct name, but all of them as a group were called, after their mother, Titans. 2. Titaea, because she was prudent and had brought about many good deeds for the peoples, was deified after her death by those whom she had helped and her name was changed to Gê.

Who were the Titans, the sons of King Uranus?

Book III, chapters 60, 61:

Diodorus Siculus mentions that the three most prominent sons of Uranus was Cronus, Atlas, and Hyperion:

60  After the death of Hyperion, the myth relates, the kingdom was divided among the sons of Uranus, the most renowned of whom were Atlas and Cronus. Of these sons Atlas received as his part the regions on the coast of the ocean, and he not only gave the name of Atlantians to his peoples but likewise called the greatest mountain in the land Atlas.

2 They also say that he perfected the science of astrology and was the first to publish to mankind the doctrine of the sphere; and it was for this reason that the idea was held that the entire heavens were supported upon the shoulders of Atlas, the myth darkly hinting in this way at his discovery and description of the sphere...

3 This king, having once climbed to the peak of Mount Atlas, was suddenly snatched away by mighty winds while he was making his observations of the stars, and never was seen again; and because of the virtuous life he had lived and their pity for his sad fate the multitudes accorded to him immortal honours and called the brightest of the stars of heaven after him.

4 Atlas, the myth goes on to relate, also had seven daughters, who as a group were called Atlantides after their father, but their individual names were Maea, Electra, Taÿgetê, Steropê, Meropê, Halcyonê, and the last Celaeno. These daughters lay with the most renowned heroes and gods and thus became the first ancestors of the larger part of the race of human beings, giving birth to those who, because of their high achievements, came to be called gods and heroes; Maea the eldest, for instance, lay with Zeus and bore Hermes, who was the discoverer of many things for the use of mankind; similarly the other Atlantides also gave birth to renowned children, who became the founders in some instances of nations in other cases of cities.

5 Consequently, not only among certain barbarians but among the Greeks as well, the great majority of the most ancient heroes trace their descent back to the Atlantides. These daughters were also distinguished for their chastity and after their death attained to immortal honour among men, by whom they were both enthroned in the heavens and endowed with the appellation of Pleiades. 

About the Titan Cronus

61 Cronus, the brother of Atlas, the myth continues, who was a man notorious for his impiety and greed, married his sister Rhea, by whom he begat that Zeus (Zeus II) who was later called "the Olympian." But there had been also another Zeus (Zeus I), the brother of Uranus and a king of Crete, who, however, was far less famous than the Zeus who was born at a later time.

2 Now the latter was king over the entire world, whereas the earlier Zeus (Zeus I), who was lord of the above-mentioned island, begat ten sons who were given the name of Curetes; and the island he named after his wife Idaea, and on it he died and was buried, and the place which received his grave is pointed out to our day.

3 The Cretans, however, have a myth which does not agree with the story given above, and we shall give a detailed account of it when we speak of Crete. Cronus, they say, was lord of Sicily and Libya, and Italy as well, and, in a word, established his kingdom over the regions to the west; and everywhere he occupied with garrisons the commanding hills and the strongholds of the regions, this being the reason why both throughout Sicily and the parts which incline towards the west many of the lofty places are called to this day after him "Cronia.

4 Zeus II, however, the son of Cronus, emulated a manner of life the opposite of that led by his father, and since he showed himself honourable and friendly to all, the masses addressed him as "father." As for his succession to the kingly power, some say that his father yielded it to him of his own accord, but others state that he was chosen as king by the masses because of the hatred they bore towards his father, and that when Cronus made war against him with the aid of the Titans (Note:  the so-called Titanomachy mentioned by Hesiod and other writers), Zeus II with his own Titans overcame Cronus in battle, and on gaining supreme power visited all the inhabited world, conferring benefactions upon the race of men. (Note: they were the new Olympian "gods" worshiped by the Greeks) 

6 In return for all this, after he had passed from among men he was given the name of Zên, because he was the cause of right "living" among men, and those who had received his favours showed him honour by enthroning him in the heavens (Note: They gave his name to the planet Jupiter), all men eagerly acclaiming him as god and lord for ever of the whole universe.

Historical analysis - Comments

These are in summary what Diodorus Siculus mentions about the story-mythology of the Libyan Atlantians and the genesis of their gods. Their knowledge, legends and traditions, while they had originated in the ocean, were spread by their rescued ancestors, to the coastal peoples of West Africa. And finally we notice that they were "integrated" into the mythology and religious consciousness of the Greeks, but also of some other peoples, barbarians, as Diodorus clearly mentions. (More in our other texts).

To confirm all of the above, Diodorus Siculus also mentions the story contained in the Iliad about the journey of the "goddess" Hera, the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, to the "ends of the fertile earth to meet her forefathers, Oceanus, the father of all of the gods and Tethys, the mother". For a better understanding, I quote this whole paragraph of the Iliad (rhapsody X 200-1), in which Hera (who helped the Danaans in the Trojan War), being in the palace of Olympus, speaks to the goddess Aphrodite (supporter of the Trojans):

...I am going to the ends of the fruitful land, I want to see Oceanus, the father of gods and Tethys their mother, they raised me, they resurrected me in their houses, they took me from Rhea's hands when Zeus, who his eye sees far, overthrew Saturn in the bowels of the earth, in the depths of the fathomless sea. I'm going to find them. (translated by Dimitris Maronitis)

It is also remarkable and worthy of notice that Diodorus plainly asserts in his above comprehensive account (book 3, chapters 56 to 61) of the genealogy and theology of the Atlantians (or Atlantes) of Libya, that the gods whom they worshiped were their ancient ancestors [e.g. Uranus, Titania-Earth, Titans-Titanids-Atlas-Atlantis etc.]. That is, their gods were their first leaders, kings, heroes, who stood out because of their good character, their wisdom and the important work they offered to people in all fields (Administration, astronomy, agriculture, culture) thus obtaining considerable glamor and glory. They were mortals who were eventually proclaimed by the multitudes as eternal "gods", and their name was given to the stars, planets and sky or geological natural elements (rivers, lakes, seas, volcanoes, mountains, etc.).

A characteristic part of Diodorus' narrative is the fact that there were two different kings named Zeus, of different generations. The older Zeus, I call him Zeus I, was the brother of Uranus and was king of Crete. The younger Zeus, I call him Zeus II, was one of the sons of Uranus and brother of Atlas, he was the Olympian Zeus who reigned over the whole world. The older Zeus I who was king only of the island of Crete had ten sons, whom he named Kouretes, he also gave the island the name Idaia, as his wife was also called. After his death, he was buried on the island and his tomb was displayed until the time of Diodorus.