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In Greek mythology, Garamas (Ancient Greek: Γαράμας) was the mythical ancestor of the faction of Garamantes.[2][3] The city of Garama in Libya was named after him.[4] He was born in Libya, where Minos had banished his pregnant daughter, Acacallis in retribution for her having an illicit relationship with the sun god.[5]
Etymology
Garamas is a Berber name, as well as an eponym of the Garamantes, an ethnic group in Libya, and of their main city Garama.[6]
Genealogy
Garamas is known as the ancestor of the faction of Garamantes,[2][3] an ancient Berber faction that was very often discussed by both the ancient Greek historian Herodotus and the ancient Roman historian Pliny the Elder. According to Apollonius of Rhodes, Garamas was another name for Amphithemis; he consorted with a Libyan lake nymph, Tritonis, who bore him two sons, Nasamon and Caphaurus.[7][8] The name of Caphaurus (who is also known as Cephalion) means ‘camphor’, which is presumably meant to indicate his somewhat exotic African origin.[9] He was a shepherd who slew the Argonauts Eurybate (son of Teleon) and Canthus after they plundered his flocks.[10]
First man
According to a Greek poetic fragment preserved in the Refutation of All Heresies, humankind sprang from the Earth,[11] with the Libyans saying that one Tarbas[12] (Τάρβαντα) was the first man born this way. While some scholars, such as Friedrich Wilhelm Schneidewin conjecture that this refers to Iarbas, others—including Theodor Bergk, Tadeusz Stefan Zieliński,[11] and Paul Wendland[13]—suggest that Garamas is more likely. This reading was translated by Arthur Bernard Cook:
The poem was attributed to Pindar by Schneidewin, and identified as his “Hymn to Zeus Ámmon” by Bergk.[11]
M. David Litwa‘s 2016 translation of the passage describes him as “the firstborn who rose up from the parched fields to offer the first fruits of Jove‘s sweet acorn”.[13]
Archaeology
By AD 500, the last of the Garamantes people had either died or abandoned Garama, as underground water supplies dried up as a result of overexploitation.[14]
References
- ^ “ToposText”. topostext.org. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
- ^ a b Gazeau, Véronique; Bauduin, Pierre; Modéran, Yves (2008). Identité et ethnicité: concepts, débats historiographiques, exemples (IIIe-XIIe siècle) (in French). Publications du CRAHM. ISBN 978-2-902685-36-3.
- ^ a b Naji, Salima (2009). Art et architectures berbères du Maroc: atlas et vallées présahariennes (in French). Eddif. p. 13. ISBN 978-2-35270-057-9.
- ^ Galanti, Giorgio (2004). Country Series – Libya. White Star. ISBN 978-88-540-0023-0.
- ^ “Appolonius”. topostext.org. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica – ‘chaste maiden Acacallis, whom once Minos drove from home to dwell in Libya, his own daughter, when she was bearing the gods’ heavy load; and she bare to Phoebus a glorious son, whom they call Amphithemis and Garamas.’
- ^ Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane (2005). Hylas, the Nymphs, Dionysos and Others: Myth, Ritual, Ethnicity : Martin P. Nilsson Lecture on Greek Religion, Delivered 1997 at the Swedish Institute at Athens. Paul Aaström. ISBN 978-91-7916-051-7.
- ^ Apollonius Rhodius (2009). Argonautica. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Race, William H. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 449. doi:10.4159/DLCL.apollonius_rhodes-argonautica.2009.
- ^ Bulletin de la Société de géographie de Rochefort (in French). Imprimerie Ch. Thèze. 1901.
- ^ Room, Adrian (2003). Who’s Who in Classical Mythology. Random House Value Publishing. ISBN 978-0-517-22256-0.
- ^ Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.1490 ff.; Hyginus, Fabulae 14
- ^ a b c d Cook, Arthur Bernard (1914). Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 366–367.
- ^ Litwa, M. David (2023). “The Truth of Hellenic Mythology”. The Naassenes: Exploring an Early Christian Identity. Taylor & Francis. p. 86. ISBN 1000989925.
- ^ a b Litwa, M. David (2016). Refutation of All Heresies. Atlanta: SBL Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-88414-087-0.
- ^ Wallace, Jonathan (2004). Doing Business with Libya. Sterling, VA : Kogan Page. ISBN 978-0-7494-3992-7.
Further references
- Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853–1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863–1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca. 3 Vols. W.H.D. Rouse. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1940–1942. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.