The Machlyes or Machlyans (Ancient Greek: Μάχλυες) were a legendary ancient Libyan tribe.
Ancient Sources
According to Herodotus, their young women held a ritual battle with sticks and stones annually with neighboring Auseans (Ancient Greek: Αὐσέες). Those who died of their wounds were said to have lied about their virginity.1
Pliny the Elder claimed they were hermaphrodites that had a male half and a female half, possibly inspired by the martial practices of the females.23
Later Sources
French anthropologist Lucien Bertholon hypothesized that the Maghrawa tribal confederation in North Africa were descendants of the Machlyes.4
In fiction
In the book Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs, the machlyes Achilla saves Gretchen from the merdaemon in the abysses.
References
References
- "Herodotus's account of the Libyan female warriors in Corinthian helmets". Perseus Project. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History, VII, ii, 15
- "Machlyes". Theoi Greek Mythology. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- Bertholon, Lucien (1898). "Les premiers colons de souche européenne dans l'Afrique du Nord : essai historique sur les origines de certaines populations berbères d'après les documents égyptiens et les écrivains de l'Antiquité". Imprimerie rapide: 156.