Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, the Gargareans, or Gargarenses, ( el, Γαργαρείς ''Gargareis'') were an all-male tribe. They copulated with the Amazons annually in order to keep both tribes reproductive. Varying accounts suggest that they may have been kidnapped, raped, and murdered for this purpose, or that they may have had relations willingly. The Amazons kept the female children, raising them as warriors, and gave the males to the Gargareans. The Gargareans are held by some historians to be a component of the ancestry of the Nakh peoples, and equivalent or at least related to the Georgian name '' Dzurdzuks''. According to Strabo, " ..the Amazons live close to Gargarei, on the northern foothills of the

Caucasus mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

Gaius Plinius Secundus Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

localizes Gargarei at North of the Caucasus, but calls them Gegar. Jaimoukha suggests that the myth might have been a nod to the similarity between

Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...

and Durdzuks, despite their very different languages. The Ancient Greek chronicler Strabo mentioned that both the Gargareans and Amazons had migrated from Themiscyra and notes that Gargareans is one of many Nakh roots- gergara, meaning, in fact, "kindred" in proto-Nakh.

In popular media

* In

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, the Gargareans are an all-male tribe of undead Greek warriors, revived by

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

to serve as male counterparts to the Amazons of Themyscira, living on the Island of Thalarion forbidden to women. Their king is the specially created wonder warrior Achilles Warkiller.DC Comics' Gargareans
/ref> * In ''

Hercules and the Amazon Women ''Hercules and the Amazon Women'' is the first television movie in the syndicated fantasy series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and marked the debut of Kevin Sorbo as the titular character Hercules and co-starred Anthony Quinn, Michael ...

'',

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

and

Iolaus In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólaos'') was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Family Iolaus was ...

are brought to the Gargarean village, in which they are asked for help about ''monsters'' terrorising them, only for it to turn out that the monsters are the Amazons. * In ''

The Venture Bros ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animated action comedy TV series created by Chris McCulloch (also known as "Jackson Publick") for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on February 16, ...

'', Season 6 Episode 1, Warriana, an Amazon, says "See you around, Gargarean." to Brock Samson after he expresses his desire for her under the influence of her Truth Lasso. In later episodes the two characters begin a sexual relationship.

References

Legendary tribes in Greco-Roman historiography Nakh peoples Single-gender worlds Characters in Greek mythology {{Greek-myth-stub