CYRENE 'sovereign mistress of the bridle,' 'she of the hair or ax'

Named for a sun Goddess, she founded the Libyan Amazon tribe later known as the Sirens, who lived in a city named for her on the North African coast.

She had three sisters, Alkaia 'mighty one,' Themisto 'the oracular,' and
Astygeneia 'bearer of queens.' An expert with the sword and javelin, she frightened away potential invaders by inviting them to watch her wrestle wild lions.

Her consort Xantho 'yellow' was almost as famous for her skills in
hunting as her connections with the fierce Amazon queen.

Cyrene's people in general were as known for their exports of the herb silphium and red leather as for piracy. Like many coastal peoples, they were shrewd, prosperous traders, willing to salvage any wrecks that washed up on their shores.

Their continued practice of the old Goddess centred religion shows in their later portrayals, sometimes as mermaids singing enchantments.

They were prophets who could read the past and look into the future. Other
times they were bird bodied, heads, necks, and breasts showing in a way that makes them difficult to tell from Harpies.

Usually there were two or three of them, representing the Death Goddess in her light and dark or Triple Goddess aspect. When the Sirens were threefold, they made up a musical trio of flute, lyre, and voice, which may have been a typical arrangement for sacred music.

A second Siren colony was located on a Mediterranean island in Classical times, matching accounts of former Amazon Nation members in the area. Several sets of Sirens were known to Classical storytellers.