Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography/Ati'na 2.
2. A town of Lucania, situated in the upper Valley of the Tanager, now the Valle di Diano, It is mentioned only by Pliny, who enumerates the Atenates among the inland towns of Lucania, and by the Liber Coloniarum, where it is called the "praefectora Atenas." But the correct orthography of the name is established by inscriptions, in which we find it written Atinates; and the site is clearly ascertained by the ruins still visible just below the village of Atena, about 5 miles N. of La Sola. These consist of extensive remains of the walls and towers, and of an amphitheatre; numerous inscriptions have also been discovered on the spot, which attest the municipal rank of the ancient city. It appears that its territory must have extended as far as La Polla, about 5 miles further N., where the Tanager buries itself under ground, a phenomenon which is noticed by Pliny as occurring "in campo Atinati" (Plin. ii. 103. s. 106, iii. 11. s. 15; Lib. Colon. p. 209 ; Romanelli, vol. i. p. 424; Bullett. dell' Inst. 1847, p. 157.)[ E. H. B. ]