A Brief History of the Amazons by Lyn Webster Wilde

Some myths about the Amazons were particularly outlandish. Their entire lives were dedicated to war and the war god Ares, from whom they claimed descent. The foremost attributes of the Amazons were their bravery, independence, and warlike nature. Other epithets for the Amazons included androktones, androloteirai, and androphonous, all different ways of saying “man-slaying ” styganōres, “man-hating ” and philippoi, “horse-loving.” Attributes The earliest attested epithet of the Amazons was antianeirai, “equal to men.” This epithet came to define the warlike Amazons, who often rivaled the most impressive male heroes of Greek mythology. This supposedly translates to “man-killers” in the Scythian language. PronunciationĪccording to Herodotus, the Scythians (warlike tribes that lived around the Black Sea) referred to the Amazons as Oiorpata. The matter continues to be debated, and no hypothesis has gained widespread acceptance. Some have tried to trace the name to the Persian word * ha-mazan, meaning “warrior.” Others have sought similar words in early Caucasian languages or Hittite. Modern scholars have generally turned to non-Greek languages to explain the Amazons’ name.

Others suggested the name came from amazoosai, meaning “living together.” Other ancient folk etymologies suggested that the Amazons got their name because they were amaza-that is, “without bread”-eating only tortoises, lizards, and snakes. The etymology of the name “Amazon” or “Amazons” is uncertain.Īmong the ancient Greeks, a popular folk etymology derived the name from the word amazos, meaning “breastless.” This was connected with the belief that the Amazons cut off their right breasts to make themselves more effective fighters. Indeed, the female-dominated, fiercely independent Amazons can be understood as a foil to the male-dominated Greek world. Though the Amazons were formidable foes, the rather misogynistic Greeks tended to highlight stories in which male Greek heroes defeated their female Amazonian counterparts. The adventures and military expeditions of the Amazons brought them into conflict with many of the greatest Greek heroes, including Heracles, Bellerophon, Theseus, and Achilles.

Their queens were said to have been descended from Ares, the god of war.

The Greeks, whose society (and mythology) was dominated by the ideal of the male warrior, grudgingly referred to them as “equal to men.” The Amazons lived somewhere at the edge of the Greek world, around the Black Sea. The Amazons were a race of warrior women famous for their military prowess and bravery.

The Phrygians, Bellerophon, and Dionysus.

A Brief History of the Amazons by Lyn Webster Wilde