-
News
Greek Mythology
-
The legendary Amazons
08-04-2013 22:16The Amazons were a tribe of female, horse-riding warriors in Greek mythology, who dwelled on the northern limits of the known world, in northeast Asia or along the east coast of the Black Sea. Their society was exclusively female, and they used neighbouring men periodically to mate in order to perpetuate their race.
The Amazons were governed by a queen. They worshiped Ares, the god of war, and Artemis, the virgin goddess of hunt. They engaged in hunting and fighting on horseback, with bows, shields, axes and spears, wearing clothes of animal skin.
They were totally independent and legend has it that when they mated with men they would kill them afterwards and even do the same to their male infants. Even though Amazons they were portrayed in ancient Greek art with two breasts, the word “Amazon” was derived from the Greek words meaning “breast less” (a-mazos). It was believed that they would cut their right breasts in order to facilitate use of the bow.
The Amazons were in part a reverse projection of the lives of actual Greek women, who were bound to their husbands and deprived of all the rights the men enjoyed in social, political and sexual sphere. The Amazons were considered to be men’s objects of fantasy and a favourite subject in Greek art was the Amazonomachy, the battle between Greeks and Amazons. An Amazonomachy is portrayed on the marble carvings of the temple of Parthenon in Athens.
However, according to an alternative source, the legendary Amazons may have well lived as recent archaeological finds suggest. There were found 21 Scythian burial mounds on the Ukrainian steppes and in five of these tombs were found the bodies of young women buried along with their weapons: a quiver, bow, arrows, and two spears.
-
Top bews!
-
Relative articles