Introduction of Amazon women

In Greek mythology, Amazonians are a group of militant women who are famous for their riding skills, courage and pride. They live on the edge of the known world, and sometimes mention the city of Temiskira in the Black Sea. Their queen is Hippolyta. Although Homer tells us that they are "all equal", they are most famous for their battles and defeats with three Greek heroes: Hercules, theseus and Bellerophon. These battle scenes are very popular in Greek art, especially in pottery and memorial sculptures, which are decorated in some of the most important buildings in the Greek world, including the Parthenon in Athens. Interestingly, the archaeological investigation of ancient tombs in Eurasia finally shows that many women of nomadic tribes in grassland are indeed warriors, especially in the Black Sea region.

Source and name

In mythology, Amazon is the daughter of the God of War. They are members of a female-only society, in which men are popular only for reproductive purposes and all boys are killed. They are considered to live on the edge of what the Greeks consider a "civilized" world, and are usually associated with the area near the south bank of the Black Sea, especially the city-state Themiskyra. Another place related to Anatolia is Ephesus, where Amazons are said to offer sacrifices to themis, the goddess of hunting. There, there will be a war dance, and then a ceremony will be held every year. In fact, the foundations of many settlements in Asia Minor are attributed to the Amazonians, especially the Ephesians, cymbals, Sinopes, Purines, Mirinas, Smyrna and Mytillings of Lesbos.

The archaeological excavation of Salmatia Mausoleum can be traced back to Herodotus period, revealing the possibility that some of the women were warriors.

Herodotus (484-425 BC) made a lengthy description of the Scythians in the meeting between Amazon in his Historical Records (BK 4,117). Young fighters from the latter group persuaded some visiting Amazonians to build a new society. These women insist that neither they nor their descendants will change their way of life. This new race is considered to be the origin of the sarma people in southern Russia. It is appropriate that they are famous for their horses and military aggression.

In essence, Amazon society is regarded as the opposite of Greek male society, so they engage in traditional male-dominated activities such as horse riding, hunting and war. According to legend (not supported by historical evidence), Amazons burned their right chest to better use bows and arrows and throw spears. In fact, the term a-mazon is usually understood as "no * * *", although other meaning includes "a * * *" or "not breast-fed". Another alternative source of this name is that it comes from Persian, which means "warrior". The last explanation is that the name comes from Armenian, which means "goddess of the moon", referring to the moon priestess on the south bank of the Black Sea. She sometimes carries weapons. Interestingly, Amazonians were not portrayed as people lacking * * * in ancient Greek art, and the historian Adrienne Mayor believed that the confusion in literature came from the similarity between mazon and Greek *** mastos. In art, Amazonians are usually portrayed as wearing heavy infantry armor, and they often ride horses. The most common weapons are bows and spears, but there are also examples of Amazon carrying axes. They are not only considered as capable fighters, but also special experts in ambush and cavalry charge.

Fight against Greek heroes

Hercules and Hippolyta.

According to the myth, the first meeting between the Greeks and the Amazonians was when Mycenae, Tirins and Eurystheus, king of Argos, finished one of his famous twelve labors (the ninth time), this time in order to get back God's belt. Hippolyta, Queen of Amazon. This belt was given by her father Ares, and Eurystheus assigned this task because it was an extremely dangerous attempt. In some versions of the story, Hercules went alone, but in other versions, he first formed an army led by the best Greek fighters (including the hero theseus). In some versions, when hippolyte willingly handed over her belt, it was much easier to take it off than expected, but in other versions, Hera, who had always opposed Heracles because he was the product of her husband's illegal affair with alcmene, aroused the Amazon people's warm welcome to the Greek hero and his army. Although Amazon is an excellent warrior, they can't compare with the invincible Hercules who brought his belt back to Eurystheus.

Interestingly, our earliest description of pottery stories predates the literary sources of these stories by two centuries. They sometimes show Hercules fighting Amazon named Andlau Mach or Andromeda, and never depict a belt. This proves once again that oral myths are more complicated and diverse than the existing literary versions. The more explicit plot element is that during this expedition, theseus fell in love with and kidnapped (or eloped) the Amazonian Antiops, which will lead to the second encounter between the Greeks and the Amazonians.

Hercules fought against Amazon in Athens, and the Ministry of Finance carved Delphi (490 BC) on the lintel, Apollo in the temple of Apollo Epicurus in Basel, hephaistion in Athens (449 BC) and Zeus in Olympia (470-456 BC). The throne of Zeus statue in Olympia, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is also decorated with the scene in this famous myth.

Theseus and Antiope.

The dedication shield of the Terracotta Warriors in 700 BC depicts the picture of the oldest warrior fighting against the Amazon River.

Theseus eventually became the ruler of Athens, but the Amazonians did not forget to lose a member, so they launched an expedition to save Antiopi. Theseus defeated the savage invaders, but in the battle, Antiop was killed. Theseus's kidnapping of Antiopi is the theme of the gable decoration on the temple of Apollo in Errett (5 10 BC) and the treasury wall in Athens, Delphi. Athens is also the place where the Amazonians worship every year.

Bellerophon and Amazon

Bellerophon attended the third meeting between Greeks and Amazons. He is another hero who has to perform an impossible task for the king. This time, King Purroy Toth of Argos, the angry wife, said that Bellerophon's attack attacked her (falsely) and sent a hero to serve about Bates, King Alicia. It was he who assigned the hero the task of killing Chimera-Chimera is a wonderful creature, a mixture of lion, snake and goat-and when Bellerophon finished this feat, he was told to fight against Amazon. Naturally, the Greek hero won the victory and even became the heir of the kingdom of Jobates after his triumphant return.

Achilles and Penthesilea.

The fourth and last meeting with the Amazon took place at the end of the Trojan War. In the epic cycle, we are told that Penthesilea, the daughter of Ares and Amazon Otrell, helped the Trojans, but was killed by Achilles in the battle. In some accounts, Achilles fell in love with his victim because he took off her helmet when she was dying. This scene was shot on the vase of a famous black figure in Ek Secchia (540 BC).

Amazon machine

In the Parthenon (438 BC), on the western wall of the Asclepius Temple in Epi Darus (395-375 BC), and on the shield of Athena Parthenon dedicated to statues, there are more Amazon wars (fighting against Amazons). The Acropolis in Athens (about 425-420 BC), Tolos in Delphi (380-370 BC) and Athena Nike on the temple of Ares in Athens market. The dedication shield of the Terracotta Warriors in 700 BC depicts the picture of one of the oldest soldiers fighting against the Amazon River. The battle between Hercules and Amazonians is the second most popular heroic labor depicted in Greek black pottery (second only to the Nimian lion), with nearly 400 surviving examples. Amazons fought unknown soldiers in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, whether on black or red Greek pottery.

Especially in Athens in the 5th century BC, the battles with Amazons in these myths began to represent contemporary events, that is, the battles between the Greeks and the invading Persians in the Persian War. Darius I's army was in the marathon (490 BC), Xue Xisi was in Salamis, and the Persian attack on Athens in 480 BC was described by the Amazon as the ultimate goal of barbaric foreigners; In fact, during this period, Amazon people actually wore Persian costumes on pottery. Public buildings and their accompanying sculptures are undoubtedly an important way of mass communication. The depiction of heroes fighting Amazonians reminds ordinary people that political leaders have successfully defended Greek culture from external threats, and in the eyes of Greeks, they are uncivilized invaders.

Amazonians in archaeology

Archaeological excavations of the tombs of Salmatia and other nomadic tribes, especially in Kazakhstan, can be traced back to the time of Herodotus, revealing the possibility that some of them were warriors. Not only weapons, armor and horse ornaments were found in female skeletal remains, but also traces of injuries caused by sharp knives and arrows were found. A special tomb of skeat, dating back to the 4th century BC, is located near Guterres in the left bank of the Transnistrian River on the northern shore of the Black Sea. There is a female skeleton inside, with a wound on the skull, and an arrow, which may be made of tomahawk and bronze, is firmly inserted in one knee. The deceased was surrounded by two iron spears, twenty copper arrows and a copper knife, and some body armor.

The analysis and research on the bones of their companions show that among more than 65,438+0,000 such grassland nomadic graves distributed in the territory from Turkey to Russia, it is impressive that 37% are female fighters, and many of them survived and/or died in typical one-on-one violent battles. Most tombs can be traced back to the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and women, like Amazonians in Greek mythology, are always young between 16 and 30. Obviously, the creators, historians and artists of Greek mythology have been inspired again, not only by their imagination in creating and depicting Amazon legends, but also by the historical reality of Eurasian female warriors.