Amazons

The real history of the Amazons in war and love

Amazons-fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world-were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons.

But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China.

Mayor tells how amazing new archaeological discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons prove that women warriors were not merely figments of the Greek imagination. Combining classical myth and art, nomad traditions, and scientific archaeology, she reveals intimate, surprising details and original insights about the lives and legends of the women known as Amazons. Provocatively arguing that a timeless search for a balance between the sexes explains the allure of the Amazons, Mayor reminds us that there were as many Amazon love stories as there were war stories. The Greeks were not the only people enchanted by Amazons-Mayor shows that warlike women of nomadic cultures inspired exciting tales in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Central Asia, and China.

Driven by a detective's curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men. The result is likely to become a classic.

Autorentext
Adrienne Mayo r is a research scholar in classics and history of science at Stanford University, and the author of The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy (Princeton), which was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Zusammenfassung
The real history of the Amazons in war and loveAmazons-fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world-were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons.But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China.Mayor tells how amazing new archaeological discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons prove that women warriors were not merely figments of the Greek imagination. Combining classical myth and art, nomad traditions, and scientific archaeology, she reveals intimate, surprising details and original insights about the lives and legends of the women known as Amazons. Provocatively arguing that a timeless search for a balance between the sexes explains the allure of the Amazons, Mayor reminds us that there were as many Amazon love stories as there were war stories. The Greeks were not the only people enchanted by Amazons-Mayor shows that warlike women of nomadic cultures inspired exciting tales in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Central Asia, and China.Driven by a detective's curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men. The result is likely to become a classic.

Inhalt
Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Prologue: Atalanta, the Greek Amazon 1
Part 1 Who Were the Amazons?
1 Ancient Puzzles and Modern Myths 17
2 Scythia, Amazon Homeland 34
3 Sarmatians, a Love Story 52
Part 2 Historical Women Warriors and Classical Traditions
4 Bones: Archaeology of Amazons 63
5 Breasts: One or Two? 84
6 Skin: Tattooed Amazons 95
7 Naked Amazons 117
8 Sex and Love 129
9 Drugs, Dance, and Music 142
10 The Amazon Way 155
11 Horses, Dogs, and Eagles 170
12 Who Invented Trousers? 191
13 Armed and Dangerous: Weapons and Warfare 209
14 Amazon Languages and Names 234
Part 3 Amazons in Greek and Roman Myth, Legend, and History
15 Hippolyte and Heracles 249
16 Antiope and Theseus 259
17 Battle for Athens 271
18 Penthesilea and Achilles at Troy 287
19 Amazons at Sea 305
20 Thalestris and Alexander the Great 319
21 Hypsicratea, King Mithradates, and Pompey's Amazons 339
Part 4 Beyond the Greek World
22 Caucasia, Crossroads of Eurasia 357
23 Persia, Egypt, North Africa, Arabia 377
24 Amazonistan: Central Asia 395
25 China 411
Appendix: Names of Amazons and Warrior Women in Ancient Literature and Art from the Mediterranean to China 431
Notes 439
Bibliography 485
Index 503

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