The Amazons
Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World
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- 16,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
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.
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The Amazons were fierce women warriors of the ancient world who supposedly maimed their male offspring, sliced off one breast to better shoot arrows, and both battled and romanced the ancient Greeks. But is this just mythology, or were they real? Mayor (The Poison King) looks at ancient writings and archeological evidence to argue that yes, "Amazons" were based on real nomadic women, though much different from the way ancient Greeks or contemporary audiences imagine them. New technology that enables archaeologists to determine the sex of a skeleton has revealed skeletons in what was ancient Scythia (a large area roughly north of the Black Sea) buried with weapons, armor, and battle wounds, to actually be female. Evidence also indicates that these women were maternal, coupled, and did not remove breasts or mutilate their boys. Mayor speculates on the origin of such misconceptions in ancient writings and art, smartly suggesting that, though Amazons are usually depicted heroically in Greek art and mythology, the male-centric Greeks perhaps struggled to understand a society based on equality between the sexes. Mayor also looks at the cultures of other ancient women warriors and while her expertise shines throughout, her dry tone is unlikely to enchant laypeople.
