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The Amazons were different tribes of all female warriors. The greatest was that of queen Hippolyta's

History[]

The legendary Amazons are believed to have lived in Pontus, which is part of modern-day Turkey near the southern shore of the Euxine Sea (the Black Sea). There they formed an independent kingdom under the government of a queen named Hippolyta ("loose, unbridled mare"). The Amazons were supposed to have founded many towns, amongst them Smyrna, Ephesus, Sinope, and Paphos. The Amazons lived in and about the Don river, which the Greeks called the Tanais; but which was called by the Scythians the "Amazon". The Amazons later moved to Themiscyra (modern Terme) on the River Thermodon (the Terme river in northern Turkey).

Once a year, in order to prevent their race from dying out, they visited the Gargareans, a neighbouring tribe. The male children who were the result of these visits were either killed upon birth, sent back to their fathers or exposed in the wilderness to fend for themselves; the girls were kept and brought up by their mothers, and trained in agricultural pursuits, hunting, and the art of war. In other versions when the Amazons went to war they would not kill all the men. Some they would take as slaves, and once or twice a year they would have sex with their slaves.

They invaded Lycia, but were defeated by Bellerophon, who was sent against them by Iobates, the king of that country, in the hope that he might meet his death at their hands. Queen Myrine led her Amazons to victory against Libya and much of Gorgon.

They attacked the Phrygians, who were assisted by Priam, then a young man. In his later years, however, towards the end of the Trojan War, his old opponents took his side against the Greeks under their queen Penthesilea "of Thracian birth", who was slain by Achilles.

One of the tasks imposed upon Heracles by Eurystheus was to obtain possession of the girdle of the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. He was accompanied by his friend Theseus, who carried off the princess Antiope, sister of Hippolyta, an incident which led to a retaliatory invasion of Attica, in which Antiope perished fighting by the side of Theseus. In some versions, however, Theseus marries Hippolyta and in others, he marries Antiope and she does not die; by this marriage with the Amazon Theseus had a son Hippolytus. They had several battle and wars against the Greeks and their allies, called the Amazonomachy.

In the reign of Antianeira, their neighboring tribe the Gargareans revolted and fled to Greece. The last battle between the Amazons and the Athenians. They were driven back to Asia Minor, and the Gargareans remained in Greece.

They are heard of in the time of Alexander, when some of the king's biographers make mention of Amazon Queen Thalestris visiting him and becoming a mother by him. The Amazons are also said to have undertaken an expedition against the island of Leuke, at the mouth of the Danube, where the ashes of Achilles had been deposited by Thetis. The ghost of the dead hero appeared and so terrified the horses, that they threw and trampled upon the invaders, who were forced to retire.

Amazonian raiders were often depicted in battle with Greek warriors in amazonomachies in classical art.

Known Amazons[]

Themiscyra[]

Queens

Attendants of Penthesilea during the Trojan War[]

Amazons who fought Heracles during his quest for Hippolyta's girdle[]

After this, another group attack followed:

Other Amazons from other tribes[]

Other Amazons who fell at Troy[]

Other Amazons[]

  • Harpe
  • Menippe
  • Molpadia
  • Ania
  • Lyce
  • Cymopoleia
  • Alke
  • Aegina
  • Euryale
  • Prophe
  • Helitroe
  • Oiolyce
  • Deilyce
  • Eponis
  • Amastris: Believed to be the eponym of the city previously known as Kromna, although the city was also thought to have been named after the historical Amastris
  • Anaea: An amazon whose tomb was shown at the island of Samos
  • Cyme: Gave her name to the city of Cyme
  • Cynna: Whose name was a possible eponym of Cynna, a small town not far from Heraclea
  • Gryne: Consort loved by Apollo and consorted with him in said grove.
  • Hippo: An Amazon who took part in the introduction of religious rites in honor of the goddess Artemis. She was punished by the goddess for not having performed a ritual dance
  • Latoreia: who had a small village near Ephesus named after her.
  • Lysippe: Mother of Tanais by Berossos. Her son only venerated Ares and was fully devoted to war, neglecting love and marriage. Aphrodite cursed him with falling in love with his own mother. Preferring to die rather than give up his chastity, he threw himself into the river Amazonius, which was subsequently renamed Tanais.
  • Myrleia: Whose name was possibly the eponym of a city in Bithynia, which was later known as Apamea
  • Myrto: in one source, mother of Myrtilus by Hermes
  • Mytilene: Myrina's sister and one of the possible eponyms for the city of Mytilene
  • Pitane: Amazon whose name is the eponym for the city of Pitane
  • Priene: Amazon whose name is the eponym for the city of Priene
  • Sanape: Amazon who fled to Pontus and married a local king. She habitually drank a lot of wine and was said to have received her name from that circumstance, as "Sanape" was purported to mean "drunkard" in the local language.
  • Sinope: Successor of Lampedo and Marpesia.
  • Sisyrbe, after whom a part of Ephesus was called Sisyrba, and its inhabitants the Sisyrbitae.
  • Smyrna, who obtained possession of Ephesus and gave her name to a quarter in this city, as well as to the city of Smyrna.
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