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A race of warrior women in Greek mythology, variously mentioned as having lived in Libya, Asia Minor, Scythia, or the Caucasus region. Their name meant "single-breasted," due to the customary practice of young Amazon girls having their right breast seared off to improve their aim and draw with a bow. Descended from the war god Ares and the sea goddess Harmonia, they were known and feared for their ruthlessness and savagery in battle. Amazons were credited with the founding of the city of Themiscyra in Asia Minor, and also with Ephesus, center of an important cult of the goddess Artemis in classical times. Hercules had to steal the girdle of the Amazon Queen Hippolyta as one of his twelve labors, and even served for a time as the slave of another Amazon queen, Omphale. An Amazon army came to the assistance of Troy when it was beseiged by the Greeks, and Achilles fought and killed their queen, Penthesilea, then mourned her death after realizing how beautiful she was. Even Alexander the Great was said to have been visited by an Amazon queen, Thalestris. The Amazons were recorded as a wholly self-sufficient society of women, either interacting with men from neighboring tribes only to procreate, or keeping men as both slaves and breeding stock.
Amazon stories may have been derived from encounters by the Greeks with the Celts, Scythians, and other peoples who had matriarchal societies and warrior women among their ranks. They may also be memories of prehistoric times, as evidence suggests that women at one time lived in huts and stone houses, creating arts and crafts, composing music and poetry, and growing their own food, while men lived separately in the fields and woods, interacting with the women only to breed. Amazons today remain a powerful symbol for feminists and lesbians; the labrys, or double-edged axe which has become the symbol of lesbian pride was a favorite weapon of the Amazons. And rumors of Amazon tribes living in the unexplored regions of Africa and South America still persist. Sir Walter Raleigh even claimed to have fought Amazons on the banks of the South American river which bears their name. The comic book character Wonder Woman is an Amazon, daughter of Queen Hippolyta. Originally called Paradise Island, her secret home is now called Themiscyra, after the Amazon home of ancient myth.
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Links:
Amazon Women Warriors in Ancient History
Amazons - Mysteries of Ancient History and Archaeology
Clio: Women in Mythology, Religion and Herstory
Hercules' Ninth Labor - Hippolyte's Belt
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