Amazons
At a glance:
- Series: Magill’s Guide to Military History
- Categories: Women’s Issues, Military History, Mythology, Folklore
- Subcategories: Legends, Myths, Hellenistic Age, Ancient Greece
- Curriculum: Women’s History, Middle Eastern History, Western Civilization/European History, Ancient History
- Geographical Location: Greece, Greece (ancient)
The Amazons were a race of female warriors in Greek mythology who dwelled on the northern limits of the known world. Governed by a queen, the Amazons worshiped Ares, god of war, and Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt. They engaged in hunting and fighting on horseback, with bows, crescent-shaped shields, axes, and spears. In order to perpetuate their race, the Amazons periodically mated with men of neighboring tribes, afterward killing, maiming, or returning the male infants and cutting off the right breasts of the female offspring so that they would be better able to use a bow. The...
[The entire page is 487 words long]
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