Amazons
The History Behind the Legend

The Amazon myth is one of the most romantic and resonant in antiquity. Amazons reveals the truth behind the legends.

David Braund (Author)

9781108834490, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 April 2025

318 pages, 30 colour illus.
22.1 x 14.9 x 2.2 cm, 0.62 kg

'An interesting contribution to the ongoing debate on Amazons and enhances our understanding of the Amazons as a Greek cultural construction aimed at strengthening the foundations of its male-dominated society, while showing, at the same time, an appreciation of women's qualities and abilities.' Maria Beatrice Bittarello, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

The idea of the Amazons is one of the most romantic and resonant in all antiquity. Greeks were fascinated by images and tales of these fierce female fighters. At Troy, Achilles' duel with Penthesilea was a clash of superman and superwoman. Achilles won the fight, but the queen's dying beauty had torn into his soul. This vibrant new book offers the first complete picture of the reality behind the legends. It shows there was much more to the Amazons than a race of implacable warrior women. David Braund casts the Amazons in a new light: as figures of potent agency, founders of cities, guileful and clever as well as physically impressive and sexually alluring to men. Black Sea mythologies become key to unlocking the Amazons' mystery. Investigating legend through history, literature, and archaeology, the author uncovers a truth as surprising and evocative as any fiction told through story or myth.

Preface
Introduction: Amazons in love, war, and mind: their significance in ancient Greek culture
1. Approaching Amazons
2. Amazons in battle: weapons, mind and body
3. Sex and motherhood
4. A duel of death and desire: Penthesilea vs. Achilles
5. Heracles' Amazon labour: Delphi, Olympia and colonial worlds
6. Shipwreck and reptiles: the queens of southern Russia
7. Amazon cities in Asia: Themiscyra, Ephesus and Halicarnassus
8. The pride of Athens
9. Artemis vs. Aphrodite: Greek women go Amazon
10. Alexander the Great and the Amazon queen
11. Conclusions: Amazon realities
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]