Amazon Warriors
Greek Mythology and the Amazon Warriors
Greek mythology presents us with the Amazon warriors as a group of warrior women that belonged to an all female culture and society, reputable by their fearsome battle and fighting skills. Told to be as strong as any man, and tall and powerful, the Amazon warriors exact location is unknown, although recent evidence has found some Amazon remains located in Cumbria, England, where they were thought to have travelled to England in Roman times. Other source put the Amazon warriors in Antolia and the Ukraine although none of these have been proved as accurate to date. Most sources do however confirm that the Amazonian were around in Roman times from around 27 BC to 1400 AD.
An Amazon Warrior
Amazon Warriors and Their Children
Many stories and notes exist on what the Amazon women would do to keep their lineage alive. Some historical myths and legends said that no men were allowed to have sexual contact with the Amazon women in their county, however once a year the Amazonian would visit one of their neighbouring tribes, known as the Gargareans to produce offspring.
Depending on what sex of child was born decided whether the Amazonian would keep them, the females would be allowed to stay but the males would be sent back to the Gargareans to maintain the female only status of the Amazon warrior tribe.
Other accounts state that the Amazon women would allow men to live in their region but with the sole purpose of being kept for breeding and slavery purposes. If male babies were produced from the mating of the Amazons with their male slaves the babies would be given to other tribes in the surrounding area or more shockingly, killed.
“Fearsome warriors who lived in all female communities, the Amazon Warriors were strong, they could ride horses, and they laid down their weapons to no man.”
Amazon Warriors and the Descendants of the God of War
According to the Greek mythology Amazon warriors were descendants of the god of war Ares, which could explain why the Amazonian were described as warrior women. The life of an Amazon warrior was dedicated to fighting and the Greek God and deity, Artemis was also a big inspiration to the Amazonian. Artemis was the God of the hunt, and of course this fitted perfectly into the life of the Amazon warrior.
The Amazon Warriors Myth or Reality
While many still believe that the Amazon warrior women were purely myth, there is evidence to the contrary. Various excavations on and around the border of Central Asia and Europe, have founds women’s graves, that allude to warrior women, perhaps the Amazonians. The graves contained weaponry and horse riding equipment, which was specifically proportioned for a female hand and body, with swords and knives having much smaller handles than the male weapons found nearby. The women’s bodies contained traces of potential kill tattoos that could also point to the fact the Amazon warriors would mark any kill in the same way as many male warrior races would.
Whether the Amazon warrior are myth or reality, doesn’t change the fact that history has appointed them a special place, if the stories are true, the Amazon warriors are to be feared, respected and avoided wherever possible.