AMAZON
(Mythic - Greek)

The Beautiful Ones: Following Penthesileia

Led by their Queen, Penthesileia, the Amazons came to the aid of Priam during the latter part of the Trojan War. After fighting fiercely and bravely alongside the Trojans, the Amazon Queen was killed by Achilles who fell in love with her corpse.

The very nature of Achilles act depicts the low regard with which women were held. Frequently, women were kidnapped by men simply because they were desirable; for example, Thesus kidnapped Antiope (among others) and Heracles kidnapped Menilippe, both members of Amazon tribes.

The protective spirit of women combined with the gradual decrease of female political power and the loss of protective men due to many wars contributed to the gathering of arms by women in order to defend themselves and their families.

Remains of Amazon monuments and shrines have been found in the areas of the Black Sea, Greece, Libya and Asia. These shrines were built because the Greeks feared the spirits of slain Amazons whom the Greeks called "The Beautiful Ones."

SYMBOLS

1. Helmet - The Amazons were thought to be the first to tame horses, thus they wore the helmet fringed with horse hair.

2. Crescent axe - The double axe is suggested as the sacred emblem of the Moon Goddess and the Earth Goddess combined.

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