This question was asked by the ancient Greeks. Even then, the stories about these warlike women were overgrown with numerous "author's additions", acquiring either heroically attractive or frankly repulsive features.
Probably, many people know the legend about Alexander the Great and his amazing visitor, who called herself the queen, who ruled everything between the Caucasus and the Phasis River. The great conqueror was surprised by the visitor's appearance, which was so unsuitable for a royal person, but he was even more surprised by the purpose of the visit - she wanted to conceive a daughter, who in the future was to become a wonderful warrior. That mysterious visitor was the queen of the Amazons, Phalestris. This story was told by the Roman writer Curtius Rufus 400 years later. But another Macedonian biographer, Arrian, completely refutes the words of his colleague, citing the lack of information about this rather interesting detail of the life of the great commander among other writers.
Even then, the legends about the warrior maidens were considered a legend … Even their very name is controversial. Many historians, both modern and ancient, believed that this term came from the word "chestless", since the Amazons burned out their left chest to make it easier to shoot from a bow. Their opponents refer to the fact that although the appearance of the Amazons changes from ugly furies to beautiful maidens, they have always had two breasts. There is a version that they are named so because they did not breastfeed. According to another version, the name of the tribe came from the Greek phrase "a-mazo", that is, without barley, explaining that the Amazons were nomads and did not grow bread. What historians agree on is the weapons that the Amazons used. It is believed that they were wonderful archers on horseback and wielded a double battle ax. So were they really?
Let's have a little history first. The great historians of antiquity have already thought about the origin of the Amazons, often, however, arguing with each other, then later researchers, right up to our contemporaries, picked up the baton. In most of the facts, they still agree. Once upon a time, as many historians believe, the power in the tribe belonged to women, but with the transition to agriculture and cattle breeding, men seized the leadership, women were gradually ousted from public life until they became exclusively engaged in household chores. Slaves were engaged in it, so women themselves were reduced to almost a slave position. Equality in nomadic tribes lasted much longer. Historical sources tell that women of many nations could hunt and protect themselves and their children from enemies while men fought or roamed with herds. For example, the traveler Karpini, even in the 13th century, noted that Polovtsian women, along with men, ride horseback and shoot from a bow.
Memories of matriarchy have also been preserved in folklore. There is an old Russian epic about the battle of the hero Nastasya Mikulishna with Dobrynya Nikitich. Nastasya defeated the bogatyr and already wanted to put him in a saddle bag, but changed her mind and decided to become his wife. There is a similar Germanic legend about Brunhild, who agreed to marry only the one who defeated her. In addition, many of the supreme deities who personified the fruitful forces of nature were originally feminine and only later became men. Some peoples (Irish, Hindus) had women as deities of war. Among the ancient Slavs, Germans, Celts, women were equal with men, and in some tribes only they could heal and practice magic. Perhaps the so-called Amazons belonged to a special priestly class,who kept and passed on the secrets of the martial art to descendants, who knows?.. But back to history.
In ancient Athens, women were already from 600 BC. not only had no right to take part in the political life of the country, but even to go to the theater or to sports competitions. It was all the more strange that the ancient authors remember the courage of the Amazons and their ability to fight with reverence and respect.
Where did they come from, after all? Herodotus believed that they separated from the Scythians, migrated, then, after the Trojan War, some of the Amazons again united with the Scythians, so the tribe of Sauromats turned out, where women enjoyed equality. The history of the emergence of this tribe also has a lot of mysteries. The Amazons besieged Athens several times, but were driven back. The warrior maidens received their final defeat during the Trojan War, after which those who survived and remained at large fled to the gorges of the modern North Caucasus. Some historians claim that they were met there until the 17th century.
In part, both legends and historical facts can confirm this hypothesis. Here are some of them. The big game began with the task of Hercules getting the belt of the Amazon queen, Hippolyta (or Antiope), the daughter of Ares, who made her invulnerable to any weapon. Despite fears, he succeeded very successfully - the queen herself gave him the belt. Everything would be fine, but then the vengeful Hera intervened, advising the Amazons to kill Hercules. He had to flee with Antiope. They managed to escape to Athens, which Theseus ruled at that time, but even there they were not left alone. Hippolyta and Theseus fell in love and even wanted to marry (or have already married). But then, deciding that their queen was offended, the girls rushed to save Antiope, in the heat of the chase, not noticing that she did not really need it. The Amazons laid siege to the citya bloody battle began in which Hippolyta died, fighting on the side of Theseus (although there are other versions of her death). By the way, there is historical evidence that this battle was in fact - the evidence of the historian and philosopher Plutarch. He visited Athens, saw monuments, the burials of the Amazons, described the holidays and sacrifices in honor of the warlike maidens who fought under the walls of Athens.
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The second climax in the history of the Amazons was their involvement in the Trojan War. The warlike maidens were again inflamed with the desire to avenge their queen (only it is not clear why they were going to take revenge) and rushed to the aid of the almost defeated Trojans. The situation on the battlefield has changed dramatically. But then Achilles appeared, he mortally wounded the leader of the Trojan allies and tore off his helmet. The leader was the beautiful Panteselea, with whom Achilles immediately fell in love, but could not do anything. Now, for the rest of his life, he was burned by longing for his beloved, whom he himself had killed. Panteselea, on the other hand, became an image of love that conquers even death …
The Amazons near Troy were finally defeated, the survivors and in freedom hid or scattered among other peoples so that not even a trace remained of them. So the legends about the Amazons would remain just fairy tales, but here archaeologists said their weighty word. Schliemann first excavated Troy, which showed that the last and most striking performance of the Amazons has a historical background. Then in 1928, on the Black Sea coast, scientists dug up the grave of the prince, who was buried in full armor and fully armed, as well as with a double ax. What was the surprise of archaeologists when the "prince" turned out to be a woman. In 1971, the burial of a woman was found in Ukraine, in whose grave were weapons and treasures, as well as the skeletons of two killed men. In 1993-1997. the graves of armed women were found in Kazakhstan, their age is about 2500 years. Who were they? Queen of the Amazons?
Unfortunately, this question cannot be answered unequivocally until excavations have been carried out at the mouth of the Fermodont River, where the capital of the Amazon kingdom was. So far, we can only say for sure that in ancient times, and in later times, there were women who could protect themselves. But the Amazons did not let men into their lives and, perhaps, because of this, they disappeared without a trace, because a man and a woman can only exist together.
Daria Vereshchak