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18. Penthesilea and Achilles at Troy

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The Amazons
This chapter is in the book The Amazons
18PENTHESILEA AND ACHILLES AT TROYNo matter how many bad thIngs women suffer, nothing can take away their appetite for trouble,” marveled Pausanias. “The Amazons of Themiscyra fell to Heracles and the fighting force the Amazons sent against Athens was wiped out—and yet the Amazons still went to Troy and fought there against the whole of Greece.”1The myth of Penthesilea and her duel with Achilles in the Trojan War is very old, as ancient as the myth of Hippolyte and Heracles.2 (The Athenians, as we saw, had inserted their own epic battle with the Ama-zons into this chronology, locating it in mythic time before the Trojan War.) The origins of the Trojan War myth, famously recounted by the Greek epic poet Homer, remain cloudy, but the clues are fascinating to contemplate. The legend of Amazon warriors arriving to help King Priam defend the walled city of Troy against invaders from Greece: could this have been based on ancient memories of wars with the Hittites?The Hittites were a chariot-driving warrior society that dominated Anatolia in the Bronze Age. Troy, in northwestern Anatolia, was a great Bronze Age city from about 3000 to 950 BC, and archaeology shows that it was associated with the Hittite Kingdom. The still-imposing remains of the citadel of Troy and the great Hittite capital, Hattusa in central Anatolia, would have been even more impressive in antiquity.3 Troy and the Hittites were contemporary with Bronze Age Mycenae, a major city in southern Greece. The idea of Hittite–Trojan War connections was first

18PENTHESILEA AND ACHILLES AT TROYNo matter how many bad thIngs women suffer, nothing can take away their appetite for trouble,” marveled Pausanias. “The Amazons of Themiscyra fell to Heracles and the fighting force the Amazons sent against Athens was wiped out—and yet the Amazons still went to Troy and fought there against the whole of Greece.”1The myth of Penthesilea and her duel with Achilles in the Trojan War is very old, as ancient as the myth of Hippolyte and Heracles.2 (The Athenians, as we saw, had inserted their own epic battle with the Ama-zons into this chronology, locating it in mythic time before the Trojan War.) The origins of the Trojan War myth, famously recounted by the Greek epic poet Homer, remain cloudy, but the clues are fascinating to contemplate. The legend of Amazon warriors arriving to help King Priam defend the walled city of Troy against invaders from Greece: could this have been based on ancient memories of wars with the Hittites?The Hittites were a chariot-driving warrior society that dominated Anatolia in the Bronze Age. Troy, in northwestern Anatolia, was a great Bronze Age city from about 3000 to 950 BC, and archaeology shows that it was associated with the Hittite Kingdom. The still-imposing remains of the citadel of Troy and the great Hittite capital, Hattusa in central Anatolia, would have been even more impressive in antiquity.3 Troy and the Hittites were contemporary with Bronze Age Mycenae, a major city in southern Greece. The idea of Hittite–Trojan War connections was first

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Illustrations ix
  4. Acknowledgments xiii
  5. Prologue: Atalanta, the Greek Amazon 1
  6. Part 1. Who Were the Amazons?
  7. 1. Ancient Puzzles and Modern Myths 17
  8. 2. Scythia, Amazon Homeland 34
  9. 3. Sarmatians, a Love Story 52
  10. Part 2. Historical Women Warriors and Classical Traditions
  11. 4. Bones: Archaeology of Amazons 63
  12. 5. Breasts: One or Two? 84
  13. 6. Skin: Tattooed Amazons 95
  14. 7. Naked Amazons 117
  15. 8. Sex and Love 129
  16. 9. Drugs, Dance, and Music 142
  17. 10. The Amazon Way 155
  18. 11. Horses, Dogs, and Eagles 170
  19. 12. Who Invented Trousers? 191
  20. 13. Armed and Dangerous: Weapons and Warfare 209
  21. 14. Amazon Languages and Names 234
  22. Part 3. Amazons in Greek and Roman Myth, Legend, and History
  23. 15. Hippolyte and Heracles 249
  24. 16. Antiope and Theseus 259
  25. 17. Battle for Athens 271
  26. 18. Penthesilea and Achilles at Troy 287
  27. 19. Amazons at Sea 305
  28. 20. Thalestris and Alexander the Great 319
  29. 21. Hypsicratea, King Mithradates, and Pompey’s Amazons 339
  30. Part 4. Beyond the Greek World
  31. 22. Caucasia, Crossroads of Eurasia 357
  32. 23. Persia, Egypt, North Africa, Arabia 377
  33. 24. Amazonistan: Central Asia 395
  34. 25. China 411
  35. Appendix: Names of Amazons and Warrior Women in Ancient. Literature and Art from the Mediterranean to China 431
  36. Notes 439
  37. Bibliography 485
  38. Index 503
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400865130-021

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Illustrations ix
  4. Acknowledgments xiii
  5. Prologue: Atalanta, the Greek Amazon 1
  6. Part 1. Who Were the Amazons?
  7. 1. Ancient Puzzles and Modern Myths 17
  8. 2. Scythia, Amazon Homeland 34
  9. 3. Sarmatians, a Love Story 52
  10. Part 2. Historical Women Warriors and Classical Traditions
  11. 4. Bones: Archaeology of Amazons 63
  12. 5. Breasts: One or Two? 84
  13. 6. Skin: Tattooed Amazons 95
  14. 7. Naked Amazons 117
  15. 8. Sex and Love 129
  16. 9. Drugs, Dance, and Music 142
  17. 10. The Amazon Way 155
  18. 11. Horses, Dogs, and Eagles 170
  19. 12. Who Invented Trousers? 191
  20. 13. Armed and Dangerous: Weapons and Warfare 209
  21. 14. Amazon Languages and Names 234
  22. Part 3. Amazons in Greek and Roman Myth, Legend, and History
  23. 15. Hippolyte and Heracles 249
  24. 16. Antiope and Theseus 259
  25. 17. Battle for Athens 271
  26. 18. Penthesilea and Achilles at Troy 287
  27. 19. Amazons at Sea 305
  28. 20. Thalestris and Alexander the Great 319
  29. 21. Hypsicratea, King Mithradates, and Pompey’s Amazons 339
  30. Part 4. Beyond the Greek World
  31. 22. Caucasia, Crossroads of Eurasia 357
  32. 23. Persia, Egypt, North Africa, Arabia 377
  33. 24. Amazonistan: Central Asia 395
  34. 25. China 411
  35. Appendix: Names of Amazons and Warrior Women in Ancient. Literature and Art from the Mediterranean to China 431
  36. Notes 439
  37. Bibliography 485
  38. Index 503
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