Myths and legends about wild Amazons - women who formed a separate tribe, lived according to the rules of matriarchy and fought with men, have existed since ancient...
Who is an Amazon woman? Myth or reality?
By Masterweb
23.04.2018 21:00Myths and legends about wild Amazons - women who formed a separate tribe, lived according to the rules of matriarchy and fought with men, have existed since ancient times. Archaeological excavations confirm this fact, however, disputes about the reliability of the existence of a militant society, consisting exclusively of representatives of the weaker sex, do not subside.
Myths and legends
According to ancient Greek mythology, the kingdom of the Amazons, warrior women, existed for some time on the territory of Libya, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. For what reason they lived separately from men, it was not clear, but for a long time they managed on their own. Some sources tell about a nomadic tribe of women, others about the existence of a kingdom headed by an Amazon queen.
Their main occupations were: hunting for the purpose of obtaining food, wars with neighboring tribes for enrichment. According to ancient legends, the origin of the Amazon was from the union of the god Ares (or Mars) and his daughter Harmony, and the warriors themselves worshiped the goddess Artemis, a virgin huntress.
One of the exploits of Hercules was the task, during which he had to take away the magic belt from the warlike girls, which was intended for ransom for the return of the daughter of Queen Antiope.
Tribes of Amazon Women: Life and Reproduction
According to the opinion expressed in the 5th c. BC. the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, such a state of matriarchy existed on the shores of Lake. Meotides (modern territory of Crimea). They built several cities, among them Smyrna, Sinop, Ephesus and Paphos.
The main occupation of the Amazons was participation in wars and raids on neighbors, and they wielded a bow, a double battle ax (labrys), and a short sword with great skill. The warriors made their own helmet and armor.
But in order to have children, for the purpose of reproduction, the tribe of Amazon women annually in the spring declared a truce and arranged meetings with men from the border lands, who were then paid off after 9 months with born baby boys.
But according to another version, a sadder fate awaited male newborns: they were either drowned in the river or maimed to be used as slaves in the future. Newborn girls were left in the tribe and raised as future warriors who had to wield all available weapons. They were also trained in hunting and farming skills.
So that in the future, when drawing a bow in battle, their right breast would not interfere with them, they burned it out in childhood. According to one version, the name of the tribe came from a mazos, i.e. "breastless", according to another - from ha-mazan, which is translated from Iranian as "warriors", according to the third - from masso, meaning "inviolable".
War with Dionysus
The combat victories of the Amazon tribe glorified them so much that even the god Dionysus decided to make an alliance with them so that they would help him fight the titans. After the victory, he treacherously started a war with them and defeated them.
The few surviving women were able to hide in the temple of Artemis, then to go to Asia Minor. There they settled on the Fermodont River, creating a huge empire. Participating in several wars, Amazon women captured Syria and reached the island of Crimea. Many of them took part in the siege of the famous Troy, during which the ancient Greek hero Achilles killed their queen.
During the battles with the Greeks, the enemy was able to capture several girls and, having loaded them onto a ship, wanted to take them to their homeland for demonstration. However, on the way, the female warriors attacked the ship and killed everyone. But due to the lack of navigation skills, the Amazons could only sail with the wind, and eventually they washed up on the shores of Ancient Scythia.
The formation of the Sarmatian tribe
Having settled in a new place, the warriors began to rob the settlements and take away the cattle, killing the locals. The Scythian warriors were very proud, because they considered waging war with female warriors unworthy of employment. They acted differently: they gathered their best warriors and sent them to capture wild women in order to then receive good offspring from them. Good luck awaited them, after which a new people of Savramats or Sarmatians, with a heroic physique, was born.
The life of the tribe of Amazon women was active in military campaigns and hunting, and they dressed in men's clothing. And local men were assigned to household duties: cooking, cleaning, etc. The Sarmatians had an interesting tradition: girls could only marry after killing any representative of the stronger half, but they usually found victims in neighboring tribes.
Homer and Herodotus on the Amazons
According to historians, the great ancient thinker Homer, who created famous works"Iliad" and "Odyssey", also wrote about the country of Amazonia. However, this poem has not survived. Confirmation Greek myths are ancient amphoras and bas-reliefs, decorated with drawings of Amazon women (photo below). Only in all the images, beautiful warriors have both breasts and sufficiently developed muscles. Also, the Amazons are mentioned in the legend of the Argonauts, but there Homer shows them as disgusting furies.
According to Herodotus, after participating in the Trojan War, the Amazons came to the Scythians and formed the Sarmatian tribe, in which women and men had equal rights. Legends attribute to them not only excellent possession of weapons, but also the ability to stay in the saddle and incredible composure. Scythians and Sarmatians, according to Herodotus, fought together in the 5th century. BC e. against King Darius.
The Roman historian Deodorus was of the opinion that the Amazon women were descendants of the ancient Atlanteans and lived in the territory of Western Libya.
Data from archaeologists
Many finds of historians in different parts of the world confirm the ancient legends about the existence of Amazon women not only in Greece, but also in other countries and continents.
So, in 1928, on the shores of the Black Sea in the settlement of Zemo Akhvala, the burial of an ancient ruler in armor and with weapons was discovered. After research, he turned out to be a woman, after which many made an assumption about the discovery of the queen of the Amazons.
In 1971, a burial place of a woman with a girl, who were luxuriously dressed and richly decorated, was found on the territory of Ukraine. The grave contained gold, weapons, as well as the skeletons of 2 men who apparently did not die from illness. According to scientists, the remains belonged to another queen with her daughter and slaves who were sacrificed.
In the 1990s during excavations in Kazakhstan, similar ancient burials of female warriors were discovered, the period of which totaled more than 2.5 thousand years.
Another sensation in the world of science was the latest discovery in Britain, when the remains of female warriors were found in Bruem (Cumbria). They obviously came here from Europe. According to English scientists, women fought in the ranks of the Roman army. According to them, the tribes of Amazon women lived in the territory of Eastern Europe in the period 220-300 AD. e. After death, they were solemnly burned at the stake along with equipment and war horses. Their origin comes from the territory of the current states of Austria, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia.
America: the life of the tribes of Amazon women
Stories of wild female warriors also tell of their discovery by Christopher Columbus after the discovery of the American continent. Having heard the stories of local Indians about a female militant tribe, the great navigator tried to capture them on one of the islands, but could not do it. In memory of this incident, the name was given to the Virgin Islands (translated as "Islands of the Virgins").
Spanish conquistador Fr. de Orellana in 1542 landed on the banks of a huge river in South America, where he met a tribe of wild Amazon women. In the battle with them, the Europeans were defeated. Some scientists suggest that the error occurred due to the long hair of the local Indians. However, it was in memory of this incident that the proud name of the most majestic river of the American continent, the Amazon, was given.
African Amazons
This unique phenomenon in world history - the tribe of Dahomey female terminators - lived on the African continent south of the Sahara in the territory of the modern state of Benin. They called themselves N'Nonmiton or "our mothers".
African Amazons, female warriors, belonged to the elite troops that defended their ruler in the kingdom of Dahomey, for which the European colonialists called them Dahomey. Such a tribe was formed in the 17th century. for hunting elephants.
The King of Dahomey, admiring their skill and success, appointed them as his bodyguards. The N'Nonmiton army existed for 2 centuries, in the 19th century. the female military corps consisted of 6 thousand soldiers.
The selection into the ranks of female warriors took place among 8-year-old girls who were taught to be strong and ruthless, and also able to withstand any pain. They were armed with machetes and Dutch muskets. After many years of training, the African Amazons became "war machines" capable of successfully fighting, and chopping off the heads of the defeated.
During their service in the army, they could not marry and bear children and remained chaste, considered to be married to the king. When a man encroached on a woman warrior, he was killed.
The British mission in West Africa was founded in 1863, when the scientist R. Barton arrived in Dahomey, who was going to make peace with the local authorities. For the first time, he was able to describe the life of the Dahomey tribe of Amazon women (photo below). According to him, for some warriors, this provided an opportunity to gain influence and wealth. The English explorer S. Alpern wrote a long treatise on the life of the Amazons.
At the end of the 19th century the territory was occupied by the French colonizers, a soldier from which was often found dead in the morning with his head cut off. The second Franco-Dahomean War ended with the capitulation of the king's army and most of the Amazons were killed. Her last representative, a woman named Navi, who by that time was over 100 years old, died in 1979.
Modern wild female tribes
Until now, in the impenetrable jungle of the Amazon River, there are territories where life is very different from modern civilization. From time immemorial, people have lived in the eastern part of Brazil, cut off from the outside world, retaining their customs and skills.
Scientists regularly find here not only new species of animals and plants, but also settlements of wild tribes, which now, according to FUNAI researchers, number more than 70. They hunt, fish, pick fruits and berries, while they absolutely do not want to contact with civilized world for fear of contracting unknown diseases. After all, even the common flu is fatal for them.
Women of the wild tribes of the Amazon usually do all the women's work, take care of everyday life and raising children. Sometimes they gather berries or fruits in the forest. However, there are also aggressive tribes in which women, along with men, hunt or participate in raids on neighbors, armed with clubs and spears, poisoned by the poison of local plants or snakes.
There is also wild tribe Kuna on the island of San Blas near the territory of Brazil, who moved from the mainland and lives according to the rules of matriarchy. Traditions have been preserved and are maintained by the inhabitants of the settlement severely and unshakably. At the age of 14, girls are already considered sexually mature and must choose their own groom. The man usually moves to the bride's house. The main income of the tribe on the island comes from the collection and export of coconuts (about 25 million pieces annually), they also grow sugar cane, bananas, cocoa and oranges. But for fresh water travel to the mainland.
Amazons in art and cinema
In art Ancient Greece and Rome, warriors occupy an important place; their images can be found on ceramics, in sculpture and architecture. So, the battle of the Athenians and the Amazons is captured in the marble bas-relief of the Parthenon, as well as in the sculptures from the mausoleum from Halicarnassus.
Favorite occupations of female warriors are hunting and war, and weapons are bow, spear, axe. To protect themselves from the enemy, they put on a helmet, and took in their hands a shield shaped like a crescent. As can be seen in the above photos, ancient masters depicted Amazon women on horseback or on foot, in battle with a centaur or warriors.
During the Renaissance, they resurrected again in the works of the era of classicism and baroque in poetry, in paintings and sculptures. The plots of battles with ancient warriors are presented in the works of J. Palma, J. Tintoretto, G. Rennie and other artists. Rubens' painting "The Battle of the Greeks with the Amazons" shows them in a bloody equestrian battle with men. And copies from the originals of the sculpture "The Wounded Amazon" are famous all over the world and are kept in the museums of the Vatican and the USA.
The life and exploits of the Amazons became an inspiration for writers and poets: Tirso de Molina, Lope de Vega, R. Granier and G. Kleist. In the 20th and 21st centuries, they moved into popular culture: cinema, cartoons and fantasy comics.
Modern cinema is a confirmation of the popularity of the theme of Amazon women. Beautiful and courageous female warriors are presented in the films: "The Amazons of Rome" (1961), "Pana - Queen of the Amazons" (1964), "Goddesses of War" (1973), "Legendary Amazons" (2011), "Women Warriors" ( 2017), etc.
The latest film, released in 2017, is called Wonder Woman and tells about a heroine named Diana, the queen of the Amazons, who is endowed with fantastic strength, speed and endurance. She freely communicates with animals, and wears special bracelets for protection, but she considers men changeable and deceitful.
Among modern women, you can also meet "Amazons" who are smart, educated and dream of conquering the world. They can manage a large corporation and raise children at the same time, and they treat men condescendingly, allowing themselves to be loved.
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Confidence that you are a "hardened bachelor" may not come immediately. You can stubbornly marry several times, signing in the registry office - as confirmation that you are striving to create a strong social cell. Sometimes, with the advent of a child, everything finally falls into place: love and family are children, and sex and other physical pleasures are men.
Why do women want to get married?
The likelihood that a unique character will appear, almost a demigod, who will get along well with the child, negotiate with a plumber and builders in the country, pay for the Internet, buy delicious food and dry wine, cook dinner on his own, and also please sexually, without creating communal problems with his presence, of course it remains.Meet a prince or live with a man?
But the possibility of such a lofty relationship with the ideal often seems like the possibility of direct contact with an alien civilization. So imperceptibly, confidence can come that you are just a “hardened bachelor”.By the way, have you noticed that there is no such thing as a “hardened bachelorette”? “Single woman”, “old maid”, “divorced”, “unmarried” - whatever, but not “bachelorette”. And do you know why? Because it is generally accepted that any lady a priori dreams of getting married. But the powers that be are in no hurry to marry.
By conducting a mini-survey among unmarried girlfriends in their 30s and 40s, you can find out that many of them are not interested in registering a relationship with a man at all. Surely everyone dreams of a prince on a white horse, but when the "debriefing" begins, the thought sounds that it is better to have a lover than to bind yourself with obligations. In addition, there is a feeling that living with a man long years- hard labor. Cleaning, cooking and dreams of being alone and at least a little bit to live for yourself. But how to do it so that the child does not suffer? And how to share living space and other good things?
Real advantages or dubious propriety?
Here they are - modern Amazons. In our time, it's time to say goodbye to stereotypes that, they say, men disown marriage, and give women only marriage! Who is the “hardened bachelor” now? Woman or man? It seems the roles have been reversed.Searching the blogosphere for opinions about whether a free woman lives well, one can find many pros and no cons. There are also such confessions: “A bachelor woman always looks great and all because she gets enough sleep - she doesn’t need to listen to terrible thunderous snoring at night ...”
It seems that the only negative opinion is a quote from the movie: “A single woman is indecent!” And then it is already a pure anachronism.
If a man is needed only for sex, doubts arise that marriage is needed. There will always be some reason or claim against the applicant. If you are not ready to show patience and tact, you have everything and you are happy with everything, finding a husband is a tribute to tradition.
Psychologists say that between a free man and a free woman there is a huge difference in their motivation. life guidelines. The "old bachelor" has some carefully hidden problems. It can be a previous unsuccessful relationship with a spouse, or health problems, or difficulties in business ... Marriages for him are the last way out of an impending impasse.Nadezhda Matveeva
psychologist
And the "old bachelor" is a woman without problems. She is well-groomed, self-sufficient, financially independent, provided with housing, often having adults who are arranged for the life of children. Such a woman dreams of love ... before meeting a real applicant. As soon as she looks closely at the groom, her independent mind begins to calculate the balance between difficulties and benefits from a new relationship ... And, of course, there are many more fads against a new relationship.
It is not for nothing that the most violent and dangerous river in South America was called the Amazon, because it fully corresponds to the lifestyle of warrior maidens. There were many rumors and myths around this tribe. It was believed that Amazons they were distinguished by a warlike and impudent character, were first-class warriors and archers, and for the convenience of archery, they cut off their right breasts, killed their husbands and born boys. But were the Amazons so bloodthirsty and cruel? Or is it just a myth?
Once they inhabited the banks of the river, but the arrival of the Spanish colonizers forced them to retreat from the mainland to the islands. To this day, the ancestors of the legendary maidens live on the San Blas Islands, which are located north of the Amazon - Kuna tribe.
Of course, over time, their way of life changed, but the very thing that distinguished the Amazons from most peoples remained - a matriarchal society. Traditions on the islands have remained harsh and unshakable. Like hundreds of years ago, the main thing here is a woman.
According to Kuna traditions, at the age of 14, girls reach puberty and she must choose a groom for herself. The chosen one cannot refuse, otherwise he will be considered a moral monster, no matter how rude it may sound. sometimes alone young man can choose two brides at once, and according to local customs, he will have two wives at once. After marriage, the newly-made husband collects all his belongings and moves into his wife's house. Marriages here are for life and divorce is not provided. From newborn children, girls are preferred, boys are treated with indifference.
This is what real modern Amazons look like
After fleeing from the mainland, the Amazons decided to stay on the fertile, lush green islands of San Blas. True, the only drawback of these places is the insufficient amount of drinking water, so from time to time you have to return to the continent to replenish water supplies. In addition to fishing, the Kuna are engaged in crop production and gathering. The main income of the tribe is the export of coconuts to the countries of South America. About 25 million nuts are harvested annually, the entire population of the islands, both old and young, is engaged in this business. Bananas, oranges, cocoa, sugar cane are mainly grown. Among the islanders there are neither poor nor rich, everyone is equal. Everyone has everything that is necessary for existence - a hut, a boat and a piece of land.
It is in such thatched huts that the Amazons of Kuma live.
Responsibilities between men and women are clearly divided. Men are earners. They provide their family with food and shelter, work on banana, coconut and cocoa plantations, go hunting and fishing, and harvest wood for firewood.
If matriarchy rules here, this does not mean that women carelessly relax and enjoy life. They also have a lot of household chores. They also work on plantations, process coconuts and cocoa beans, evaporate sugar from cane, raise children and take care of the household. In addition, the women of San Blas are engaged in weaving - their beautiful painted shawls with a golden pattern are known throughout South America. For the sake of them, many tourists visit these places.
The handkerchief trade is one of the main sources of income for modern Amazons.
By the way, earlier there was a strict attitude towards tourists. They were wary of them and were not allowed to spend the night on the island, because there is " big land". And if a girl had a child different from the appearance of a kun, they killed him, since communication was allowed only between fellow tribesmen. But over time, the kun realized that strangers did not come empty-handed, but with money, and moved away from strict regulations.
Many years ago, legends and myths were composed about these women. Amazons have always been the embodiment of strength and courage in a woman's face. Their cruel customs and traditions were shocking. But today only the matriarchal way of their small society reminds of their ruling past, and otherwise the once warlike Amazons have turned into housewives.
The Dahomean Amazons were considered elite troops in the Kingdom of Dahomey (modern Republic of Benin). N "Nonmiton defended their king during the bloodiest battles and were considered untouchables. And their special "trick" was the decapitation of victims.
Amazons are not mythical characters at all. The last surviving Dahomean Amazon died relatively recently, in 1979 at the age of 100 years. It was a woman named Navi, who the researchers found in a remote village. And in the 19th century, 6,000 female soldiers served in the Amazon corps (there were 25,000 people in the army, i.e., the Amazons made up about a third of the entire Dahomey army).
Their history began in the 17th century. Scientists suggest that the Amazon Corps was originally formed as elephant hunters. But they managed to impress the king of Dahomey so much with their skills that the king wanted to see them as his bodyguards. Another theory suggests that because women were the only people, who were allowed to stay in the king's palace after dark, it is not surprising that it was the women who became the bodyguards of the king.
The strongest, healthiest and most courageous women were selected in N "Nonmiton. They then underwent rigorous training, during which they turned into real killing machines, which were feared throughout Africa for more than two centuries.
The Amazons were armed with Dutch muskets and machetes. By the beginning of the 19th century, their corps had become a full-fledged military unit, completely devoted to their king. Girls in N "Nonmiton were recruited (and given weapons) starting at just eight years old. Some women in society became soldiers voluntarily, while others were given to bodyguards by husbands who complained about undisciplined wives whom they could not control.
From the beginning, Amazons have been taught to be strong, fast, ruthless, and capable of withstanding great pain. The exercises, which resembled some form of gymnastics, included jumping over walls covered in thorny acacia branches. Also, the preparation included expeditions to the jungle without equipment, with one machete, which lasted for 10 days. No wonder the Dahomean Amazons fought to the death in combat... theirs or theirs.
N "Nonmiton women were not allowed to marry or have children while serving as soldiers. Moreover, it was believed that they were officially married to the king, but even the king did not dare to break their vow of chastity. And if the Amazons touched any other a man and not a king, it meant certain death for him.
In the spring of 1863, British explorer Richard Burton arrived in West Africa to establish a British mission in coastal Dahomey, and also to try to make peace with the Dahomeans.
The Dahomeans were a warring nation that actively used slaves, in which they basically turned captured enemies. But most of all, Barton was struck by the elite Dahomean warriors: “These women had such a well-developed skeleton and muscles that sex could be determined only by the presence of a breast.”
The main weapons were Dutch guns, and the Dahomey Amazons used machetes to decapitate and dismember their victims. Among the Dahomeans it was then customary to return home with the heads and genitals of their opponents.
Despite the brutal preparation, for many women it was a chance to escape the boring life that women in Dahomean society were doomed to. When entering N "Nonmiton, women got the opportunity to climb the social ladder of the local society, take command posts and gain influence. They could even get rich, but this rarely happened.
Stanley Alpern, author of the only full-length treatise on English language devoted to the study of the Amazons, wrote: “When the Amazons left the palace, a slave girl with a bell always walked in front of them. The ringing of the bell told every man that he needed to turn off his path, go some distance and look in the other direction.
Even after the French supported foreign legion in the 1890s they conquered Dahomey, the fear of the Amazons did not stop. French soldiers who stayed overnight with the Dahomean women were often found dead in the morning with their throats cut. The underestimation of female opponents very often led to an increase in the number of victims among the French invaders.
By the end of the Second Franco-Dahomean War, the French began to win only after the support of the Foreign Legion. Last strength king capitulated, most of the Amazons were killed in 23 battles during the Second War. Legionnaires later wrote of the "incredible bravery and audacity" of the Amazons. They also stated that the most terrible women on Earth live in this place.
