Key Points

- The term for a series of battles between the Amazons and The Greeks

Brief Bio

The Amazons were regarded as a race of female warriors descended from Ares, fiercely independent and skilled in hunting, riding, archery, and warfare. They worshiped Ares and Artemis, respectively the god of war and the goddess of the hunt, and their geographic locations were notably associated with Scythia and the Asia Minor.

In Greek epic narratives, the Amazons were perceived to be non-Greek heroic figures who challenged the strength and masculinity of Greek heroes on the battlefield, such as Achilles, Bellerophon, Heracles (Hercules), Theseus, and the Athenians.

Trojan War, Achilles

In the lost Greek epic Aethiopis, which was published in the 8th century BCE and is widely attributed to Arctinus of Miletus, Achilles fights and kills Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons who came to aid Troy after the death of Hector. The oral myths and retellings of this epic fall of Troy referencing the Amazons contributed to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

Ninth Labor, Hercules

During Hercules’ ninth labor, Hercules was given the task by Eurystheus to retrieve the royal girdle of the Amazon queen Hippolyta for his daughter. Though Hercules and the Amazons were originally open for peaceful negotiation, the malicious machinations of Hera incited a misunderstanding between the Amazons and Hercules, leading to a bloody battle in which the Amazons were ultimately defeated.

Attic War, Theseus

In some versions of the myth, Theseus had accompanied Hercules on his ninth labor and either eloped with or abducted Antiope, Hippolyta's sister (or Hippolyta herself). Antiope was then taken to Athens by Theseus, whom she married and bore a son, Hippolytus. As a result of the kidnapping, the Amazons invaded Greece, inciting the legendary Attic War between the Amazons and Athenians, which ended in the Amazons’ defeat.