Amazons were sculpted, depicted on bas-reliefs, mosaics and vases. The plot of the Amazon (the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons) was distributed in various parts of the ancient world. The mythical defeat of the Amazons by the Athenians is one of the central subjects on the Parthenon: in the sculptures of the warriors are unmistakably guessed women warriors, waging a battle with men. Plots with the battles of Amazons are found on the walls of the treasury of the Athenians in Delphi, the reliefs of the frieze of the temple of Apollo in Basses or the temple of Artemis in Magnesia.
Amazons after Antiquity
In late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, the myth of the Amazons was used by the authors as a metaphor for describing the way of life of barbaric states. For example, Cassiodor, a Roman writer of the 6th century, describes the valor of the women of the Gothic tribe, who under the leadership of two queens, Marpezia and Lampets, without the help of men defeated the army of their neighbors who attacked them and went to conquer Asia. In fact, writes Kassiodor, these were not Goths, but Amazons.
A special role is played by the myth of the Amazons after the discovery of the New World and during the colonial conquests. Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci in their memoirs described the land they had just discovered as a female figure, which is similar to both a voluptuous temptress and a monster - the Amazon. And Queen Isabella of Spain even promised to reward those who would find Amazons in the New World to confirm the myth of mighty women who defied male dominance.
The most famous toponym is the Amazon River, which was named after this mysterious female people. At the beginning of the 16th century, the colonizers, moving inland, encountered local tribes, one of which was a tribe of militant women living on the banks of the river, living without men. Their way of life and customs reminded European migrants of the myth of the Amazons.
Rubens painted the Amazons, describing Winkelmann. The German playwright of the beginning of the XIX century Heinrich von Kleist has a play "Pentecilea" - perhaps the first major work about the Amazons. The real revival of the myth of the Amazons begins at the end of the XIX century, when the struggle of women for equality comes to the fore when perceiving the gender image. Marina Tsvetaeva's famous "Letter to the Amazon" is addressed to the homosexual French writer Natalie Barney: in it Tsvetaeva emotionally approves the experience of a woman writer, comparing her with the Amazon, different from the others.
"The Battle of the Greeks against the Amazons", Peter Paul Rubens, 1618
The Amazon myth was also used in anti-fascist propaganda. Thus, in his article of 1943 the famous Soviet historian of antiquity A. V. Mishulin describes an episode of captivity and massacre of Amazons over the Persian king Kir. The Amazons, on an equal footing with other tribes, who defeated and murdered the "true Nordic" Kir, are identified with the Soviet people fighting against Nazi Germany.
After the Second World War and the changes in the status of women, the myth of the Amazons or the archetypical myth of women became the basis for many screenings and productions about strong women fighting for their rights. The most famous works are the comic book and the film "Wonder Woman" based on it and the series "Xena is the Warrior Queen".
The image of the Amazons is found in many female characters, who are given the role of warriors in the story. A good example is the numerous films with women superheroes (X-Men, Catwoman and others). Sergeant Ripley from the series of films "Alien" and Princess Leia from the "Star Wars" can be considered as the Amazon. The classic myth of the Amazon as a man-hater can be traced in the fourth film about Indiana Jones, where a brave and militant woman opposes the traditional image of a man, in the story is not inferior to him in strength and opportunity. It is no coincidence that Soviet censorship changed the name of the Polish film Sex Mission (1984, released in Soviet distribution in 1986) to New Amazons.