As a little girl, I was always fascinated by Ancient Greek and Roman mythology, heroes taking on monsters and tasks, large battles taking place over ten years and gods and goddesses up to no good! However what really found interesting was the story of Amazons, an island of warrior women residing in mythology as a place of danger for heroes and curious place where feminine power is at its peak and could change its course of history. Of course we know today the Amazons as the people who helped to create Wonder Woman through the ideas of William Marston. However I want to explore the idea of Amazons in their mythological form and how that has translated into the most famous super heroine in the world.

Amazon: The word

The etymology of the word is a curious thing. Scholars definitely that agree that it isn't of Greek origin despite Amazons being a mainstay of Ancient Greek mythology. It has Iranian origins in ha-mazan ("Warriors,) however in the 19th century, an scholar also linked to the word, Amazigh which is proposes Iranian ama-janah "virility-killing". However in classical Greek it was altered through the pass over of languages as amazon: "without breast," a common idea that Amazons have only one breast to fire arrows (something Gal Gadot mentioned when interviewed.) Interesting enough they have near been portrayed as this in pottery, reliefs and Renaissance paintings.

Where they reside

I can tell you that the mythological Amazons of ancient Greece do not originally reside on Paradise Island as Wonder Woman does but their home was near Pontus (now Modern Turkey) which is near the southern shore of the Black Sea. Here they formed a kingdom or government under the Queen Hippolyta or Hippolyte (loose, unbridled mare.) Of course this has been debated my ancient scholars themselves, the playwright, Aeschylus chooses to place them in Scythia (which is now Modern Crimea) and Plutarch placed them near Don River or Tanasis as it was known by the Ancient Greeks. The Amazons moved much later moved moved to Themiscrya much later, which was associated with the myths of Jason and Argonauts and the twelve labours of Herakles.

Their place in Mythology and Greek society

The Amazons hold a even more curious place in mythology and Greek society. They were certainly feared and were believed to be real in Ancient Greece and later Rome during the period in which these myths were abound. However symbolically they meant something particularly to the men of the world and not the women. Amazons represented the wild and untamed nature of which men feared women would take if they weren't submissive to them or didn't remain in the home. You see Amazons represented women doing men jobs, they were the warriors, fathers, politicians and workers within their own society as opposed staying at home. And this is a common feature with Greek myth, the men must take down feminine power in order to control the world from Cronus controlling the power of Gaia to Apollo defeating the Python (which is certainly female) on the island of Delphi.

And certainly The Amazons in the myth do not fit this bill originally. They fight in the battles of Troy for King Priam which is seen in the amphora above. We can see Achilles overarching Penthesileia as to bring her down and suffer under the man. However in some myths, some heroes immediately convert the Amazons into the submissive women such as Jason seducing the Amazonian Queen in his quest to find the Golden Fleece to Herakles trying to attempt to get Hippolyta's gridle. Strangely in that story, Herakles is forced to change places with Hippolyta, he must be the "wife," in the relationship while Hippolyta plays the role of husband after they switch clothes. But still they are the warrior women who causes fear.

The intermarriage of Amazons and men from other tribes was also used to explain the origin of various people; for example, the story of the Amazons settling with the Scythians (Herodotus Histories 4.110.1-117.1)

But of curious the myth of the Amazons is that they control themselves rather than the men who they take men in order to allow for their race to survive and raise their daughters to do work that would normally be associated with men from agriculture, hunting and the art of the war. Meanwhile the boys were either killed or sent back to their fathers or exposed on an mountain side (a common practice in Ancient Greece particularly when it came to getting rid of girls.) The Amazons in truth represented a dystopia to the male population of Ancient Greece, a warning to not allow their wives, daughters, mothers and nieces become defined of them and become like the men.

Wonder Woman

So how does Wonder Woman fit into this Amazonomachy of classical and ancient ideas,she certainly represents the challenge to the male ideals of her Superhero counterparters, she follows their ideas of truth, justice and somewhat the American way but she is brutal, unlike Batman and Superman, she is willing to kill if diplomacy and reason fail with her enemies. However her kindness and honesty isn't exactly strikes me as Ancient Amazon, as the Amazons truly don't push over for any visitor who comes on their island. Interestingly enough I would even argue that Wonder Woman has a bit of the Norse mythical Valkyrie in her, also fierce female warriors but come across kinder and helpful to heroes they meet. However I do think some writers do harp back to the ancient amazons and their place in myth as women who do take to new arrivals with caution. But Wonder Woman still retains the ancient Amazon.