The Amazons

Resumen del libro

Amazons--fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world--were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons.

But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China. Mayor tells how amazing new archaeological discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons prove that women warriors were not merely figments of the Greek imagination.

Combining classical myth and art, nomad traditions, and scientific archaeology, she reveals intimate, surprising details and original insights about the lives and legends of the women known as Amazons. Provocatively arguing that a timeless search for a balance between the sexes explains the allure of the Amazons, Mayor reminds us that there were as many Amazon love stories as there were war stories. The Greeks were not the only people enchanted by Amazons--Mayor shows that warlike women of nomadic cultures inspired exciting tales in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Central Asia, and China.

Driven by a detective's curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men. The result is likely to become a classic.

Biografía del autor

ADRIENNE MAYOR es investigadora en estudios clásicos e historia de la ciencia en la Stanford University. Está especializada en Historia Antigua y en el conocimiento de la naturaleza contenido en los mitos precientíficos y en las tradiciones orales. Su trabajo de investigación se centra en los antiguos precursores de la ciencia popular , las alternativas y sus semejanzas con los métodos científicos modernos. Es autora, entre otros libros, de Amazonas, guerreras del mundo antiguo y de Mitrídates el Grande, enemigo implacable de Roma, ambos publicados por Desperta Ferro Ediciones, así como de numerosos artículos para revistas como Journal of American Folklore, Archaeology, Natural History, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History y Foreign Affairs. También es colaboradora habitual de la web de historia de la ciencia Wonders and Marvels.