Myth of the Amazons, Part 2: When we last left the Amazons, they had just lost their queen to the great demigod Hercules—who had slaughtered her when he thought she had led him into a trap.
The fearsome tribe, now raw from their loss, retreated back to their lands to heal.
But what happens next, dear reader, was not a moment of reprieve, nor a simple return to their old ways. No. What happens next for the Amazons is a time of even greater loss.
For you see, Theseus, the great Athenian hero, had accompanied Hercules on his mission. And while standing on those Amazonian shores, the hero had caught sight of the Amazon princess known as Antiope—deciding in that moment that he must have her for his own.
So, not long after that fated day on the beach, Theseus returned to the Amazon land, with the sole intention of whisking away the princess to have and to keep for his own.
And Theseus, the skilled man he was, succeeded in his quest.
Now the Amazons, still deep in mourning from the loss of their leader, have just lost another of their own. But this second loss didn’t spiral them deeper into sadness—no. This second loss only made them fiery with pure, hot rage.
The Amazons were not known to be a forgiving people. And under the weight of another loss, the tribe vowed they would do whatever they must in order to rescue the stolen Antiope. They vowed to do everything in their power to remind man just how brutal women like them could be.
The Amazons would spend the following weeks training and planning and honing their skills for the next time they would meet Theseus. The tribe sharpened their arrows, reinforced their spears, and spent their days plotting and planning their kill.
Unfortunately, their furious plan of vengeance would not go the way they wanted.
For upon their arrival at the gates of Attica (the domain that Theseus now ruled), the Amazons were not met with unsuspecting guards, but warriors who were expecting their arrival.
And the Amazons lost their fight for vengeance.
The princess Antiope would not survive this battle either—another casualty of errant arrowheads and spears.
Now, dear reader, I don’t want you to feel sad for the great losses the Amazons have faced. Their battles with the Greeks, while extraordinary and mythic, never ended in their favor.
While the Amazons were just as fierce as the men they met on the battlefield, the Greeks would always find themselves one step ahead.
But the legacy of the Amazons—of those war-sharpened and wise-skilled women—would far outshine their unfortunate meetings with the Greeks. Their legacy of bravery, community, and proving that women could be just as fierce a warrior as man, would continue to live on through legendary story and myth.
