05-24-2006, 06:11 PM
Scythian and Sarmatian women (and women from other steppe peoples) fought in battle, that's for sure.
But the Amazon lgend predates the use of the horse in war on the steppe, so the origin must be sought elsewhere. I seem to recall a paper about some Bronze Age people from northern Anatolia, we're talking 1600-1400 BC or something, which may have been the origin of the legend. It would explain the placing of Amazons in the Trojan War, which would then be yet another older element added to the saga.
Of course, the Greeks who dveloped the later legends took the steppe peoples as examples for their 'Amazons'.
But the Amazon lgend predates the use of the horse in war on the steppe, so the origin must be sought elsewhere. I seem to recall a paper about some Bronze Age people from northern Anatolia, we're talking 1600-1400 BC or something, which may have been the origin of the legend. It would explain the placing of Amazons in the Trojan War, which would then be yet another older element added to the saga.
Of course, the Greeks who dveloped the later legends took the steppe peoples as examples for their 'Amazons'.
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
