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The Amazons
and the Troian War
Of course - a quarrel about women was the reason for the war between the Greek and the Troians. And even if Homer describes the war itself in depth, the Amazons are mentioned rather as a minor matter. Just two quotes I was able to find:
"... and saw the Prygian fighters galore, masters of hot footed horses, men of Otreus and the godly Mygdon, camping out along the banks of Sangarius. I, their companion counted among them, the day the Amazons came, equating men"
"And this," so spoke he (Achilles), "was the mightiest battle of men I ever observed." And for a third he defeated the manlike Amazons...
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But then Quintus Smyrnaeus delivers a very colourful and detailled description of the occurrence. Here a subsummation:
The war had dragged on for a rather long time, lots of victims were to deplore on both sides. Troys most outstanding fighter, Hector, had been killed by Achilleus, who in turn had lost his intimate friend, Patroklos, and therefore was unconsolable. Rather disheartened the Troians cowered behind the walls of their city and hoped for a miracle.
And the miracle happened - in shape of the Amazon princess Penthesilea and her twelve companions. When they - greatly mounted on their steeds - rode into town, in shimmering armour and bristling with weapons, a kind of hope seemed to sprout among the besieged citizens.
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Quintus is doting excessively:
And there went with her twelve, and each
A princess desirious of war and ferocious battle
Each in her own right widely famous, but serving
Penthesileia who outshone them all.
Like among stars on a widely stretching sky
All overshining enthroned is the moon
[...]
From right, from left, from everywhere, crowding
The Troians flocked beholding in marvel
The never tiring wargods child, the armoured virgin
Matching the holy gods only, for in her visage
Beauty was shining, a glory yet frightning.
Enchanting her smile: Underneath her brow
Her charming eyes agleam like stars
And with the purple of the chasteness
Glistened her cheeks, for there it mingeled
Uneartly grace with the daringness of battle.
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Also the names of the twelve companions are mentioned: Clonie, Polemusa, Derinoe, Evandre, Antandre, Bremusa, Hippothoe, Harmothoe, Alcibie, Derimacheia, Antibrote und Thermodosa.
However, Penthesileia is not happy. At home she had missed a hart on a hunt and instead killed her sister, Hippolyte, with her javelin. Now her conscience bedeviles her and she hopes to placate it by accomplishing a great and audacious deed.
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Quintus Smyrnaeus is putting this into words:
And onwards her militancy drove her
To purge from murders sinistre maculation
Her conscience and conciliate with the sacrifice
The dreadful Erinnyes, who in fierceness
For the slain sister straightly were hounting
Invisibly: For always they beleaguer
The sinners steps, there's no escaping the goddesses wrath.
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In Troia, however, hope was budding. Priamus, King of the town, ordered a feast in honour of Penthesileia. Nothing less one did expect from this enhancement than to chase back the attacking Greeks back into the sea, they had come across.
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Painstakingly Penthesilea the next morning donned her armour, choosing her weapons: Golden greaves did she put on, a rainbow coloured harness, her sword in a sheath from silver and ivory. Especially mentioned is the moon shaped buckler. Her helmet was adorned by a mane of golden hair, thus she stood in glimmering armour like a lightning from the highest god. In her left she held two javelins in addition to the buckler, in her right a halberd fiercly edged on both sides. On her war-horse, a donation of the Thrakians, she left town into the turmoil of the battle, which should be her first - and her last - encounter with the Greek; but by thousands the Troians followed her like sheep the bellwether.
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The Greek couldn't believe that the Troians so soon after the dead of Hektor, their hero, would attack again, and sluggishly rigged their defenses. Like a whirlwind Pentesilea and her Amazons descended on them and mowed down their first waves. Then the first of the Amazons went under. Clonie was the first to die, then Bremusa. One after the other lost her life in the turmoil. But also the Greek had to accept bitter losses and Penthesilea was fighting like a lioness and all about her the greek warriors dropped like cornstalks under the scythe.
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But still Penthesilea was looking for the mightiest of the greek warriors, whose javelin had transfixed Hektor and whom all the Troian heroes so far had succumbed: Achilleus, son of Peleus, the center of the Greek army, the source of their strength. But he, together with Aiax, stood at the grave of his friend, Patroklos, mourning, and was totally unaware of the attack of the Troians.
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Already the ships of the Greek were within reach of the Troians, threatened to fall victim to flames, which would have cut off the supplies and the possibility of retreat. Then Aiax heard the turmoil and called Achilleus' attention to it. Hastily both donned their armour and rushed to the scene. Nothing could have more strengthened the morale of the Greek at this time.
Penthesilea attacked Achilleus, but both her javelins recoiled without effect from Achilleus' buckler and greaves, and he left it to his comrades to ward off the Amazon. He threw the javelin, that allready had ended the lives of so many noble warriors. Penthesilea was hit above her right breast and transfixed. Her last words: "Oh, I want to live!"
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