The Millennial Story of Amazon Women

In Turkey, in the heart of the Black Sea, in the center of Samsun.Amazon Village‘ there is. When I first heard the name years ago, he was excited to find ancient village ruins; On the other hand, I wondered what the Amazon village was doing in the middle of the Black Sea. When I visited later, I learned that this place is not an ancient village but a huge museum.

Located on the beach, this monument represents the lifestyles of Amazonian women in the village and park area. small tents, areas where some sections of their daily lives are animated with models there was.

A few images from the Amazon Village in Samsun

At the end of this very large area, there was a giant Amazon warrior statue and two lion statues. So what was all this doing in the Black Sea? In our culture warrior amazon women Why was a huge museum built in their name when such a story is not very well known?

The first warrior women of history: Amazons

First traces of Amazon women in ancient Greek narratives we coincide. Ancient Greek historians and geographers alike, as well as storytellers, had superior horseback riding abilities; These women, who are fearful with their warrior outfits equipped with arrows, bows, axes and shields, are generally around the Black Sea; especially now In the region known as Samsun Terme and Çarşamba plains They say he’s alive

The reason why the Amazons influenced the Greeks so much was in those years – the years we are talking about. dates back to 1900 BC– their societies, which live with a strict patriarchal system, are quite far from the concepts of ‘female warrior’ and ‘a self-governing nation made up of women only’.

For years, the stories of Amazon women were regarded as myths that were part of ancient Greek mythology and did not reflect reality. However, many archaeological excavations carried out in recent years, It points to the reality of Amazon women.

Let’s first look at the Amazon women told by mythology.

Amazons are mentioned in many stories in Greek mythology. Generally referred to as the archenemy of the Greeks. According to myths, Amazons use men only as captives and for breeding purposes.

From the moment they started walking, they branded one of their breasts as a child so that they would not interfere with the use of bows and arrows to fight more comfortably. training girls to fight, even if boys are born, they either kill or leave; Referred to as a ‘wild’ community, the Amazons are also for the Greeks. an invincible enemy is accepted as

According to a story, Zeus’ wife, Hera, gave to Heracles (Hercules in Roman mythology). one of the famous 12 missions was to steal the belt from the Amazon queen Hippolyta. To fulfill his mission, he went to Themiscyra (Samsun, Terme region) where Amazon women lived and asked the queen Hippolyta for her belt. When the Queen refused to give her belt, a bloody war broke out between Heracles and his soldiers and the Amazon women. Many of the Amazon warriors died in this war and Heracles won the war.

When he left, he took with him the Amazon princess Antiope, apart from the belt. One of the legendary kings of Athens Antiope ‘gifted’ to Theseus, lived as the king’s concubine in Athens and somehow fell in love with him… Again, according to the story, the surviving Amazon women were from Scythia (a region of modern-day nomadic people known as Scythians in Mongolia, China, Russia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Georgia). united with his allies and came to Athens to fight against the Greeks both to save Antiope and to get their revenge. In this war Antiope fought on the side of the Greeks, Amazon women, on the other hand, suffered a great defeat. He had to return to his native land.

Although this is the most prominent story, Amazon women are also featured in many important historical narratives such as the Trojan War. In all of these narratives the homeland of the Amazon women who went on expeditions to many parts of the world.It is told that it is around Samsun, which we mentioned before.

Traces traced by archeology show Amazon women may be more than just a myth

For many years, the stories of warrior Amazon women, as Amazon women are frequently encountered in Greek mythology, and we have reached their depictions in works mostly from the ancient Greek period. were only considered as myths.

However, many archaeological excavations carried out over the years, It showed that Amazonian women could actually exist.

Maybe not exactly as described; but who fights on horseback with bow and arrow or with axes, There really were women who lived ‘as men’ free. These women, by coming into contact with different cultures for centuries, also affected the perception of women in those cultures.

So how do we know they exist?

Found to be from the 5th century BC discovery of some tombspresented important data on the women who were the subject of the Amazon stories of the Greeks. In these tombs, which show that there were strong, sexually liberated and hunted women who were trained to fight from a young age, especially in the region stretching from the east of the Black Sea to Mongolia and called Scythian in ancient Greek, many warrior remains found.

Early excavations of Scythian burial mounds revealed skeletons buried with spears, axes, arrows and horses. These remnants were first identified as male because the idea of ​​female warriors made no sense to anyone. If there were dead people buried with weapons of war, they must have been men. But decades later The emergence of DNA testing, revealed that not all of the remains belonged to men. In fact, most of them were women.

Almost all of these women had scars from the war. Cut ribs, broken skulls, broken arms, arrowhead marks stuck in the bones…

Every new tomb found belonging to the Scythians, these women, who are constantly described as ‘Amazon warriors’ by the Greeks, are actually There might be Scythian women showed.

In 2019, in the Russian province of Voronezh, archaeologists discovered a tomb with the bodies of four women. youngest of women in his early teensThe oldest was in his mid-40s. The oldest woman was buried with various weapons and an embroidered headdress. If another woman in her 20s was buried in the horse rider position. Investigations showed that women were people who lived in the 4th century BC. Both the region and the time period indicated that these women may have been ‘Amazon women’ who encountered the Greeks.

Plato, Amazon women and the story of equality

Although the Amazon women described by the Greeks are portrayed as fearless, strong and beautiful female warriors, most of them were the heroic tales of the Greeks and Amazon women were often the losing side of the war. However, of course, there were also those who intended to make inferences by considering the situation from a philosophical and social point of view rather than looking at it as a heroic story.

There is a myriad of data on Amazon women. Some of these are mythological stories, as I explained above, while others are What historians and philosophers say…

Plato is one of the names that gives the most place to the Amazons in his narratives. In Plato’s ‘The Laws’ It is emphasized that a state should educate women as well as men, in order not to ‘not be a half-state’. Saying that it is necessary to ‘train warriors just like Amazon women’, Plato states that men and women must be equal in order to be successful in both peace and war.

“Furthermore, I say without hesitation that equestrian and gymnastics training should be given to both men and women alike. The old tradition of Amazons confirms my view.

According to Plato, instead of just living at home as babysitters, women are more concerned with athletics, horse riding, and gun use.training in exactly the same way as men‘, they would become warriors who, in an emergency, could ‘take bows and arrows like the Amazons and join the men’, and this would of course benefit society as a whole.

As a result, the stories of these women, who were thought to have lived in the Black Sea thousands of years ago, have influenced many different cultures. Warrior, free and strong female representation The fact that it was often portrayed as ‘men-hating’ by the Greeks, even in the stories of that time, tells us a lot about the view of the patriarchal mentality on this issue.

However, the archaeological remains and the data obtained indicate that in those prehistoric times, women were only individuals who contributed equally to the society they belonged to and lived under equal conditions; Those who interpret it as a ‘warrior and cruel woman’ are in their own culture. ancient Greeks who confined women to their homes shows that.

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