Editing Amazonomachy (section)

== Amazonomachy in Myth ==
Throughout all of antiquity, the Amazons were regarded as a race of female warriors descended from [[Ares]], fiercely independent and skilled in hunting, riding, archery, and warfare. They worshiped Ares and [[Artemis]], respectively the god of war and the goddess of the hunt, and their geographic locations were notably associated with [[Scythia]] and the [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Amazon Women |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/amazon/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Amazon {{!}} Greek Mythology & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amazon-Greek-mythology |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In Greek epic narratives, the Amazons were perceived to be non-Greek heroic figures who challenged the strength and masculinity of Greek heroes on the battlefield, such as [[Achilles]], [[Bellerophon]], [[Heracles]] (Hercules), [[Theseus]], and the [[Athens|Athenians]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Trojan War, Achilles ===
In the lost Greek epic ''[[Aethiopis]]'', which was published in the 8th century BCE and is widely attributed to [[Arctinus of Miletus]], Achilles fights and kills [[Penthesilea]], the queen of the Amazons who came to aid Troy after the death of Hector. The oral myths and retellings of this epic fall of Troy referencing the Amazons contributed to Homer's ''[[Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Dowden |first=Ken |date=1997 |title=The Amazons: Development and Functions |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41234269 |journal=Rheinisches Museum für Philologie |volume=140 |issue=2 |pages=97–128 |jstor=41234269 |issn=0035-449X}}</ref>

=== Ninth Labor, Hercules ===
During [[Labours of Hercules#Ninth: Belt of Hippolyta|Hercules’ ninth labor]], Hercules was given the task by [[Eurystheus]] to retrieve the royal girdle of the Amazon queen [[Hippolyta]] for his daughter.<ref name=":5" /> Though Hercules and the Amazons were originally open for peaceful negotiation, the malicious machinations of [[Hera]] incited a misunderstanding between the Amazons and Hercules, leading to a bloody battle in which the Amazons were ultimately defeated.<ref name=":0" />

=== Attic War, Theseus ===
In some versions of the myth, Theseus had accompanied Hercules on his ninth labor and either eloped with or abducted Antiope, Hippolyta's sister (or Hippolyta herself). Antiope was then taken to Athens by Theseus, whom she married and bore a son, [[Hippolytus of Athens|Hippolytus]]. As a result of the kidnapping, the Amazons invaded Greece, inciting the legendary [[Attic War]] between the Amazons and Athenians, which ended in the Amazons’ defeat.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mark |first=Harrison W. |title=Hippolyta |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Hippolyta/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>