Editing Penthesilea (section)

=== Boccaccio ===
Between 1361 and 1362 the Italian [[Giovanni Boccaccio]] wrote the first collection of biographies in Western literature that was devoted to famous women. The ''[[De Mulieribus Claris]]'' was published in Latin and dedicated to [[Andrea Acciaioli]], the Countess of [[Altavilla]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Virginia Brown |title=Introduction – Famous Women |date=2003 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674011304 |page=xi}}</ref> According to Boccaccio, Penthesilea succeeded the Amazon queens [[Antiope (Amazon)|Antiope]] and [[Orithyia (Amazon)|Orithyia]]. She was in strength and skill superior to previous queens. According to Boccaccio, Penthesilea entered the Trojan War against the Greeks to impress Hector. But Penthesilea and her Amazon troops were slain at the end of a hard-fought battle with the Greeks.<ref>{{cite book |author=Giovanni Boccaccio |title=Famous Women |date=2003 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674011304 |pages=64–65}}</ref> After recounting Penthesilea's accomplishments in ''De Mulieribus Claris'' Boccaccio wrote that "if we remember that practical experience can change natural dispositions" the legends of the Amazons become plausible. He wrote that "through practice, Penthesilea and women like her became much more manly in arms than those born male" who had been weakened through idleness and love of pleasure. The notion that upbringing and training were central to gender differences was discussed by [[Agostino Strozzi]] and [[Mario Equicola]] in 16th century Italy.<ref>{{cite book |title=Virtue Ethics for Women 1250–1500 |date=2011 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9789400705296 |page=149 |author1=Karen Green |author2=Constant Mews }}</ref>