"... the war with the Amazons, which seems to have been anything but a trivial or womanish affair..."  -Herodotus, Life of Theseus;27.1
                 Art: Representations of Amazons
                The following is a selection of Greek Vases which are painted with images of Amazons.  Each is numbered with a link to the actual image, followed by a description of the picture in question.


 the earliest pictures
           #1: To view image, click  here .
           One of the earliest known representations of Amazons is a painting found on a votive shield probably made sometime in the late-seventh century.  The terra-cotta fragments were found at Tiryns, they depict two warriors in battle.  The chief warrior at the center-right is a woman, indicated by the crude representation of breasts.  The picture is thought to be one of Achilles and Penthesilea, or of Heracles' encounter with an Amazon since the center-left male warrior is wielding a club and has no shield; both trademarks of Heracles.   On the side of each warrior is a smaller figure, a helper, or a figure of lesser importantance in the representation.  At the bottom of the shield a dead warrior lies.
            This picture is shown to provide a base and an idea of the type of image to be looked at.  It will not be analyzed further because not enough information has been deduced about it due to its uniqueness, historical isolation and tenuous physical condition.  Due to the author's (of the webpage) only beginning level of knowledge in such areas, further comparison of this piece would probably only confuse things.

Heracles and the Attic Black Figure Vase
        The next pieces examined are the Attic Black Figure vases which portray Heracles engaging in various Amazonomachies.  The Black Figure vases were most popular during the sixth century, as was the representation of Heracles.  Typically, men are painted in black and women in white, including Amazon women.

 #2: To view image, click here
    The first vase is an Ovoid Neck-amphora.  It was probably painted sometime between 575 BCE and 550 BCE  It is from Tarquinia, and on the other side (not shown) of the vase was a picture of the Calydonian Bear Hunt.
     The image shown, as indicated by its inscription, is an amazomachy featuring Heracles.  Names are inscribed on the vase near the figures.  Opposite Heracles, is  the Amazon Andromache, white in contrast to the black of Heracles.  Heracles is attacking his crouching victim with a sword.  On the right of Heracles and Andromache is the image of Telamon pursuing the Amazon Glauke.  On the left, the Amazon Iphito is victorious over a Greek.
     Heracles wears his traditional lionskin; Andromache wears a tunic, cuirass, Corinthian helmet, greaves and a shield; all painted red.  Her fellow Amazons are outfitted similarly.  A progression is made from the victorious Iphito and the slain Greek, to Andromache; about to be stabbed, to Glauke still being chased. 

 #3: To view image, click here
    The second image, probably from Gela, Sicily, is thought to have been painted between 540 and 530 BCE.  The side shown portrays Heracles attacking an Amazon.  He is wearing the characteristic lion skin and attacking the central Amazon with a sword.  She is kneeling and he is standing looking down at her.  She is holding a shield in her left arm and a raised spear in her right and wearing an animal skin.  Her companions surround her: two on each side.  They are all wearing short chitons, crested helmets and are well-equipped with weaponry.  On the other side of the vase there is a representation of Dionysus flanked by two maenads. 

    #4: To view image, click here
     The third, "standard" vase, known as Amphora B is from Vulci and  was probably painted around the mid-sixth century.  It  again, shows Heracles and Andromache waged in battle, as Heracles aggressively grasps the crest of Andromache's helmet, looking down at her, poised to stab her.  On the right side is a battle between Heracles' companion and an Amazon which mimics the central image.  Flanked on the left is an almost mirror image of the central battle, with an Amazon killing a falling Greek with a spear.  Andromache wears a scale-patterned tunic, supposedly the Attican high fashion of the day.  On the opposite side of the vase is a picture of Heracles' battle with Cycnus.  

            There are several noteworthy commonalities which run through all of these Black Figure Attic Amphorae.  They all portray the popular mythic figure Heracles, who is in the process of a victorious battle against an Amazon.  Heracles is always in a position of domination, lunging into the subordinating Amazon.
         He and his warriors are always represented in black; the Amazons are always in white, the standard technique used for painting women.  The Amazons are painted in anatomical detail, mildly erotic.  Their breasts can usually be seen beneath their clothes, and their bodies are feminine yet muscular.  The costumes of the Greeks and Amazons are similar- the Amazons frequently bedecked in Greek battle garb or some variation on popular female styles of Attica at the time.
         The Greeks are always victorious, but the Amazons are not completely decimated, some are shown to be successfully dominant over the Greek opposition.  These images are coupled with complementary scenes on the opposite sides of the vases and always follow Greek rules of aesthetic symmetry.
             There are also some important differences.  In image #2 and #3, all of the Amazons are outfitted in standard Greek war attire, whereas in image #4 , Andromache wears a stylishly feminine and Athenian outfit, however practical for battle it may be.  Also, in the first two images, the Amazons have some hope for partial survival; the heroine is accompanied by her own.  Such is not the case in the last image where she is surrounded only by Greeks.
      In the first image, the amazonomachy is likened to a bear hunt (its complementary image), almost a type of courtship or conquering ritual, while at the same time it could perhaps be considered a certain brutalization of the amazons; one in which they are likened to the bear on the opposite side of the amphora; reduced to animals.
      The second vase, although still a tribute to the phallic subjugation of women, is perhaps a little more light-hearted.  Although Theseus is attacking an Amazon, he is outnumbered by women warriors who almost appear to be swooning over him from their stance; the complementary image on the back of Dionysus and the Maenads only reinforces this.
       The third vase is probably the most disturbing of all, the Amazon is being compared with the evil Cycnus, good justification for her murder.  Heracles is particularly fierce in his attack of her and she is also hopelessly doomed, with no allies and only Greeks surrounding her.
        The positioning of weapons is curious as well.  In most battle scenes in which Greeks are portrayed fighting other men, they are usually shown as stabbing them fatally in ribs.  The Amazons, however, are almost shown being stabbed in the breast or lower abdomen.

Theseus and the Attic Red Figure  Vase:
    The next set of pieces examined will be the Attic Red Figure Vases which portray Theseus engaging in different amazonomachies.  On these vases both men and women are painted in whitish colors.  These vases rose in popularity at the end of sixth century and throughout the fifth century.  Sometimes they portrayed Theseus battling Amazons alone, and other times with the help of Heracles.  More attention to this represention will be given in the section on architecture.
 

#5: To view image, click here
     The first artifact we will look at of this type is a Kylix pot.  It is from Vulci in Etruria, and its creation is placed somewhere between the years of 520 and 510 BCE.  It is thought to be the earliest painting of Antiope being abducted by Theseus.This vase painting shows an abduction scene of Antiope by Theseus.
       He is carrying her away in his chariot (known as a quadriga), while onlookers and comrades of Theseus: Perithoos and Phorbas, follow.  The two horses which drive the chariot are painted as spirited and are represented in detail.  The name of each person is inscribed on the vase.  Theseus grasps Antiope, engulfing her with his left arm which simultaneously controls one set of reigns and holds two spears.  His right arm holds the other pair of reigns.  Antiope is turning away from him, gazing backwards and holding a bow in her left hand.
     All of the characters wear elaborate costumes.  Antiope wears polka dotted skin-tight pants, a striped tunic and a Phrygian (foreign) hat.  She also wears earrings and a shoulder belt with a quiver.  Theseus wears a chlamys and cuirass and has long hair held back with a wreath of myrtle.  Perithoos also has long hair and wears a beard.  He is wearing an embroidered, fringed chiton, as well as a crested helmet, a cuirass and greaves.  He brandishes two spears and a shield.  His right hand is raised towards Antiope.  Phorbas, looking backwards, also wears a chiton, a cuirass, greaves and a crested helmet.  He holds two spears and a sword hangs by his left side.
     On the other side (not shown), there is a picture of a young man and woman, both nude.  Some think they are Tyndareus and Leda, others claim they are Theseus and Helen.  On the inside of the vase there is another picture of a man and a woman, also a subject of debate.

#6: To view image, click  here
        The next painting, on an Attic Red Figure vase, is dated at about 440 or 430 BCE.  The artifact is a one in a series of six similar vases.  It is a three figure neck-amphora which shows Theseus, Perithoos and a Amazon.  Theseus is nude, save a helmet, and thrusts a spear into the side of the Amazon clothed in a peplos.  Perithoos, who wears an animal skin cloak and a pilos, stands behind Theseus poised to throw a rock at the Amazon.  Near each figure is inscribed some variant of the ancient Greek word for beautiful.  On the other side of the vase, there is a scene depicting three youths.   

            The Red Figure vases have several things in common.  Besides all the figures being white as previously mentioned, the amazons are in particularly feminine apparel, even described as beautiful.
          The first image is, however, a sharp contrast to the second; it is an act of force against Antiope and she does not look very happy.  In the second picture, the image seems almost jovial, the figures have expressions on their faces which are far from the severe battlegrounds of war.

Comparison of Attic Black Figure Vases and Attic Red Figure Vases:
         There are many variants and subtypes within the groups of vases shown above; the vases shown are by no means indicative of all them.  Since there are a seemingly infinite number of known artifacts and it is impossible and tedious to show them all, it was necessary to select just a few.
            The main differences between the two types seem to lie in the name of the hero and the costume.  Heracles shifts to Theseus and the male battle uniforms worn by the Amazons slowly transform to those which are stereotypically feminine.
           There are other observations concerning these contrasts which could be made, but this could be a reflection of the specific images shown rather than an actual trend, especially if one keeps in mind the myriad of examples which exist.  In some ways it seems that the seriousness of the aggression represented against the Amazons diminishes with time; violent acts of murder are more starkly portrayed in the pictures on the Attic black vases whereas the conflict between the Amazons and the Greeks is portrayed as slightly lighter later on.  In the Attic Black Figure vases the Amazon women are always painted as smaller or on lower plain than the Greeks, kneeling or falling over.  In the Attic Red Figure Vases there seems to be a greater equality in stance and gesture.
            It is difficult to ascertain whether these observations mean anything or not.  Taken together though, it is clear that basically the Amazons, whatever they actually symbolized were represented as objects of conflict to be overcome by the Greek males.  Perhaps their changing dress represented the transition from the Amazons as symbolic of foreign warriors to their significance as the personnification of female inferiority in ancient Athens.  At the same time, however, there are many examples during this period, of Amazons in typically foreign clothes. 

Unusual Images
        The next series of images consist of several paintings which possess particularly interesting features. 

          #7: To view image, click  here
        These images are found on the lid of an Attic Red Figure, White Ground Pyxis.  They were probably painted between 460 and 450 BCE.  It shows two distinct scenes; one of an Amazon on horseback about to lasso using her right arm a kneeling Greek warrior in front of her.  She holds a double-axe in her left hand and her shoes are purple.  The other scene, separated from the first by the image of an olive tree, is that of a Greek warrior poised to throw a stone at an Amazon warrior holding a spear (this part of the painting is not well-preserved).  The crouching warrior holds a shield with a snake motif in his left hand and a spear in his right.  The Amazon wears a common long-sleeved shirt and pants.  It is a unique piece for several reasons.
        First of all, this kind of vase; the Pyxis, was used as a woman's cosmetic case and second of all, it is painted in an unusual style; the white ground style was an experimental painting technique, employed popularly around 520, after this, its use was rare.  It is actually the only known surviving vessel of its type.
        Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the painting is the untraditional elements; the image of the lasso and the reversal of the Greek and Amazonian roles.  The lasso was traditionally thought of as a foreign implement, used by wandering tribes of the east.  It was described by Pausanias to have been used by the Sauromatians.  In addition, the Amazon woman is attacking a submissive Greek soldier; from above. 

#8: To view image, click  here
        This example is an Attic Black Figure Skyphos from around 500 BCE.  It portrays an Amazon woman on the left side of the vase getting ready to shoot a fire-breathing monster on the right with a bow and arrow.  She is riding a lion.  She is dressed in a cap with ear flaps, a jerkin and diamond patterned leggings; barbarian apparel.  The monster is an unidentifiable, hoofed hybrid form; with a donkey's or rabbit's head, a checked oval body, long ears and two small legs.  On the side which is not pictured there is a picture of lion and cattle.
        It is remarkable not only because it shows the confrontation of an Amazon represented as a foreigner with a fantastically cryptic monster, but also because it portrays the Amazon as the heroine of the picture.
 

#9:   To view image, click  here
        This black figure Hydria, shows several Amazons harnessing a chariot.  The date of its creation is unknown, but is  thought to have been probably in the late sixth century BCE.  It is unusual because it shows Amazons together, alone; not in the presence of males.  Also it portrays mortal women as charioteers, another rare image.  The lead Amazon wears the traditional charioteer chiton of an Athenian man which contrasts oddly with the pointed hat of a female barbarian.  Her companions are archers, the one furthest to left looking back, aiding the continuity of the composition, leading the viewer around the the vessel.  On the shoulder of the pot, is a rendering of Heracles and the lion. 
            The illustrations of uncommon Amazon representations do not flow together in a specific way, aside from showing that with all stereotypical classifications there also exists a wide array of exceptions and anomalies.  It would be inaccurate to claim that Amazons were simply an example of an oppressed and outcast group of women.   It would also not be fair to say that they were an all-powerful group of foreigners.
     As in the Hydria of #9 , where the artist mixed the elements of barbarian and Athenian; male and female clothing on a single person; so too, perhaps are the social symbolisms mixed and sometimes even contradictory.  Since the paintings examined are not, that is known of, examples of civic art, it is impossible to say what the artists' actual intents were, and sometimes it is even possible that we are reading too much symbolism into their work.

    In some ways it seems impossible and perhaps irrelevant to try and draw one cohesive conclusion of what the Amazon or their represententations meant in Greek society.  It is maybe more useful simply to get as broad a spectrum as possible of the varying possibilities. 

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