On October 18th, 2023, Eike Faber (University of Potsdam) gave a lecture called ‘Anathema to Civic Society – Warrior Women in Classical Athens. Amazons between A-mastos and Anti-aneira in Literary and Artistic Representations’ at the 3rd Annual International Women in the Arts conference (AIWAC), hosted by UARK – University of Arkansas Rome Center.
You can watch the video of the entire first day of the conference at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmE_fus8ojY
For more information please check out the following channels: @UArkansas@universityofarkansasromepr2668 @aiwacinternationalconferen2183
Um the first speaker is AE Faber he is a staff member at The Institute of history at the University of Potsdam and has been a research assistant of the chair of the history of antiquity at the University of Potsdam since 2007 in 2013 he received his Doctorate
With a thesis on the Christianity of the Goths published in 2014 and please excuse my German as it is not very good Von SP on thank you his work focuses on the field of late Antiquity in particular on the religious religious history of the period and on the so
Called v vur as well as in the field of conflict stud studies he is among other things a member of the editorial Committee of protestas and a member of the associ barbaricum and like he will be talking this morning on warrior women in classical Athens between amast and anti
Ana in literary and artistic depiction thank you I thank you so much for those kind words and the introduction um thank you Alina mesti and rega um you know for setting this up for getting this conference going I’m grateful for the opportunity to present my ideas on a topic which
You’ve just heard to me is kind of new or not the usual topic um I’m thanking the University of Arkansas Rome program for the hospitality um and I think it’s apparent I’m starting at the beginning you know chronologically that’s just the earliest things we know about
Amazon um and after that I’m here to learn and listen in on the long reception history that Amazon have had and still enjoy and that’s the part I’m I’m aware that I don’t know much about um as you have heard and as the title of my presentation makes clear I’m a
Historian not an art historian I will show you photos and maybe you point out to me what I didn’t see we’ll see how goes all right we’ll start I have a have an outline on the next slide but I’ll start with the map and um show you around where Amazon lived according to
Mythical thinking in Antiquity um we are seeing the Black Sea apologies for the German map German German text on the map we are close to the mediterranian seeing the EGC and the Black Sea centered um the Amazon feature in the Trojan cycle of myth and Legend um the story line as
Such is very old we’re talking before the 9th century the ilas and odys are from 750 725 7 675 Before Common Era and the Amazon feature in that those epics where they are Central characters are much the written version is much later much younger than is but the Epic Still
Remains the Same as its core in classical times that is the fifth fourth Century um before Comming era um we hear about an um a competition at ephesos among sculptors of course who’s the best and who does the best Amazon so we have got contemporary evidence that it was in the
440s 430s and we have statues to match that’s uh the second one uh on the left um the classical author herodotos P histor um writes about all kinds of things in relation to the Persian War and explains the world as he sees it to his Greek audience and he places the Amazons uh
Close to the Black Sea at the edge of the Eurasian step where the skians come from those they closely associated with skians um and there’s an entire mythology anecdotes about that which I’m don’t have time to go into even but there’s more to come and of course all
Of us know Wonder Woman um and I’ve got some some um marketing thing from a from a from a supermarket and that’s where where I put I don’t know if you can see that properly there Wonder Woman down there at a supermarket and in the film
In the movies and in the legend she is placed at jisa in modern turkey um so that’s how I’m going to go about that we’re going to see the evidence for that competition between sculptors we are going to read the text about the deadly fight at Troy I’m going to ask
Why should one speak about Amazon and I’m going to present three options and you want to see my what I’m trying to do um a referenced Civic societ iety in the title of my presentation so we need to go into that and see what do I mean what’s relevant for Greek Civic Society
Um bullet number five is the second time we are going to look at Amazon atmology and where where do they there byword come from the first time is Amazon is anti anai we are going to then look at different images of Amazon on different slightly different media with three main Greek Heroes
Um and we will then finish the anecdote from slide two and ask what happens after a hero kills in Amazon what can happen then um we end with the Ephesian statues and we end again uh with what the the sources the my interpretations of scholarship tell us Greek men want
And it turns out they all want to marry an Amazon they don’t even know that while they’re fighting but after they after the fight then they realized they wanted to all along okay so we at ephesos at the height of of Greek culture and Greek art history at one
That we Define as the height and um the timion of ephesos holds the competition among sculptors we have five entries and we know or we associate known statues known copies with the names of three very well-known sculptors um we are seeing Roman copies of The Originals who are from the classical
Age and spread all over the world as you can see um fixed assembled together from various Traditions but all according to those three types um they are um they have very peculiar po postures um and each Amazon is styled is equipped um to different um to different
Sort of of fighting technique shall we say um the one who won first prize is in a way a Greek hoplight citizen Warrior of Athens the one in the middle the second prize is a styled as an Archer which in the case of essence would have
Come from Creed would not be a citizen if if you were a male Fighter the third prize is um looking like a rider and um a knight so to speak Elite Cavalry also Athenian citizens so they are closely modeled on male patterns um male um equipment within the confines of the
Genre that they are standing there really rather naked but it’s visible to to someone who looks for the bow who looks for the land and and whatever it be and it’s a bit strange that at ephesos we we have that they are looking like Athenian um um military and that is
Explainable at the time for 40s for 30s because Athens has dominion and um Ephesus is included in the Dalian league so there may be a reason why it’s politically appropriate to display them like that it would be a bit odious even from the fourth century and after that
So then it is must just be tradition and they are already there all right and what do we see we see statues of standing women originally made in bronze and slightly larger than life the copies we have range between 180 and 2 met in two um in size um they are
Warlike women warlike Amazons in a situation which is you not not entirely clear but it’s after a fight theyve been wounded um they’ve been wounded um they are supposed to be reasonably beautiful they are very naked compared to other classical statuary and other archaic statuary of
Women I I would think they look Western Caucasian and very white not necessarily in the sense of white like the table like the furniture but white as in um an ideal of europeanness or whatever have you it may be from the modern copies it maybe that the Athenians bring that to
The table and of course the originals weren’t white they were polychrome polychromatic in different colors and and more colorful um clothes among other things we are going to try with changing location um and we are at a point in time in the Trojan Legends um after the ilas plot
Before the odys plot and there’s a myriad other plot lines that all come together with form an entire circle um so we are an old stories um and what we are about to witness is the entry of Penta Queen of the Amazons um who enters the war against no against the war of
The Greek against the Trojans on the Trojan side and um defends them intends to fight against the Greeks and what we are asking is what does amason anti an mean how are they equal to men with these words the Amazons dawned their Shining Armor and poured out from
Their Camp by the ships in powerful array they entered the bloody fry with the appetite of wild beasts for raw flesh all well equipped with Spears breastplates strong Shields of oxide and stout helmets now foe hecked at foe with Reckless abandon and the Trojan soil grew red then Penta slew molon perus iisus
Anti and violent lus hi palmos hones and mighty elus the danaans um are the Greeks there are different words for Greeks and we will see most of them in the quotations I have for you um what we are having is a very typical um Arista scene a scene where a hero or
Hero heroine in that case um gets especially glorious entry gets a special bravery uh and is very killing very many foes that’s a very typical scene for oiso aramon ailles for the men and Pena also gets one um and she kills I think it’s more than five people in those few
Lines they are heroes they are fighting um they are um dressed and equipped exactly like the man Pena’s battle ardor was unabated like some lioness in the high mountains who rushes through the deep and Rocky Ravine to pounds on a herd of cows lusting for blood her heart’s Delight
Just so AR’s Maiden daughter pounced on the danians that’s where the daines come in Who are the Greeks by the way um Pia Queen of the Amazons is compared to a lioness she’s lasting for blood and raging to fight and to enter the frey and she is closely associated with Aris
The Greek God of War she’s also um Fierce if you take both quotations together um and strong and whatever she is because she is AR’s Maiden daughter so that status is referenc and that’s important as it turns out that Spar of Spear of mine that
Spear cast of mine may have been in vain but with this one I should put an end to the strength and spirit of both of you for all your Brave boasting among the Greeks and and then the horse taming Trojans will suffer much less in the battle come closer make your ways
Through the fighting and see with what force and spirit we Amazons are owed my ancestry is no less warlike than yours I am the daughter of no mortal man but of arus himself who is never sated with the D of battle that is why I am far superior to Valor in to
Men so um again it’s the Greeks the horse taming Trojans is a very typical byword of epic poetry they live by those S lines um and Pia makes clear she is fighting for the tro and getting them will get them to win um so the question is now why would the
Amazon why would penda be a daughter of arz that is because um fitting female deities which would be more akin to our ideas that the Amazons have a patron uh person a patron deity who was female and fitting deities are emis responsible for the hunt maybe and
Athena responsible for war the Arts and wisdom and the City of essence are maen goddesses neither of which is a mother in they very core they are not mothers so we cannot use the closely associated persons from the pantheon with the Amazons they cannot start a genealogy
Aris can that’s why they put him at the start of the Amazons we’ll now leave this scene by means of a cliffhanger um just as Achilles is going to make his entrance um and in a way Achilles is associated he is associated with war and um he’s also associated with Aris and I
Should add that Aris is really despised by all his colleagues from The Godly Pantheon of the Olympians so it’s a strange want to have as a as a founding figure I’m certain there are more reasons to speak about Amazons I’ve come up with those three and I’m referencing
The brilliant book by Adrien mayor um brilliant recent book by Adrien mayor on the subject so it’s totally it makes a lot of sense to look for historical warrior women which is in my reading the main point of what Adrien mayor does um she she looks for proof and does
So successfully for real world warrior women in Antiquity in the second first millennium BC and later um who are probable examples and Inspirations for Amazon in Athenian m in Greek myth and she finds those Inspirations inspirational people in the Ural invion step in burials um they were only recently properly um excavated and
Researched and it used to be the case that the burial with horse saddle and weapons was a male burial just because of the the material associated with it and new research shows that it’s genetics and the bones and everything makes clear it’s woman she has been
Fighting she has been a fighter she has been wounded the Bones have healed she has been fighting again so there are those warrior women we find them in the graves and the Greeks knew about those you saw the map where the Greek World Associates um Amazons and and other
People the second bullet is what I’m trying to do I’m going to asking to try and ask why do the Greek tell those Tales I’m aware that Amazons exist that’s a good enough reason but I don’t think it’s quite exactly the reason and they the Amazon on the pictures don’t
Quite look like what we find in those barrial so is the it’s a step removed it’s two steps removed then ought to be a reason why Greek myth Greek stories Greek art depicts Amazon I’m trying to get at why that is what that is so on a general level those women are
Going to be another of some kind and I’m trying to put more flesh on that point um the third point and I’m assuming that’s what I’m going to hear in the in the other presentation that’s what you are doing is looking at how what can we what can other times do with
Those Amazons how do we read them how do we incorporate them how do well people Express themselves with reference to Amazon so that’s what I came here to to to hear I’m my stuff and I’m looking for yours hoping for yours so we’re coming to the subject of
Civic Society um which are referen in the title which means looking at the Athenian State Greeks Pol States um and their public and private life um which is centered around the dichotomy of oos and pois oos is a house household and polace is the state for wonderful better word State Society cult communication
With the gods all of that is included um it’s a typically Greek dichotomy both are conceptually very clearly um different um the oos is supposed to be very self-sufficient very autonomous um headed by the curios a male citizen um who is is the head of his family um
Who also um is defined and the oos is defined by land ownership so that’s the complex one guy his family the people who depend on him and his land and maybe his houses those oo are ideally totally isolated in fact they are not they make up a polist and those guys those curious
People Citizens need to come together need to organize need to have a state statehood in whatever forms we could Define it and get closer to it um so the citizens five wow well I’m already out of time we are looking at that not and not diagram
Because we see men and women and we see a burial scene the women have very very a very sty in very peculiar way they have gestures they have different colored skin from the men the men look outward to the Polish the women look inward that’s where they according to
This ought to look I’m not saying they have to but I’m saying that’s what the picture says this is where in Greek art women work indoors without men um some sort of manual practical thing often weaving because weaving is high status that’s what a woman of of status
Does um the live words of women are they are daughters in in ideal case they become married women wives and then mothers that’s the expectation it’s not on the picture but the the context is there um etymologically we have a Aras and amasa for the Amazons which can mean
With without a breast or without bread without eating bread and the without breast atmology is much better known and probably extremely unrealistic we read that it’s because they need to shoot a bow and if we look at modern archers men or women doesn’t affect them much as far
As I can tell so it’s it’s not true the Aras the amasa the not eating bread Associates them with the step with a nomadic lifestyle it’s the opposite of Polish and sedentary agricultural living if we look at pictures of Amazon finally and we you I’m trying to Circle
Back to the war scene the fighting scene they are very typical all the great foundational Heroes fight Amazons we see early picture Heracles defeats Amazon the fight is tough one Amazon is even winning in all the men are winning uh what does he go for he goes for a
Belt what does Heracles want he wants that belt of the Amazon queen and in having her belt she’s naked she’s at his power that’s what’s what’s at stake in that fight same but different thes the Athenian hero Heracles the Greek hero Theus the Athenian hero and he is
Getting one of his wives by kidnapping an Amazon it may be antiopi maybe the Amazon queen herself I the way he carries her away they marry they have a son that Amazon who marries Theo will fight against her sisters when they attack Athens which is a foundational
Myth for Essence and which is the basic reason why they paint Amazons anywhere fight at Troy Achilles fighting Penta we have heard penila shout come on fight me and that’s the picture of it Achilles wins ailles will kill her we see it in the pictures we’ll see the text in a moment Um I’m going to have to read this text otherwise doesn’t make sense reversal of gender roles principle of reversal structures the entire world of Amazons no men but women no marriage no marriages and what have you fighting a Female warrior is a contradiction in terms it is for Greek thinking they they
Can’t exist they can’t be Warriors they should be men they they are women that doesn’t it doesn’t compute that makes Amazon’s Lial persons Lial figures what kind of figures daughters they assume temporarily a boy’s role and by their androgenous nature they are much stronger than normal men which is what all the
Fighting scenes show us where only heroes are strong enough to overcome those Amazon Achilles kills Pena and what happens then he tries to rob her of her stuff of her armor the spear helmet breastplate what have you as you would with any male opponent and what happens then he is totally flabbergasted because
She is dead and bloody and bruised she’s beautiful the gods make Penta at the moment of dying supremely beautiful Aphrodite herself makes her beautiful so Achilles sort of doesn’t agree with his killing pilea all the men around wish oh my that should have been my wife I wish
I had a wife like her so does Achilles the moment of killing the moment of swap Achilles and everyone agrees says I should have married her Salvador Dary does it with one painting what I’ve so avoided so far why why the posture of those Amazon statues it’s not for fun it’s not for
The viewing pleasure not entirely at least in the in the logic of it it’s because they are wounded below the arm in the fight and I apologize for not having photos of that the statues show that and the polychromatic statues show it better but they haven’t got a photo that’s where
The Amazons are wounded that’s why they are going to soon be falling down and dying but we’re seeing the moment of switch from the warlike Fierce independent Amazon who is enigmatic to a woman the Greeks can comprehend possess want to marry um there are other people who
Would die in the Greek art also men that’s the G the GS in helenistic art they are also in other of a different kind but there’s a tradition of putting them on mostly naked mostly wounded and we ought to compare that really again tyell and that’s the next the last
Slide the Amazon the Lial figure of transition R whose world is a reversal of all that is valued by the male the male who holds the position of power in the household who needs to get along with his peers to form a state so State can exist but who wants to be
Autonomous as autonomous as possible and he doesn’t want anyone else coming into his household neither does he want to uh take take anyone from his household not a daughter not a son ideally but they have to and the Amazon myth illustrates what happens if they don’t accept
Daughters in-law and if they don’t give their daughters to someone else’s son to marry so that’s what Tyrell said in the 80s already I think think it’s still true and it fits in with the artistic depiction of Amazon is fierce we can overcome her and the the
Woman that’s wounded is beautiful is one that is marable and all the all falls into place when um yes exactly no belt no girle anymore but herac is has there um Amazon Miss to quote Teran explain the necessity to a man to a head of household for their daughter to marry by
Portraying the consequences of daughters of citizens not marrying other people outside the household that was seven to eight minutes I apologize I apologize to all of you for the rush but I felt the link between text scholarship and pictures to be important thank you so much I’m very
Um appreciate I want to know what you’re going to ask and comment thank you