to be feared

Amazons

  • mythological race of women

  • Lived in eastern borders of Greece

  • Society ran by women

    • these women farmed, hunted, and fought alongside male allies

  • Once a year, amazons visited tribe of men to get pregnant

    • female babies were kept, and male babies were sent back to male tribe

  • Removed right boobie so they could throw a spear easier

    • rejected femininity

  • Amazonomachy frieze on Bassae frieze

    • war between Amazons & Greeks

    • Defeated by Greeks

  • Penthesilea joined Trojan war due to wanting to die because she accidentally killing her sister Hippolyta, so instead of killing herself, she wanted to die a glorious death

  • Achilles kills her and then falls in love with her dead body

Camilla

  • Volscian princess

  • Fought against Aeneas

  • Virgil portrays Camilla as feminine

  • Writes that mothers in surrounding towns longed for Camilla to marry their sons

  • Her downfall is caused by the armour of another warrior (Arruns)

    • it was gold and decorated with purple

    • Displays feminine lack of self control

  • Arruns takes advantage of her distraction & throws his spear, killing her

Medea & Jason

  • Jason embarked on Golden Fleece journey as Pelias (King of Thessaly) promised his throne to Jason if he brought it back from Colchis

  • At Colchis, Aietes (King) set a challenge to plough a filed with a pair of oxen & sow the field with serpents’ teeth

    • the King expected Jason to die

  • Jason was Hera’s favourite mortal, so she made Medea, Aietes’ daughter, fall in love with him so she would help him

  • To help Jason, Medea betrays her father & country by giving Jason a charm

    • as sign of gratitude, Jason took Medea back to Thessaly & promised to marry her

  • To escape from Colchis, Medea killed her brother Apsyrtus & cut his body into pieces

    • as he was a royal, the Colchian ship was required to stop & collect the pieces

  • In Crete, Medea summoned underworld spirits to defeat Talos (a giant on the island)

  • After returning to Thessaly, King Pelias refused to give up throne, so Medea tricked his daughters into performing a ritual on Pelias to make him younger again, but they unknowingly kill him in the process

  • Medea & Jason were driven out of Thessaly by angry citizens, so seek refuge in Corinth

  • Jason wanted to be King, but Medea wanted a modest life, so he divorced her and married Glauce (princess of Corinth) to improve his position

    • In response, Medea is exiled from the city, but asks King Creon for 1 more day to put her affairs in order

    • Medea kills Glauce & Creon

      • Glauce dies by receiving a gift (a dress) that has poisonous spell on and clung to her body & burnt her flesh

      • Creon tries to help her & gets stuck onto the dress as well

    • They both die agonising deaths

  • Medea takes revenge on Jason by killing their sons & refusing Jason the right to bury them