Jayme E. Roberts

Dr. Deagon

Amazons/Final Project

Amazoneia

Or

The Achilles and Penthesileia Story

Intro:

The epic story of the two Thracian born, Achilles and Penthesileia, dates back to approximately 650 BC. It is a story that contains an Amazon queen, Penthesileia, and one of the most acclaimed of the Achains, Achilles. Penthesileia was the daughter of the god of war, Ares. The name Greek name “Penthesileia” is interpreted to mean “she who brings grief to the people”, or “she who makes all men mourn.” The actual story can be best understood in

Josine Blok’s chapter on Penthesileia, in which she provides an excerpt from Chrestomathia, as a summary to the episode of Achilles and Penthesileia.

“The Amazon Penthesileia, a daughter of Ares, a Thrakian by [genos], comes to the help

of the Trojans. Achilles kills her as she is acting like a hero, [aristeousan], and the

Trojans bury her. And Achilles kills Thersites because he has been abused and mocked

by him for his alleged [eroos] for Penthesilieia. A dispute arises among the Achians

over the killing of Thersites. After this Achilles sails for Lesbos, and after sacrificing

to Apollon, Artemis and Leto he is purified of the killing by Odysseus.”

(Chrestomathia II, ed. Davies) ; Blok (195).

With this epic dating as far back as it does, it is easy to understand why there is so much debate on interpreting it’s meaning. Many scholars believe in the romanticized version of this story, while others firmly argue there is no evidence in supporting this theory. When reading this there will be detailed information on Thersites, controversies presented on the romanticized version, facts enlightening Penthesileia’s femininity, and actual art work to be viewed to not only help form opinions on what one may believe, but more importantly to broaden one’s general knowledge on the story of Achilles and Penthesileia.

Thersites Role in the Achilles and Penthesileia Story:

In order to have a true understanding of Thersites’ major role as the antagonist or alter-ego of the superior protagonists within the epic story, first you must know what type of person Thersites was noted for being, and more importantly, what part he played.

Thersites was speculated for coming from a very low social standing or Blok mentions J Ebert’s thoughts, that he was originally a fallen aristocrat (202). Within Homer’s Illiad, and Arctinus Miletus’s Aethiopis, two of the oldest sources we have, Thersites was known for speaking out words that should not be spoken to heroic figures. The interesting part about his doings, are that these individuals usually listened to his palaver. Blok compares Thersites with the viducaka, the jester-like figure in Indian tradition. She goes on to reintegrate his importance by saying, “Nevertheless, he is the only one who may approach the king as an equal and address him as a friend” (205). Personally, I feel that today Thersites would be compared to a member of the press; striving to hear the juicy gossip on celebrities.

After seeing how Thersites has been viewed by others, we must also understand why Achilles acted so violently. It seems that we have been given nothing less than euphemisms when describing Achilles scandalous actions in this episode. There have been different cases that suggest that Penthesileia’s corpse was penetrated two different times; one, by Achilles, who presumed to act sexually with Penthesileia after she was dead, and secondly by Thersites who pierced her eye. Achilles morals may now be questioned why he would sexually penetrate her corpse, and why the [eroos] or love was felt for an enemy. Did he kill Thersites because he truly loved Penthesileia and could not bear to hear Achilles hurtful words which made a mockery out of this alleged love, or was his manliness being put on the line by Thersites (201)? I realize this section needs more work in order to prove the point I’m going forJ…..feeling guilt for passion for enemy or regret for killing fascinating woman………

Epic Love Story of Hollywood Motif:

In one of the earlier interpretations of Penthesileia’s death, Quintus Symrna’s book, “The Arrival, Deeds, and Death of Penthesileia the Amazon Queen, we see a very Romanized version of the story, which does not question Achille’s love for Penthesilea. In this, Penthesileia’s beauty is described in great detail. For example, the armor which Penthesileia wore into battle was given to her by the god Ares, and it said to have been worn in this manner: “First about her silvery legs she put greaves of gold, which fitted her perfectly. She then put on her dazzling breastplate, and she proudly placed about her shoulders her great sword, all in a scabbard beautifully fashioned of silver and ivory. She took up her splendid shield, in outline like the moon when over the deep-flowing Ocean stream it rises have full with curving horns; so marvelously it gleamed. On her head she put her helmet, its top covered with golden plumes” (29).

When describing how Achilles kills Penthesileia, it is pointed out that Achilles charges after her and punctures her above her right breast, allowing time for the pain to sink in. It seems after this that the question arises concerning Penthesileia’s courage, by having her contemplate if she should have her sword at hand and be ready for him, or if she should persuade Achilles to allow her to return home, since they shared many youthful experiences together (40). Maybe anyone, no matter how noble of a warrior, would face this question when approaching death, or maybe it is being suggested that Penthesileia is a fragile woman that does not match up to this powerful warrior image.

It is said that Penthesileia resembled nothing less than an immortal goddess after she was slain. At this point Achilles’ heart was filled with unbearable pain, realizing that the Amazon warrior he just killed was the only soul for him to marry, but she would now become a wife to Phthia” (40).

The reason in which many question whether or not this episode can be viewed as gloriously as it was above, is due to more than just translation issues and the conversion from an oral tradition to a fixed writing. In Islands of Women and Amazons: Representations and Realities by Batya Weinbaum, she makes reference to the social historian Kleinbaum who notes, “the first written description of the interaction was dry and terse; only later in Roman times was the whole affair romanticized as the beautiful Penthelisileia dies in the arms of the hero” (124).

The Focus of Penthesileia’s Femininity:

With every piece of limited information we find on the Amazons, the more we are able to view them as individual woman who lived along the Black Sea, rather than a group of man-hating warriors who resided far away in the east. Weinbaum describes the different ways in which we see the Amazons in the latter “Trojan Cycle Poems” compared to the earlier Homeric material. With these poems we learn the Amazons were not so barbaric. Weinbaum remarks, “Once feared as fighters, the Amazons were now loved and conquered. The barbaric raiders were humanized-dressed, made vulnerable, and softened, as well as individualized.” She emphasizes on these elements as well as others, which heighten their “beautiful femininity” (122).

Within Weinbaum’s chapter, she advances from proving that Penthesileia wants to be seen as an individual, into quoting Jung’s concept of how she, “fought to be seen as herself-not as a male projection” (125).

Art:

Often times when a duel between an Amazon and a Greek is depicted in art, the two individuals are assumed to be Achilles and Penthesileia. A few ways in which we are able to tell for certain that the depicted figure is Achilles rather than another Greek warrior is the weapon he carries; a spear. The majority of the limited artwork we have often times will be that including Herakles as the Greek warrior. To be definite that we are viewing Achilles instead of Herakles, we must remember that Herakles often times exhibits a sword or club, and he is portrayed with lion skin. Also, Herakles is almost always positioned on the left and is grabbing the Amazons by the helmet crest or sometimes by the waist or throat( Blok 232).

According to H.A. Shapiro article Amazons, Thracians, and Scythians,, the first image we have which exhibits the duel between Achilles and Penthesileia at Troy dates back to approximately the 540 BC (106). Unfortunately, in the archaic are we have, there is not an extensive variety of work depicting Achilles and Penthesileia; many of the art images are almost mirror images of each other, showing one scene in which Penthesileia is on the right side kneeling down on her knee, while Achilles is on the left side plunging toward her. An example of this can be viewed at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1990.14.0093. This is a black figure, amphora shaped vase. It is dated back approximately sometime between 525 BC and 475 BC, and attributed to the British Museum in London. In this, both figures are starring into each other’s eyes, which is the pivotal moment in which all of the debate has spawn from. Achilles’ entire body is colored black, except for his eyes, which help accentuate his look into Penthesileia’s eyes. Penthesileia’s exposed face and arms are painted white. Shapiro notes in his article that often times the only way one is able to distinguish between an Amazon and their Greek opponent is by their flesh color, because they are so heavily dressed as warriors (106). Both Achilles and Penthesileia are holding spears. Achilles seems to have just penetrated his spear into Penthesileia . Penthesileia is wearing the crested helmet, and Achilles helmet seems to be quite similar. Even though Achilles appears to be standing over Penthesileia, and has stabbed her, her eyes seem to be filled with courage as she is focused straight into his stare.

It is crucial to remember that Achilles was recognized as a hero of the Trojan War. Therefore, he was most likely portrayed as wearing a shield of invincibility. Realizing that these archaic art images were configured with this in mind, Penthesileia very well may have been pictured as more vulnerable than she deserved. Also, Achilles may have been granted too much credit for his efforts in the slaying process.

The Epic’s Relevance to Amazons:

Even though this highly debated epic story of Achilles and Penthesileia seems like a small fragment of a story, it’s impact on Amazons is nothing less than remarkable. Whether or not Penthesileia is viewed as an almighty, beautiful divinity or a damsel in distress, she is viewed as an individual. We are able to break down some of the generalizing stereotypes and focus on Amazons more realistically. Regardless of the reason why Achilles was so devastated after killing Penthesileia, his reactions raise the question as to whether or not the Amazons were so disliked by the Greeks or not. Within this one skeleton-like story, we see the Amazons did in fact exhibit feminine qualities, which worked to their advantage, and only accentuated their powerfulness. Whether you want put this epic under scrutiny, or view it as one of the all time love stories from antiquity, please remember this story acts as an insightful backdrop for our understanding of the Amazon race.