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Summary
Summary
A deeply researched and sweeping history that redefines our understanding of the Amazons and their culture, tracking the ancient legend into the modern world and examining its significance today.
Since the time of the ancient Greeks we have been fascinated by accounts of the Amazons, an elusive tribe of hard-fighting, horse-riding female warriors. Equal to men in battle, legends claimed they cut off their right breasts to improve their archery skills and routinely killed their male children to purify their ranks.
For centuries people believed in their existence and attempted to trace their origins. Artists and poets celebrated their battles and wrote of Amazonia. Spanish explorers, carrying these tales to South America, thought they lived in the forests of the world's greatest river, and named it after them. In the absence of evidence, we eventually reasoned away their existence, concluding that these powerful, sexually liberated female soldiers must have been the fantastical invention of Greek myth and storytelling. Until now.
Following decades of new research and a series of groundbreaking archeological discoveries, we now know these powerful warrior queens did indeed exist. In Searching for the Amazons, John Man travels to the grasslands of Central Asia--from the edge of the ancient Greek world to the borderlands of China--to discover the truth about the truth about these women whose legend has resonated over the centuries.
Author Notes
John Man is a historian specializing in Asia and the nature of leadership. John's books have been published in over twenty languages around the world and include bestselling biographies of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Attila the Hun, as well as histories of the Great Wall of China and the Mongolian Empire. He lives in England.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this work, inspired by the superhero Wonder Woman, historian and travel writer Man (Saladin) delves into the rich historical foundations undergirding the myth of the Amazons. The result is a quirky if uneven book. Man wonders, "What on earth was so appealing about the Amazons that Greeks should have been obsessed by them?" Why has that obsession endured to this day? To answer, Man explores fashion, symbolism, and the factual history of the Amazons. In the first part of the book, he recounts archeological excavations with the zeal of a field researcher, discussing the discovery of remains of warrior women from Scythia in the late 19th century and other significant finds that followed in the 20th century. Man then shows how the Amazon myth seeped into the art, literature, and popular culture of the Greeks and subsequent Western societies over hundreds of years. The chapters on female warriors in West Africa and female Soviet pilots in WWII are presented as examples of Amazonian symbolism, though exactly how they fit isn't explained. After a brief history of Wonder Woman, Man concludes with an account of an online search for modern Amazons, discovering the revolutionary Kurdish Women's Defense Units in Rojava, Syria. Man's breezy style is engaging, but it's no substitute for a deeper engagement with the subject. Illus. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
The land of the Amazons has been shrouded in mystery for thousands of years. Who were these women, rumored to live in a land with no men, who so terrorized the imaginations of the ancients? In this exceptional book, Man uncovers the hidden history of women warriors, citing evidence of skilled horsewomen from tribes in the grasslands of central Asia that shows there's more to the Amazon legend than myth alone. Crucially, he outlines why the tales of Amazons were so important to the Greeks, and sets the record straight when it comes to the more outlandish accounts (no, they did not cut off their breasts so they could shoot better from a bow). His book offers a fascinating, rich look at real-life Amazons and warrior women throughout history, from the time of the Greeks to the creation of Wonder Woman, ranging from Asia to Africa to America. Man is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, and he's not afraid to have a little fun at the ancients' expense while still maintaining scholarly standards.--Thoreson, Bridget Copyright 2017 Booklist
Table of Contents
Map: The Realms of the Amazons | p. viii |
Introduction: Changing Myths, Emerging Truths | p. xi |
1 A Legend and Its Meaning | p. 1 |
2 Close Encounters of the Scythian Kind | p. 29 |
3 A Short Chapter on Breasts | p. 43 |
4 Treasures in Bone and Gold | p. 51 |
5 The Ice Maiden | p. 79 |
6 Sarmatians: The Roots of the Legend | p. 93 |
7 The Return of the Mounted Archer | p. 105 |
8 Amazonia: From Dreams to a New Reality | p. 123 |
9 A Painting, Two Plays and a Suicide | p. 159 |
10 The Amazons of 'Black Sparta' | p. 191 |
11 Amazons with Wings: Russia's Night Witches | p. 213 |
12 Wonder Woman: The Secret Origins of an Amazon Princess | p. 241 |
Epilogue: Halfway to Amazonia | p. 263 |
Bibliography | p. 275 |
Acknowledgements | p. 281 |
Picture Acknowledgements | p. 283 |
Index | p. 285 |