According to some ancient sources, Penthesilea was the daughter of Ares (the blood-thirsty god of war). She was a skilled warrior who fought as valiantly as any Greek hero, and indeed she proved her prowess on the battlefield on many occasions. However, it was Penthesilea's ability as a fierce fighter that got her into trouble. Apparently, the heroine accidentally killed another Amazon - Hippolyta - during a particularly brutal conflict. Penthesilea then requested that Priam, the king of Troy, purify her of this blood-guilt.

In return for this purification, Penthesilea later came to the assistance of Priam. After the death of great Trojan hero Hector, the king of Troy was without a champion - so Penthesilea joined the battle and fought on the side of the Trojans. She again demonstrated her remarkable abilities as a warrior during this brutal ordeal. In the end, however, Penthesilea was defeated by the Greek hero Achilles.

At this point, the story takes an intriguing turn. It is said that as Achilles fought with Penthesilea, he fell madly in love with the beautiful Amazon queen. As she died, Achilles was overcome with emotion. This poignant scene was a favorite subject for ancient artists (especially vase painters).

Penthesilea routed the Greeks until she and the Trojans confronted Achilles and Ajax. Ajax fought the Trojans, leaving the Amazons to Achilles. Angered by her "pride", Achilles speared Penthesilea, then dragged her off her horse. Only when he removed her helmet did the hero realize her beauty. This account is more descriptive of his anger when Thersites mocks him; according to Schwab, "With his bare fist he struck Thersites on the cheek so hard that his teeth flew out of his mouth, a stream of blood gushed from his throat, and he doubled up on the ground and breathed his last." This account claims that the body of the Amazon queen was burned before the walls of Troy by Priam, with the bodies of twelve other women who also died in battle.

Another modern account is less flattering of Achilles. In Robert Graves' landmark text Greek Myths, he states that not only did the hero fall in love with the dead Amazon, he also commited necrophilia upon her body. Another variation between this account and that of Schwab is their depiction of Penthesilea's death. After Achilles kills Thersities, Diomedes is enraged and drags Penthesile a's body along the banks of the Scamander river. However, Graves states that the body was rescued and buried along the banks of the river, either by Achilles or the Trojans.

However, the details of these stories are unimportant. What is meaningful for the purpose of this essay is how the Amazon Penthesilea is depicted. Again, a strong woman unafraid of battle, men or death, is defeated by a Greek hero. More interestingly, after her death she is seen as a woman, not a warrior, and this is the point at which Achilles falls in love with her. In death, she is no longer threatening, but falls within the normal behavior patterns of women: she is silent and still, not upsetting the usual masculine order.

URL:

http://www.loggia.com/myth/penthesilea.html + http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/snideramazons/fact_fiction.html