Postcolonial Amazons
Female Masculinity and Courage in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit Literature
Walter Duvall Penrose, Jr.
From Our Blog
This summer's epic blockbuster, Wonder Woman, is a feast of visual delights, epic battles, and Amazons. The young Diana, 'Wonder Woman,' is, we quickly learn, no ordinary Amazon. In fact, though she is raised by the Amazon queen Hippolyta and trained to be a formidable warrior by her aunt Antiope, both of whom are regularly featured Amazons in Greek myth, she turns out to be not an Amazon at all but a god, whom Zeus has given to the Amazons to raise.
Posted on July 27, 2017
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The Amazons of Greek legend have fascinated humans for the past 3,000 years. The Amazon women were faster, smarter, and better than men, or so claimed the Greek author Lysias: [The Amazons] alone of those dwelling around them were armed with iron, they were the first to ride horses, and, on account of the inexperience of their enemies, they overtook by
Posted on January 27, 2017
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The 2016 United States presidential election has been perhaps the most contentious contest in recent history. Some of the gendered stereotypes deployed in it, however, are nothing new. Powerful and outspoken women have been maligned for thousands of years. Ancient authors considered the political arena to be the domain of men, and chastised women who came to power.
Posted on November 7, 2016
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