Amazon's

[nona]

So I'm wandering the library shelves and come across Lynn Wilde's non fiction book On the Trail of the Women Warriors. I read it in one night the amount of info sparked an interest in me on the women who supposedly were 'man-killers', who fought like men in armor and stood proud. I could go on and on about what I learned but now I want to find more on these amazing tribes of women, anyone have some suggestions?

[Amanda]

No suggestions.....but its funny your mention this! Just a few hours ago, my husband asked me about the Amazonian women (as an offshoot of telling me a story about having seen what he thought were the Australian netball team at a coffee shop near his work). So I told him about Eleanor of Aquitaine and her girlie friends trooping into one of the Crusader cities bare breast Amazon style!

[Madeleine]

Sorry but I'm a stickler about apostrophes - no apostrophe in Amazons!

[nona]

my bad, I thought there shouldn't be one but for some reason I added it, sorry.

[Leo62]

A couple of fiction suggestions:

The Last of the Amazons by Stephen Pressfield

The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Firebrand is actually about the Trojan Wars but features the Amazons fairly prominently.

:)

[annis]

A group of latter-day Amazonian female warriors also make an appearance in Robert Low's "White Raven". the third novel in his "Oathsworn" series.

[Madeleine]

my bad, I thought there shouldn't be one but for some reason I added it, sorry.

Forgiven!:)

[annis]

I thought I was the only person left who cringes at the sight of an apostrophe used to indicate the plural instead of the possessive - I guess eventually it will become so common that it will become accepted usage, if it hasn't already happened :( (Not intending to get at you personally, Nona, btw- it's a general custom these days, and no wonder people get confused about it.)

Just remembered Mary Renault's "Bull From The Sea", which recreates the Greek myth concerning Theseus's love for Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons, and his reign as king of Athens.

[Madeleine]

there are some movements here in the UK to try to define the proper use of the apostrophe - myself and a friend are a bit obsessed and my friend almost sent back something she'd bought as she noticed the apostrophe had been misplaced on the packaging! And lately some street names eg St John's Road, have been replaced with the apostrophe taken out, but people are hoping to get in reinstated, so it's not quite doomed yet. Just another lazy attempt at dumbing down grammar to save people having to learn it in the first place.

[chuck]

Nona...A couple years ago I saw a interesting program about a woman Anthropologist/Archaeologist who was trying to find the legendary Amazons.... She travelled to Inner/Outer Mongolia....Stumbled upon some ancient grave sites(with permission from authorities)took ancient DNA samples...She ended up interviewing and doing some DNA samples testing on a few light skinned, pale eyes and light haired young women Nomads who were excellent and very proficient on horseback....It might have been on the National Geographic, History Channel, or Discovery Channel.....Try Googling about...Good Luck....

[nona]

thanks Chuck I'll do a search to see what I can find. I know Lynn Wildes non fiction book on Amazons she stated that Mongolian women from the steppes are the most like Amazons compared to other people. They found large grave sites where the women were buried with weapons, jewelry, pottery, a few with horses and men in the fetal positon holding childern as if they were servants. Rather interesting if I might say so. She also said the graves were mostly found just north of the Black Sea and the modern day area of Turkey.

[chuck]

I'm sure she is the person in the series.....Good luck on your new quest.....

[Eigon]

I've been to a couple of Lyn Webster Wilde's writing classes (she's very good). She said that the Amazons book was really a labour of love - something she felt she had to write.

[Ash]

BTW may I rant. If I read 'Amazon's' I think the thread is about something that Amazon owns. Apostrophes are for possession, not plurals. Im not a big grammarian but this one lately has really gotten my goat. Excuse me now while I chase those darn kids off my lawn.