Search

The article discusses the prominence of the Amazon women warriors in classical mythology and art, characterized by the Greek orator Lysias as daughters of the god of war, Ares, and described by the poet Homer as equal to men. The author notes the appearance of Amazons on art objects as early as a votive object dating to 700 BCE. The dress, armaments, and appearance of the depicted women warriors are described, as well as their roles in myths dealing with the hero Hercules and the exploits of the Amazon queen Hippolyta and her sister Penthesilea.

The article discusses the symbolic and practical roles of elephants in antiquity. The Greeks' first live encounter with Indian elephants came with military leader Alexander the Great's battle at Gaugamela, Iraq, where his troops faced the armed animals in 331 BCE. Elephants subsequently sent home to Greece as booty inspired their detailed study by the philosopher Aristotle. The use of African elephants as war weapons is traced through the Romans' Battle of Tarentum in 279 BCE and the animals' use by Carthaginian generals Hanno and Hannibal and by the Roman general Pompey against his rival Julius Caesar. Ancient artistic representations of elephants and their appearance in ancient heraldry and numismatics are depicted.