When the conquistador Francisco Orellana was attacked by a band of female warriors deep in the heart of South America, he thought immediately of the Amazons of Greek mythology. His encounter with this group would end up inspiring the name for the river he was navigating: the Amazon. The original Amazons were said to be society of ferocious female warriors who lived at the edge of the known world. In myth the Amazons tangled with many of greatest Greek heroes. Their all-female society stood in stark contrast to the deeply patriarchal ancient Greek city states. Were these fearsome women just a product of the ancient Greek imagination, or is there some truth to their story? Tune-in and find out how improvised brigantines, casual kidnappings, and the most slept-on epic battle in Greek myth all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

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Medina José Toribio, and Bertram T. Lee. The Discovery of the Amazon: According to the Account of Friar Gaspar De Carvajal and Other Documents. Kessinger Publications, 2014.

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Yenne, Bill. Cities of Gold: Legendary Kingdoms, Quixotic Quests, and Fantastic New World Wealth. Westholme Publishing, 2020.