Were These Mythical Warriors Real? What New Discoveries Reveal | Fate & Fabled

[@douglasphillips5870]

I've also heard the Scithians,because of their horsemanship ,were an inspiration for the centaurs. So the men were centaurs and the women were amazons

[@donnguyen1107]

Or even centauresses as there are mentions of a centaur husband and wife in the centauromachy who came to the lapith wedding but got killed in the chaos

[@draco_1876]

I like to think these warriors were like modern day mma fighters or boxers. They were probably the best fighters but overtime their stories got exaggerated and they became superhuman.

[@R.Merkhet]

Agreed, it's about PR and semantics IMHO.

[@BlueberryBatter]

Oh, definitely agree. There’s a kernel of truth in nearly all myths. For most of human history, we didn’t have writing, we had oral traditions. The best storytellers were the ones who acted as living books, and storytelling requires embellishments. Tack on literally thousands of years, and you wind up with, well…myths.

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

It does help that MMA resembles the ancient Greek pankration.

[@CloudyMusik12]

Patroclus making his debut here on the stage, here he is waving... BY ARES ITS HECTOR WITH THE STEEL CHAIR WHATS THIS? ACHILLES IS STRICKEN WITH GRIEF OVER THE DEATH OF HIS TEAMMATE? HE'S DRAGGING HECTOR AROUND THE RING

[@Jerry-yr1en]

Hercules was probably an ancient strongman probably like Eddie hall

[@VTimmoni]

So excited to see the Scythian wartior women show up here. It's such a rich and interesting culture that is under-explored.

[@bectionaryadams8046]

I love the current thinking that they were Scythian horse nomads, they're sequencing DNA of these burials and finding a high number of women with typical signs of fighting like larger shoulder muscles (archery maybe) and leg muscles, bowing of the legs (from basically living in the saddle) and healed fractures of regular fighters. I can see how this travelled to places like Greece and became the myth of the Amazons

[@rhondahuggins9542]

As always, humans not only fear what they don't understand...they are envious of 'the other's' successes. Imagine a Greek soldier being bested by not only a Sythian soldier, but a woman, as well?! The audacity😮

[@bruhgerramly]

What do you mean bested? Is that what you want to hear? Have you been watching too much femdom porn or what? You thought women were superior to men in EVERY fking way? Why the need to think of that? It helps make you sleep better at night?

[@ExoticFireGirl]

As a Thracian and euroasian it’s so nice to be seen by one of my favorite channels. Also good job explaining amazone history.

[@sharlharmakhis280]

honestly I thought the 'removed breasts' thing was just clueless Greeks misinterpreting Scythian women binding their breasts (ancient sports-bras!)

[@lbjcb5]

I love how much fun you two seem to be having while making these excellent videos. 😊❤

[@ethenallen1388]

It occurs to me just how much this sounds like J.R.R. Tolken's Lord of the Rings Kingdom of Rohan and its Shieldmaiden, Eowyn. Probably not qualifying as nomadic, Rohan was still very much about horses and did train their women to fight. The big difference, of course, is that Eowyn actually won against her enemy and lived to settle down and get married.

[@pattheplanter]

You didn't mention that Scythian fashion was many-coloured and had gorgeous detailed patterns and that they invented trousers.

[@GravesRWFiA]

well yeah...but Xena was really a Cylon. Laurel Hamilton expounded that the 'breast removal' story was a way to make the amazon's less feminine in the telling- gee they're tough but it's only because they remove part of what identifies them as women, so they're like men"

[@safaiaryu12]

Gross. 😂

[@barrybarlowe5640]

Amazon's were a scythian tribe - one of five groups attached to tribal gods. From research, they offered training and refuge to abused women. They went to war right alongside their men. With the other Scythians they dispersed partway through conquering of Persia. The Scythians were the origin of metal working.

[@toomanyopinions8353]

Source?

[@safaiaryu12]

"Wait, don't I also love Patroclus? Why can't these writers make up their mind?" 😂😂😂 Also, "What can those bones tell me that the weapons and my ridgid notion of gender roles can not?" SAVAGE Jokes aside, ONE-THIRD?! That's so freaking cool!! I love that modern archaeologists are going back to check their historic assumptions. I'm also always, always interested in finding the origins of the seemingly fantastic in mythology. Stories don't come out of nowhere; nothing exists in a vacuum! Fantastic episode, y'all!! ❤

[@donnguyen1107]

As for Achilles and Patroclus, remember this is ancient times, people can't keep it in their chitons to save their lives. Just ask the gods lol! They could be in love with each other but they still have other dalliances on the side, male or female. Also Achilles kills Penthesilea AFTER he lost Patroclus and killed Hector, mutilated his body in retaliation, and then relents and realizes the pain he's caused and decides to be a bit more honorable. So you can imagine him killing Penthesilea and seeing his actions repeating themselves, and in the legends he actually gives her body back to the amazons immediately. Also interestingly, one of Achilles' men calls him out for showing mercy to a woman and Achilles responds by smacking him so hard the guy dies. Also I could be wrong but I've heard some stories say Penthesilea actually kills Achilles but his mother Thetis begs Zeus to bring him back which he does, THEN Achilles kills Penthesilea

[@hinataismyrolemodel]

I really enjoyed this episode! The skits between the information were hilarious.

[@mistymarshall5438]

"Amazon" may be derived from the Persian word "ha-mazan", which means "warrior". Also there are other versions of how Amazons reproduced: one version of the Hercules' labor story depicted men tending to the children while the women competed with Herc. In that version men did live among the Amazons as husbands and fathers, but were crippled in infancy so that they would never go to war. Another version says that there was an all-male society that the Amazons would visit occasionally to copulate with. These men would keep the male babies, while the women would take the girl babies with them. This all-male tribe was called the Gargareans.

[@donnguyen1107]

Some fact checking, and I found that there are accounts from Egypt, Greece, Persia, and even China describing these similar steppe tribes with warrior women. Greeks called them Scythians, which the Amazons would be part of/inspired by, the Persians called them the Saka, and the Chinese called them the Xiongnu (which served as inspiration for the Huns in Disney's Mulan as they are suggested to be related). And get this, there's also another steppe group known as the Xianbei that is also thought to be the same ethnicity as the Xiongnu and both being considered ancestors to the Mongols, with the Xianbei likely having women warriors and riders and founding the Northern Wei Dynasty, which is where the original Mulan ballad takes place and was prob inspired by.

[@ecurewitz]

I’m hoping one of your future Pantheon Picks will be Kali, because she is an absolute badass

[@miseentrope]

I'm hoping for Durga

[@ecurewitz]

@@miseentrope Kali is more hardcore

[@donnguyen1107]

I’d LOVE to see what you have to say on the several variations and origins behind the legend of Mulan. In Vietnamese history we also have the military leaders the Trung Sisters and the resistance leader Lady Trieu (who unlike Amazon legends is said to have 3 foot long full breasts that she can actually whip, mace and club people with)

[@kairinase]

Be careful about searching for female warriors of China... I once stumbled upon a story of 3 female warriors dubbed "The Fallen Flowers" who was brutally executed by a warlord in Ancient China. Mulan might be great, but the credit for true female warriors who fought against tyranny should go to to these women, cause they endured the humiliation and suffered painful death for their cause. Anyway, it's supposed to be a true story, but I gave up searching cause the story took a wild turn, from being historical to smut.

[@donnguyen1107]

Yea you know the phrase "you'll never take me alive?" a number of warriors male and female take that to heart by killing themselves rather than face capture or humiliation. There's also the saying"death before dishonor" associated with the marines@@kairinase

[@rueburch2856]

I love how critical this series has become (and the humor used to deliver that message). Since I often use these videos for educational purposes, that really helps foster discussion of issues such as gender roles and biases.

[@NaritaZaraki]

Another excellent episode and I am LIVING for the reenactments!! 🤣

[@bruhgerramly]

You love misandry too?

[@korvatusklok4059]

The story of the Amazon's remind me of an old saying. " Hell hath no fury like a woman scorn. "

[@tecpaocelotl]

Another note, California, is named of the Amazon's homeland in the book The Adventures of Esplandian.

[@dunkel429]

Love that this whole thing was delivered with a healthy dose of verbal and physical eye roll 😁

[@bigmagictent]

PLEASE create a video on Metis of Greek Mythology, she's so fascinating

[@mattiarenzi5673]

I think this episode just became my favourite. You gals took a stand for all of us on multiple occasions in the script, I love you both ❤

[@PadraigG8]

"Why can't these writers just make up their minds?" They can and they did tho. They made up their minds that Achilles was a slut.

[@kingrix]

They also seem to have made up their minds that Achilles was bi. Why does it have to be either Patroclus or Hippolyta? Why not both?

[@pattheplanter]

@@kingrix Because Hippolyta was dead? That is not OK.

[@kingrix]

@@pattheplanter Neither was killing her. However the implication in the video and the comment above was that the quibble is in regard to Achilles sexual oreintation, not the morality of his attraction to a dead woman.

[@nocturnus009]

I’m currently enjoying John Truby’s Anatomy of Genre. The Myth chapter is illuminating. The Female Myth (as complement to the popular male) brings the fire. So much to cogitate on & experiment in my storytelling. This video is THE PERFECT way to culminate NaNoWriMo. 🏹🎯

[@kingrix]

Why is Achilles falling in love with Hippolyta an issue? Sure his relationship with Patroclus is pretty queer-coded, but that doesn't prevent him from being bisexual.

[@TreeHairedGingerAle]

Or polyamorous! 😄

[@mikakestudios5891]

Now i want an off the wall Ouran Highschool retelling of Troy.

[@marlonmoncrieffe0728]

Leftists do not like bisexuals or heterosexuals.

[@safaiaryu12]

I'd assume something like bisexual, since most Greek men were expected to be. However, in Storied's defense, the whole point of the Iliad is that Achilles was refusing to fight, and the ONLY reason he rejoined the war was because Patroclus was killed. So maybe they're pointing out that it's a little weird that he's fighting Penthesilea because of his love for Patroclus, only to fall in love with her? Alternatively, they're just making a joke and lampshading #Patrochilles.

[@armelior4610]

I think it's more the necrophilia, since he fell in love AFTER he killed her

[@Reihanism73]

As a Persian, I am very happy to learn more about the Scythian warriors! I once talked to a Greek friend of mine, and he mentioned how truly inspiring yet terrifying was it for the ancient Greeks to encounter these powerful women.

[@SquirrelGrrl]

I’ve always loved Amazons! I remember watching about the Amazon relation to Scythians years ago on PBS!

[@thomasdevine867]

The Amazon title comes from the fact that practical armor for women would hide their breasts. Thus, the women warriors were "breastless" because their breasts were hidden. They didn't cut them off.

[@Caterfree10]

Tbh I wonder if the cut off their breast trope was actually true or if historical Amazons actually just had breast flattening armor the way women archers sometimes have in the modern day. :Va

[@johnmccarron7066]

I'm inclined to think this is more likely the case.

[@edcrichton9457]

Really depends on your bow technique if it is even necessary. Besides good armor handles any chest binding needed.

[@vikingskuld]

I have seen women shoot bows my whole life not one ever had to flatten their chest or wear some kind of binder to shoot a bow. It's rather absurd to think that. Aside from that the armor comment was spot on. Armor itself will give the chest the appearance of not having breasts. So I can see why the Greeks would have thought the women didn't have breasts.

[@pattheplanter]

It was purely folk etymology as mentioned in the video. Someone tried to understand the word Amazon as if it were a Greek word. It may be related to the ancient Persian word hamazakaran - to make war.

[@shaider1982]

I was thinking how female archers shot arrows without hitting their breasts. Thanks for the info.

[@shaider1982]

Kurgan sounds like something from an old movie about immortals.

[@kairinase]

"There can be only one!"

[@youremakingprogress144]

Achilles could certainly fall in love with Hippolyta while still being in love with Patroclus.

[@pattheplanter]

Especially as they would not be dating, hopefully, with her being dead and all.

[@safaiaryu12]

​@@pattheplanterI mean, by that point Patroclus is dead, too, so...

[@pattheplanter]

@@safaiaryu12 So, you are saying Achilles had a type?

[@MWhaleK]

Maybe cover Scáthach next?

[@JgleJne]

I absolutely love these ladies! They are awesome! 😊

[@jankay8569]

Please keep these coming.

[@helenaprudenciado4388]

Filipino women in the precolonial Philippines used to fight like warriors and were treated as companions by men but during wars and rebellions against foreign power, they fight alongside men.

[@rhutabaga420]

Loved this, thanks for your hard work!

[@Jay-ql4gp]

This was excellent, thank you!

[@pendragon2012]

Stabbed her so hard you bent your spear? LOL, good video as always, ladies!

[@NB-zm2lx]

As a Swiss person I very much enjoyed hearing about Bachofen, not many people have "baking oven" as a family name!

[@erinrising2799]

loved the little skits, you all seemed to be having so much fun

[@naomiwright4895]

I liked this episode very very much thank you. ❤

[@lilbasenji1]

Wow this is so interesting!!!! It’s amazing to know that the idea of female warriors that defy the idea that only men could be warriors. I was never into comic superheroes, but I played The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and in that game there is a race of female warriors called Gerudos who are led by a male leader who is born every hundred years. While they are more like the fictional depiction of Amazonians it’s cool to think that there is a grain of truth even for a fictional video game race that is based on fictional race of women. Go girl power.

[@safaiaryu12]

Super hated that the Gerudo were led by their "one male child" in OoT, but I guess Ganondorf had to have an origin story. At least Nabooru wasn't blindly loyal! I'm having trouble getting into the gameplay of Breath of the Wild (the lack of direction is stupidly overwhelming to my anxiety 😢) but I love the characters, especially the Gerudo. I love that they're ACTUALLY matriarchal this time, and I love that Urbosa specifically says that she wants to take down Ganon partially because she resents the story that Ganon came from the Gerudo. (That quote might have come from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, but still.)

[@bruhgerramly]

Not only men could be warriors, while that can be true, some brainwashed idiots would think they are superior to men in every way and combat, completely ignoring biology to wank off to the idea of female dominance. Or they've just been watching too much femdom porn

[@insulaarachnid]

This was really interesting. Whenever I hear Kurgan or Scythian I immediately think, Kurgan (Highlander) and Scythian ( Andromache of Scythia - The Old Guard). I like hearing about the real history more.

[@davidsoule8401]

You two must NOT stop this tom-foolery! It’s f**king brilliant!

[@angrypossumsx1259]

There was an incredible find back in the late 1980s of a perfectly preserved Scythian woman buried with armour, weapons, horse and chariot that was featured in Nat Geo magazine. She was in such good condition that the fine tattoos on her arms were clearly visible. This discovery was extremely rare sadly, as most of the Kurgans in the area had been looted long ago.

[@ibrav7979]

Spill more please

[@larsdg7048]

5:39 - "There can be only ONE!"

[@Peecamarke]

Great vid! 👍🏿

[@nedludd7622]

In the early 20th century, British writer Robert Graves also maintained that earlier societies were matriarchal and that the important gods were goddesses. It is found in his book "The White Goddess" among others.

[@EayuProuxm]

4:23 Damn, Penthesilea must have had abs of steel if they could bend Achilles's spear after being stabbed.

[@rouenrobinson]

Great theatrical reinterpretations aka re-enactments 👏🏾

[@annefoley6950]

Amazonian women may well have been equal to their men, but when your enemy is the Ancient Greeks and their love of war, that seems like a harsh lot in life.

[@chriscarlisle5676]

Highlander would definitely be a little different if the Kurgan was a girl lol

[@R.Merkhet]

She'd have done in McCleod their first meeting.

[@kairinase]

It would be like Hancock... They stop being powerful and immortal.

[@kated3165]

I'm not surprised at all! If there's something which defines our species its how adaptive we are!

[@kristinaboylan4320]

Excellent! I'll be using this video and citing Adrienne Morgan in my next Gender Issues on World History class!

[@tenebrousoul9368]

I picture a city of Boudiccas

[@pattheplanter]

More like Cartimanduas. The Amazons did not all fail spectacularly at their first proper battle like Boudicca. Artemisia I of Caria was another successful commander of military campaigns.

[@tenebrousoul9368]

@@pattheplanter thank you for taking the time to educate me. I had never heard of either, unfortunately. You didn't have to, yet you did. So, thank you, stranger. Much appreciated.

[@pattheplanter]

@@tenebrousoul9368 My pleasure.

[@R.Merkhet]

Mad spear and double gladius skills!

[@ibrav7979]

Great video!

[@natmorse-noland9133]

Tatted up, weed smoking, horse riding warrior women? Hell yeah, sign me up!

[@Facetiously.Esoteric]

There are still Amazonians in Siberia and Mongolia. The girls still ride, fight, and hunt. Even hunting with giant eagles. I watched a video years ago of an archeologist who went and visited a tribe of nomads. Amazonian descendents, some had blue eyes, red hair, and an epicanthal fold.

[@marlonmoncrieffe0728]

Ooh, have you seen 'The Eagle Huntress,' set in Mongolia?

[@safaiaryu12]

​@@marlonmoncrieffe0728That was such a cool film!!

[@Facetiously.Esoteric]

@@marlonmoncrieffe0728 Yep

[@thistle9080]

4:25 Hahahaha!!! If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with!

[@pandoraeeris7860]

Rumor has it they lived in northern Anatolia on the coast of the Black Sea, perhaps where Sinope is now.

[@BurnRoddy]

They were very real and they were very womanly. They were married to Scythian men, they were covered in cool tattoos and looked like a cross between Asian and European. They were also excellent riders and liked gold a lot. Not much hand to hand combat but rather shooting arrows on horsebacks and they were damn good at it, just like Scythian men were, LEGENDARY good if you will. Hence why they were often hired as mercenaries.

[@windlessoriginals1150]

Thank you

[@circassianlondoner]

I highly recommend reading "Nart Sagas" by John Collarusso. Foreword written by Adrienne Mayor.

[@geogriapeach5211]

You ladies are awsome.

[@lifeofbekahh]

Xena warrior princess is one of my favorite shows 😊

[@Pottery4Life]

Thank you.

[@Loopy.Loop27]

There was also the Celts and Vikings, both of which had female warriors who fought next to the men.

[@NikitaVega]

also, before i get off my soap box. Xena is NOT an amazon. Her sidekick Gabrielle is an amazon queen but Xena is not an amazon.

[@MohamedAmineTrabelsi-in4ke]

Can you video about Stonehenge

[@AnMuiren]

💯Awesome👍🏾!!!

[@daveluna7931]

Bravo 🎉

[@slayer0235]

The guy who invented the myth about Amazons cutting off their breasts probably never touched a bow in his life.

[@NiktheGreek7]

Homer wasn't trying, he succeeded with a vengeance.

[@annonymousannonymous9586]

You didn't even mention the 'Gargareans', believed to be an all male tribe who were the neighbors of the amazons, the two tribes were said to get together once in a while for reproduction so that neither tribe would go extinct, at least that's what the legend implies.

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video well there has been plenty of women fighting in battles and wars of crossed different cultures and time periods

[@thecount1374]

Warrior Women existed in places where they also got equal rights along with men

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

4:30 I think Patroclus died already by the time the Amazons showed up to help Troy.

[@lunasophia9002]

"disease of patriarchy", I love it. Well, I hate it, but you know what i mean

[@TheSuzberry]

Having fun with scholars!,

[@jamullin97]

Y’all tell some great stories! You do a great job of making the stories come to life. My own feedback is that you really need to do a quick Google search on how to pronounce the Greek names. It was distractingly off.

[@safaiaryu12]

I noticed that, too, but I absolutely guarantee that if they pronounced names the way the ancient Greeks did, there'd be way more comments that they pronounced something wrong. Very few ancient Greek names are pronounced "correctly" in modern English. And Westerners tend to assume their pronunciation is correct without checking.

[@naomiwright4895]

"hemp burning kits?" Like were they getting stoned or making clothes? Or maybe both? 😶‍🌫️

[@oldcowbb]

ok, but was amazon prime real

[@ibrav7979]

I love how there are a lot of people in the comments pretending that misogyny didn't exist in ancient time and love how they think woke is an insult

[@123FireSnake]

Naturally matriarchal before the disease of patriarchy set in? What kind of bullshit statement is that. The veracity of the statement aside, the proposed disease taking over was a natural process as well, so the value statement is completely illogical as well

[@Dani-ix5bu]

It always bugged me that Amazons never seemed to win a fight in Greek mythology and only existed to glorify men and be “put in their place”. It’s really disappointing that such a fascinating mythology is so rooted in misogyny. It’s really nice to know that the real world is different and that the “Amazons” were treated as equals ☺️

[@bruhgerramly]

Equals... Some people believe they are superior and a raging man hater/Misandrist. Why the need to bash on men? You thought matriarchy and women are the superior gender? You thought Women is soooooo holy and innocent back then? What femdom porn stuff is this?

[@OSheaDean]

Favourite war girlies 💐

[@shadowkingdarksin3980]

damn if the amazons lived today every kid would not talk back to all moms 😅

[@afrinaut3094]

Colonizer mindsets and just narrowminded people in general, have had similar reactions to the warrior, Queens of Kush, Kandakes (Nubians) & the all female regiments of Dahomey (Fon). Really cool video, I’m so glad I learned about Scythian women, epic! Thanks PBS! 🙏🏾

[@safaiaryu12]

I'd never heard of the Kandakes! Thank you, I'm now reading several articles about them!

[@BLuddenify]

Some archaeologists now be after studying Viking remains think that as many as 10 to 20% of the Viking warriors may have been woman as well.

[@171QA]

Neat.

[@mathieuleader8601]

I like the Kuja Tribe from One Piece

[@gadaadyn8190]

Central Asian Nomadic society tend to be more equalitarian than Europe just look at Khutulun

[@BaldingClamydia]

No..the Kergen was the guy from Highlander ^.^ lol

[@parthasarathipanda4571]

If athenians see even slightly egalitarian relationship between women and men in a society, they will believe it to be a civilisation ruled by women :P

[@gigaherz_]

While the notion of the Scythians being happy to have women fight along men is really nice and gives hope for humanity's future (if people of the past could treat women well, so can we), the hobbyist fantasy writer in me wants to imagine the scythians having an all-women batallion doing surprise attacks and decimating the enemy, leading to the legends.

[@DariaJames3777]

Everytime you pronounce her name as "hippo-lite-uh" I wanna shove pencils in my ears.