Amazon Assignment

You may think the Amazons have nothing to do with our course, but you would be wrong. The Amazons are named for a Greek Myth that the Europeans thought was true!

You might remember from the tasks of Hercules one realting to the Amazons:

"His next labor was of a more delicate kind. Admeta, the daughter of Eurystheus, longed to obtain the girdle of the queen of the Amazons, and Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go and get it. The Amazons were a nation of women. They were very warlike and held several flourishing cities. It was their custom to bring up only the female children; the boys were either sent away to the neighboring nations or put to death. Hercules was accompanied by a number of volunteers, and after various adventures at last reached the country of the Amazons. Hippolyta, the queen, received him kindly, and consented to yield him her girdle, but Juno, taking the form of an Amazon, went and persuaded the rest that the strangers were carrying off their queen. They instantly armed and came in great numbers down to the ship. Hercules, thinking that Hippolyta had acted treacherously, slew her, and taking her girdle made sail homewards."

Try re-drawing "the Amazons" based on your trip:
http://pygmalionproject.tripod.com/amazons.html

Finally, you might remember Queen Hippolyta was the Queen of the Amazons. How would the play differ if she had been a real indigenous person from the Amazons.

Perhaps the other great mystery for the arriving Europeans that had read and studied many of the texts that you have was, did the indigenous people of the Americas take the fall of man. Many believed they had not and therefore were innocent of sin, etc. What do you think? Support your claim with details from Amazonian beliefs.