Amazons: The Real Warrior Women of the Ancient World By John Man Corgi, 320 pages, £9.99
Standing in the British Museum is the frieze from the temple of Apollo at Bassae, depicting men (likely Greeks) fighting women (likely Amazons). As it has been put together, the narrative on display looks a viable one. But, as John Man sets out, between the temple’s discovery in the 18th century and the frieze’s arrival in London, the original order of the slabs was lost. How they are currently displayed is just one of numerous possibilities. Amazons – as Man presents them here and throughout his latest book – can be trickier to interpret than might be assumed.
Man explores how Amazons are portrayed in ancient sources, and guides his readers through various significant moments for these warrior women since antiquity. This even includes a look at Wonder Woman, by whom Man himself was fascinated as a child. He regards the superhero as more “Amazonian” than even the ancient Amazons: a woman who dominated men rather than succumbing – as the Amazons invariably do – to male domination.
As for the “real” Amazons of the title, Man might be referring to the horse-riding female archers of the Steppes, the discovery of whose graves is among the rich array of topics that make up this book.