Amazons
Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World
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Amazons
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Narrated by:
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Fran Tunno
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By:
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Adrienne Mayor
About this listen
Amazons - fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world - were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons.
But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China.
Mayor tells how amazing new archaeological discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons prove that women warriors were not merely figments of the Greek imagination. Combining classical myth and art, nomad traditions, and scientific archaeology, she reveals intimate, surprising details and original insights about the lives and legends of the women known as Amazons. Provocatively arguing that a timeless search for a balance between the sexes explains the allure of the Amazons, Mayor reminds us that there were as many Amazon love stories as there were war stories. The Greeks were not the only people enchanted by Amazons - Mayor shows that warlike women of nomadic cultures inspired exciting tales in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Central Asia, and China.
Driven by a detective's curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men. The result is likely to become a classic.
©2014 Adrienne Mayor (P)2014 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Amazons
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-01-17
Excellent
What did you like most about Amazons?
Excellent material for anyone interested in the historical and mythological aspects on Amazons. It is probably one of the most thorough pieces of material on the subject today. Highly recommend.
What did you like best about this story?
The narration is very pleasant as a bonus.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nicola
- 08-12-14
Getting to know The Amazons
Would you consider the audio edition of Amazons to be better than the print version?
This is not better than the print version as there are lots of references in the text to pictures in the book that the listener doesn't get to see.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I loved the stories of the Amazons in myth and legend
What aspect of Fran Tunno’s performance might you have changed?
Probably the accent was too pronounced and the pronunciation of some words disracted from the message
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The life and loves of warrior women
Any additional comments?
I realy enjoyed the experience of this book . I would have got more out of it if I'd had a map and the picture plates available.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- RS
- 19-09-24
Interesting, thorough book
This book covers a lot of ground! The book is organised well, with chapters covering specific topics that interlink to create a rich and detailed story. It's a shame there's no accompanying document to see the pictures the text refers to. It's also a shame the chapters aren't titled to allow you to navigate to related chapters when they're cross referenced.
I wasn't a big fan of the narrator - not hugely engaging and has some really forced intonation and cadence. There are also some avoidable pronunciation errors as well which distract from the story.
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