I have often mentioned the Scythians in my comments on King Kevin’s blog. At one time the mere mention of their name was enough to evoke terror across most of Europe and parts of Asia. Scholars argue about where they originated but during the 5th and 4th they occupied the plains of southern Ukraine which are still dotted with their burial mounds.

What makes the Scythians so fascinating is that a fifth of the female burials have been found to be accompanied by bows, arrows, and armour. The existence of such women was rather disturbing for the patriarchal society of ancient Greece, and Greek storytellers (presumably male) spun tales of how these wild women burnt off their right breasts, in order to pull back a bowstring.

Personally I think this is rubbish, all they needed was a chest guard which is what women (and some men!) use nowadays in archery. There is a word, still in the medical lexicon today, which indicates an absence of breasts: amazia. The Ancient Greeks therefore called the warrior women Amazons. The Amazons worshipped Artemis, goddess of hunting because of her associations with war and the bow.

The Amazon features on the right in the picture below:
amazons