A M A 
3'94 A M A 
made of the bark of trees, and their fails of cotton ; their 
hatchets of tortoife-fhells or hard ftones; their chifels, 
planes, and wimbles, of the horns and teeth of wild beads ; 
and their canoes are trees hollowed. They fpin and weave 
cotton cloth, build their houfes with wood and clay, and 
thatch them with reeds. Their arms in general are darts 
and javelins, bows and arrows, with targets of cane or 
fifn-fkins. The feveral nations are governed by their rc- 
l'pedtive chiefs or caziques. The regalia, which diftinguifh 
thefe chiefs, are a crown of parrot’s feathers, a chain of 
tiger’s teeth or claws, which hangs round the waift, and 
a wooden fword. This part of South America has hitherto 
remained unfubdued ; the original inhabitants, therefore, 
enjoy there native freedom and independence. 
AMAZO’NIUS, a name of Apollo, given him by the 
Lacedaemonians on account of the afliftance he gave them 
againft the Amazons. 
AMAZI'AB, [mxey of SEJ? ftrength, and of rv the 
Lord, Heb.i. e. the ftrength of the Lord.] A king of Judah. 
AM'AZONS, [of a priv. and a pap.] In anti¬ 
quity, a nation of female warriors, who founded an empire 
in Alia Minor, upon the river Thermodoon, along the 
coaftsof the Black Sea. They are faid to have formed a Late 
out of which men were excluded. What commerce they 
had with that fex was only with ft tan gets ; they killed 
all their male children ; and they cut off the right breads 
of their females, to make them more fit for the combat. 
From which laft circumllance it is that they are fuppofed 
to take their name, viz. from the privitive a, and pat, 0?, 
rnamvia, “ breaft,” But Dr. Bryant, in his Analylis of 
Ancient Mythology, explodes this account as fabulous ; 
and obferves, that in general they were Cuthite colonies 
from Egypt and Syria, who formed fettlements in differ¬ 
ent countries, and that they derived their name from zon, 
“ the fun,” which was the national object of worfhip. 
Vol. iff. p. 463. It has indeed been controverted even 
among ancient writers, whether ever there really were 
Inch a nation as that of the Amazons. Strabo,- Palepha- 
tus, and others deny it. On the contrary, Herodotus, 
Paufanias, Diodorus Siculus, Trogus Pompeus, Juftin, 
Pliny, Mela, Plutarch, See. exprefriy affert it. 
M. Petit, a French phyfician, publiftied a Latin difier- 
tation in 1685, t0 prove that there really was a nation of 
Amazons. It contains abundance of Curious inquiries 
relating to their habit, their arms, the cities built by 
them, &c. Others of the moderns alfo maintain, that 
their exiftcnce is -fu-fficiently proved by-the teftimony 01 
fuch of the hiftorians of antiquity as are rnoft worthy of 
credit; by the monuments which many of them have 
mentioned ; and by medals, fome of which are ftill re¬ 
maining ; and that there is not the leaft room to believe 
that what is faid of them is fabulous. 
The Amazons are mentioned by the mod ancient of the 
'Greek writers. In the third book of the Iliad, Homer 
reprefents Priam fpeaking of himfelf as having been pre- 
fent, in the earlier part of his life, in a battle with the 
Amazons : and fome of them afterwards came to the 
afliftance of that prince during the fiege of Troy. Llero- 
dotus informs us, that the Grecians fought a battle with 
the Amazons on the river Thermodoon, and defeated 
them. After their viffory, they carried off all the Ama¬ 
zons they could takealivein three fhips. But, whilft they 
were out at fea, thefe Amazons confpired againft the men, 
and killed them all. Having, however, no knowledge of 
navigation, nor any (kill in the ufe of the rudder, fails, or 
•oars, they were driven by wind and tide till they ar¬ 
rived-at the precipices of the lake Maeotis, in the terri¬ 
tories of the Scythians. Here the Amazons v/ent afhore, 
and, marching into the country, feized and mounted the 
'firft horfes they met with, and began to plunder the inha¬ 
bitants. The Scythians at firft conceived them to be men; 
but after they had had fkirmjfhes with them, and taken 
fome prifoners, they difeovered them to be women. They 
were then unwilling to carry on hoftilities againft them ; 
and by degrees a number of the young Scythians formed 
connections with them, and were defirous that thefe gentle 
dames fhonld live with them as wives, and be incorporated 
with the reft of the Scythians. The Amazons agreed to 
continue their connection with their Scythian lnifbands, 
but refufed to affociate with the reft of the inhabitants of 
the country, and efpecially with the women of it. They’ 
afterwards prevailed upon their hufbands to retire to 
Sarmatia, where they fettled. “ Hence,” fays Herodotus, 
“the wives of the Sarmatians ftill continue their ancient 
way of living. They hunt on horfeback in the company 
of their hufbands, and fometimes alone. They march 
with their armies, and wear the fame drefs with the men, 
The Sarmatians ufe the Scythian language, but corrupted 
from the beginning, becaufe the Amazons never learned 
to fpeak correctly. Their marriage's are attended with 
this circumftance : no virgin is permitted to marry till 
flic has killed an enemy in the field; fo that fome always 
grow old before they can qualify themfelves as the law 
requires.” 
Diodorus Siculus fays, “ There was formerly a nation 
who dwelt near the river Thermodoon, which was fub- 
jedted to the government of women, and in which the 
women, like men, managed all the military affairs. Among 
thefe female warriors was one, who e^belled the reft in 
ftrength and valour. She affembled together an army of 
women, whom fhe trained up in military difcipline, and 
fubdued fome of the neighbouring nations. After-wards, 
having by her valour increafed her fame, (lie led her army 
againft the reft ; and, being fuccefsful, fhe was fo puffed 
up, that fhe ftyled herfelf the daughter of Mars, and or-' 
dered the men to fpin wool, and do the work of the wo¬ 
men within doors. She alfo made laws, by which the wo¬ 
men were enjoined to go to the wars, and the men to be 
kept at home in a fervile ftate, and employed in the mean- 
eft offices. They alfo debilitated the arms and thighs of 
thofe male children who were born to them, that they 
might be thereby rendered unfit for war. They feared 
the right breafts of their girls, that they might be no hin¬ 
drance to them in fighting: from whence they derived 
the name of Amazons. Their queen, having become ex-, 
tremely eminent for fkill and knowledge in military affairs, 
at length built a large city at the mouth of the river Ther- 
modoon, and adorned it with a magnificent palace. In 
her enterprizes file exactly adhered to military difcipline 
and good order; and fhe added to Iter empire all the ad¬ 
joining nations, even to the river Tanais. Having per¬ 
formed thefe exploits, fhe at laft ended her days like a, 
hero, falling in a battle in which fhe had fought coura- 
geoufty. She was fucceeded in the kingdom by her daugh¬ 
ter, who imitated the valour of her mother, and in fome 
exploits excelled Iter. She caufed the girls from their 
very infancy to be exercifed in hunting, and to be daily 
trained Up in military exercifcs. She inftituted folemn 
feftivals and facrifices to Mars and Diana, which were 
named Tauropoli. She afterwards carried her arms be¬ 
yond the river Tanais, and fubdued all the people of thofe 
regions, even unto Thrace. Returning then with a great 
quantity of fpoiis into her ownkingdojn, flic caufed mag¬ 
nificent temples to be erected to the deities before-men¬ 
tioned ; and fhe gained the love of her fubjefts by her 
mild and gentle government. She afterwards undertook 
an expedition againft thofe who were on the other fide of 
the river, and fubjefted to her dominion a great part of 
Afi'a, extending her arms as far as Syria.” 
Diodorus alf'o mentions another race of Amazons who 
dwelt in Africa; and whom he fpeaksof as beingof great¬ 
er antiquity than thofe who lived near the river Therino- 
doon, and is unqueftionably the race of people fpoken of 
by Pigafetta, as bordering on Sofala and Monomotapa. 
“ In the weftern parts of Libya (fays he), upon the borders 
of thofe tracts that are habitable, there v as anciently a 
nation tinder the. government of women, and whofe man¬ 
ners and mode of living w'ere altogether different from 
ours. It was the cuftom of thefe women to manage ail 
military affairs; and, for a certain time, during which 
2 they 
