The Greek myths and historians speak of Amazon “queens” and “princesses.” Some famous Amazon leaders were said to have inherited their role from their mothers, but they usually achieved acclaim and leadership because of personal qualities, then declared wars and established laws. In nomad groups described in ancient and modern historical times, leaders—some male, some female—sometimes inherited leadership from parents or spouses, but they also arose by popular agreement and group decisions were often by consensus. In other situations, an especially strong leader (male or female) acquired more autocratic power over a group or confederation. Several ancient sources described warrior queens and independent female rulers. Strabo, for example, reported that in his day the traditional Amazon lands of Pontus and Colchis were ruled by “a wise and qualified woman” named Pythodoris (30 BC-AD 38). A Circassian Nart saga about ancient heroes and heroines of the Caucasus describes a “council of the women in the olden days” made up of “wise and far-sighted older women” who discussed daily issues and established laws and customs based “on their long experience and perspicacity.” In the accounts and stories of women warriors in Central Asia (Chapters 22-24), widows, wives, or daughters of slain chieftains (or leaders incapacitated by drink) often become the head of a tribe or clan, reflecting the practices of many nomadic steppe groups.16
Greek literature and history is rife with deadly rivalries of male rulers and war champions. Rival Amazon queens or wars between groups of Amazons are rare (except for the myth of Antiope and the historical duel between Cynna and Caeria; chapters 16 And 20). The ancient sources that mention Amazonian decision making suggest discussion and consensus. For example, Herodotus recounted the give-and-t ake between the Amazons and Scythian men as they negotiated their future as the new Sarmatian tribe (chapter 3). In chapter 19’S story of the shipwrecked sailors who joined the Amazons, the Amazon leader acquiesced in a young Amazon’s request to free them. An Amazon Assembly is described in the Greek Alexander Romance (Chapter 20). The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus claimed that steppe nomads held their assemblies on horseback.17
In auls (villages of yurts) of northern Kazakhstan in the present day, women’s crucial responsibilities give them a say in local government by consensus. Women gain extra clout by being known as an ana or hewana (“mother of the tribe”), a title bestowed on widows raising children alone or mothers of seven sons), or as a kelen, a woman originally from outside the village whose exceptional abilities allow her to become a leader and organizer of the aul. Some communities are led by women because they have been recognized as “the most adept.” Women’s roles and status are determined “by pragmatism, not sexual politics.”18
World History
