The Origins of the Name Amazons

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Amazons, a tribe of formidable female warriors first described in Greek literature. They appear in the Homeric epics and were described by Herodotus, and featured prominently in the decoration of Greek vases and public buildings. In later centuries, particularly in the Renaissance, the Amazons became a popular theme of literature and art. After the discovery of the New World, the largest river in South America was named the Amazon, since the warlike tribes inhabiting the river's margins reminded Spanish pioneers of the warriors of classical myth.

With:

Paul Cartledge A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge University

Chiara Franceschini Teaching Fellow at University College London and an Academic Assistant at the Warburg Institute

Caroline Vout University Senior Lecturer in Classics and Fellow and Director of Studies at Christ's College, Cambridge.

Producer: Thomas Morris.