Part 250: Penthesilea

PERSONA MYTHOLOGY UPDATE

Let's talk about Penthesilea.



Penthesilea was a queen of the Amazons, the fierce warrior women in Greek mythology. While she appears to be referenced frequently in Greco-Roman culture, the main source for her story is the Posthomerica, an epic poem intended to be the sequel to the Iliad written by the Greek epic poet Kointos Smyrnaios at the tail end of the classic Roman empire.

Penthesilea was the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister to Hippolyta, another famous Amazon queen. During a hunt one day, Penthesilea threw a spear at a stag, only to miss and hit Hippolyta instead, killing her immediately. In order to purify herself of her sin, Penthesilea traveled to Troy to fight for the Trojans, bringing twelve other Amazon princesses with her. She also wanted to prove to the world that Amazons were great warriors and could withstand the hardships of war.

The Amazon brigade arrived just after the Trojans had buried Hector. Witnessing the death of their greatest hero had put the morale of the Trojans at an all-time low. The appearance of these twelve fierce and beautiful warriors gave them hope. King Priam held a big feast on their behalf, at which Penthesilea boasted that she would personally kill Akhilleus. Andromache, the widow of Hector, put no faith in her words, predicting that Akhilleus would kill Penthesilea instead.

The next day, Penthesilea and her Amazons joined the battle against the Greeks. She wreaked havoc upon the ranks of the Greek and distinguished herself in battle. The Trojan women watching upon the tops of the city walls were so inspired that they decided to take up arms and join the battle, too. However, Theano, a priestess of Athene, pointed out that while the Amazons were veteran soldiers who delighted in war, the Trojan women had never learned to fight and would only get themselves slaughtered if they joined the battle. The women stood down.

Meanwhile, Penthesilea had managed to drive the Greeks all the way back to their ships. Hearing the sounds of battle growing nearer, Aias the Greater called upon his cousin Akhilleus to join the battle with him. The two heroes drove the Trojans back, with Akhilleus slaying some of the Amazons that had come with Penthesilea.

When Penthesilea saw Aias and Akhilleus, she attacked them immediately. First she fought against Aias, only for their battle to end in a draw. But then when Akhilleus faced her, he pierced her breastplate with a single thrust of his spear. Penthesilea begged for her life, but Akhilleus killed her anyway. The dude isn't exactly known for his mercy in Greek mythology.

Penthesilea's helmet fell off, revealing her great beauty. Akhilleus instantly fell in love with her. As the other Greeks began to strip the dead of their honor, he stood over her body mourning her. Thersites, another Greek, mocked him for falling in love with her. BAD idea. Akhilleus struck Thersites down and took Penthesilea's body back to his camp, where he gave her a proper burial.