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Amazon

Specialty Definition: Amazon

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Specialty Definition: Amazon

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The name Amazon appears in the titles of several articles in Wikipedia:

• The Amazon River, Amazon Rainforest, and Amazon Basin through which it flows.
• The legendary Amazons, women renowned in antiquity for their prowess in battle.
• Amazonas, the name of several provinces in South America named for the river.
• The large online store, Amazon.com that began as an online book store but which has expanded as a seller of many goods.
• Car model from Volvo. Perhaps as P120 in the US.
• Amazon parrots are a group of parrotss native to the New World, which are usually predominately green.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Amazon."

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Amazon Rainforest

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

At over 1.2 billion acres, the Amazon Rainforest covers two-fifths of South America spreading across parts of nine countries: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. This represents over half of the remaining Rainforests on Earth.

The forest lies in a basin drained largely by the Amazon River, with 1,100 tributaries. This basin was formed in the Palaeozoic period, between 500 and 200 million years ago. The diversity of plant species is the highest on earth with some experts estimating that one hectare (2.47 acres) may contain over 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants. One hectare of Amazon rainforest can contain about 900 tons of living plants. This constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world. One in five of all the birds in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon. To date, an estimated 438,000 species of plants of economic and social interest have been registered in the region with many more remaining to be discovered or cataloged. (Note: Brazil has one of the most advanced laws to avoid biopiracy, but enforcing it is a problem.)

There has been concern among environmentalists for many years, regarding the deforestation of the region, stemming mainly from the fact that more than one fifth of the Amazon Rainforest has already been destroyed; and much more is severely threatened as destruction continues to escalate. The deforestation of this area in the 1980s was largely considered catastrophic. Yet, in 1996, the Amazon was reported to have shown a 34 per cent increase in deforestation since 1992. A new report by a congressional committee says the Amazon is vanishing at a rate of 20,000 square miles a year, over three times the rate for which the last official figures were reported, in 1994.

"If nothing is done, the entire Amazon will be gone within 50 years," - Rep. Gilney Vianna of the leftist Worker's Party in the Amazon state of Mato Grosso.

Environmentalists commonly stress the fact that there is not only a biological incentive to protecting the rainforest, but also an economic one. One hectare in the Peruvian Amazon has been calculated to provide potential earnings of $6,820 per year if intact forest is sustainably harvested for fruits, latex, and timber; $1,000 if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested); or $148 if used as cattle pasture.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Amazon Rainforest."

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Amazon River

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Amazon River is the greatest river on Earth. Before the conquest of South America, the Rio de las Amazonas had no general name; for, according to a common custom, each Indian tribe gave a name only to the section of the river which it occupied -- such as Paranaguazu, Guyerma, Solimões and others. In the year 1500, Vicente Yañez Pinzon, in command of a Spanish expedition, became the first European to explore the river and ascended the Amazon to a point about 50 meters from the sea. He called it the Rio Santa Maria de la Mar Dulce, which soon became abbreviated to Mar Dulce, and for some years, after 1502, it was known as the Rio Grande. The principal companions of Pinzon, in giving evidence in 1513, mention it as El Ryo Haranon. There is much controversy about the origin of the word Maranon. Peter Martyr in a letter to Lope Hurtado de Mendoza in 1513 is the first to state that it is of native origin. Ten years after the death of Pinzon, his friend Oviedo calls it the Marañón. Many writers believe that this was its Indian name. We are disposed to agree with the Brazilian historian Constancio that Marañón is derived from the Spanish word maraña, a tangle, a snarl, which well represents the bewildering difficulties which the earlier explorers met in navigating not only the entrance to the Amazon, but the whole island-bordered, river-cut and indented coast of the now Brazilian province of Maranhão.

The first descent by a European of the mighty artery from the Andes to the sea was made by Orellana in 1541, and the name Amazonas arises from the battle which he had with a tribe of Tapuya savages where the women of the tribe fought alongside the men, as was the custom among all of the Tapuyas. Orellana, no doubt, derived the name Amazonas from the ancient Amazons of Asia and Africa described by Herodotus and Diodorus.

The first ascent by a European of the river was made in 1638 by Pedro Texiera, a Portuguese, who reversed the route of Orellana and reached Quito by way of the Rio Napo. He returned in 1639 with the Jesuit fathers Acuna and Artieda, delegated by the viceroy of Peru to accompany him.

The river Amazon has a drainage area of 7,050,000 km² (2,722,000 square miles), if the Tocantins River is included in its basin. It drains four-tenths of South America, and it gathers its waters from 5 degrees northern to 20 degrees southern latitude. Its most remote sources are found on the inter-Andean plateau, but a short distance from the Pacific Ocean; and, after a course of about 7200 km (4800 miles) through the interior of Peru and across Brazil, it enters the Atlantic Ocean on the equator. It is generally accepted by geographers that the Marañón, or Upper Amazon, rises in the little lake, Lauricocha, in 10 degrees 30' southern latitude, and 160 km (100 miles) N.N.E. of Lima. They appear to have followed the account given by Padre Fritz which has since been found incorrect. According to Antonio Raimondi, it is the Rio de Nupe branch of the small stream which issues from the lake that has the longer course and the greater volume of water. The Nupe rises in the Cordillera de Huayhuath and is the true source of the Marañón. There is a difference among geographers as to where the Marañón ends and the Amazon begins, or whether both names apply to the same river. The Pongo de Manseriche [note 1], at the base of the Andes and the head of useful navigation, seems to be the natural terminus of the Marañón; and an examination of the hydrographic conditions of the great valley makes the convenience and accuracy of this apparent. Raimondi terminates the Maranon at the mouth of the Ucayali, Reclus the same, both following the missionary fathers of the colonial period. C. M. de la Condamine uses "Amazon" and "Marañón" indiscriminately and considers them one and the same. Smyth and Lowe give the mouth of the Javary as the eastern limit, as does d'Orbigny. Wolf, apparently uncertain, carries the "Marañón or Amazon" to the Peruvian frontier of Brazil at Tabatinga. Other travellers and explorers contribute to the confusion. This probably arises from the rivalry of the Spaniards and Portuguese. The former accepted the name Marañón in Peru, and as the missionaries penetrated the valley they extended the name until they reached the mouth of the Ucayali; while, as the Portuguese ascended the Amazon, they carried this name to the extent of their explorations. Beginning with the lower river we propose to notice, first, the great affluents which go to swell the volume of the main stream.

Tributaries

• Tocantins
• Xingu River
• Tapahos
• Madeira river
• Purus
• Jurua
• Javary
• Ucayali
• Tambo
• Huallaga
• Maranon
• Trombetas
• Negro
• Branco
• Casiquiare canal
• Yapura
• Ica or Putumaoy
• Napo
• Nanay
• Tigre
• Pastaza
• Morona

The Main River

Physical characteristics

The Amazon main river is navigable for ocean steamers as far as Iquitos, 2300 miles from the sea, and 486 miles higher up for vessels drawing 14 ft. of water, as far as Achual Point. Beyond that, according to Tucker, confirmed by Wertheman, it is unsafe; but small steamers frequently ascend to the Pongo de Manseriche, just above Achual Point The average current of the Amazon is about 3 miles an hour; but, especially in flood, it dashes through some of its contracted channels at the rate of 5 mph. The U.S. steamer ``Wilmington'' ascended it to Iquitos in 1899. Commander Todd reports that the average depth of the river in the height of the rainy season is 120 ft. It commences to rise in November, and increases in volume until June, and then falls until the end of October. The rise of the Negro branch is not synchronous; for the steady rains do not commence in its valley until February or March. By June it is full, and then it begins to fall with the Amazon. According to Bates, the Madeira "rises and sinks" two months earlier than the Amazon. The Amazon at times broadens to 4 and 6 miles. Occasionally, for long distances, it divides into two main streams with inland, lateral channels, all connected by a complicated system of natural canals, cutting the low, flat igapo lands, which are never more than 15 ft. above low river, into almost numberless islands. [Note 3] At the narrows of Obidos, 400 miles from the sea, it is compressed into a single bed a mile wide and over 200 ft. deep, through which the water rushes at the rate of 4 to 5 miles an hour. In the rainy season it inundates the country throughout its course to the extent of several hundred thousand square miles, covering the flood-plain, called vargem. The flood-levels are in places from 40 to 50 ft. high above low river. Taking four roughly equidistant places, the rise at Iquitos is 20 ft., at Teffe 45, near Obidos 35, and at Para 12 ft.

The first high land met in ascending the river is on the north bank, opposite the mouth of the Xingu, and extends for about 150 miles up, as far as Monte Alegre. It is a series of steep, table-topped hills, cut down to a kind of terrace which lies between them and the river. Monte Alegre reaches an altitude of several hundred feet. On the south side, above the Xingu, a line of low bluffs extends, in a series of gentle curves with hardly any breaks nearly to Santarem, but a considerable distance inland, bordering the flood-plain, which is many miles wide. Then they bend to the south-west, and, abutting upon the lower Tapajos, merge into the bluffs which form the terrace margin of that river valley. The next high land on the north side is Obidos, a bluff, 56 ft. above the river, backed by low hills. From Serpa, nearly opposite the river Madeira, to near the mouth of the Rio Negro, the banks are low, until approaching Manaos, they are rolling hills; but from the Negro, for 600 miles as far up as the village of Canaria, at the great bend of the Amazon, only very low land is found, resembling that at the mouth of the river. Vast areas of it are submerged at high water, above which only the upper part of the trees of the sombre forests appear. At Canaria, the high land commences and continues as far as Tabatinga, and thence up stream.

On the south side, from the Tapajos to the river Madeira, the banks are usually low, although two or three hills break the general monotony. From the latter river, however, to the Ucayali, a distance of nearly 1500 miles, the forested banks are just out of water, and are inundated long before the river attains its maximum flood-line. Thence to the Huallaga the elevation of the land is somewhat greater; but not until this river is passed, and the Pongo de Manseriche approached, does the swelling ground of the Andean foot-hills raise the country above flood-level.

The Amazon is not a continuous incline, but probably consists of long, level stretches connected by short inclined planes of extremely little fall, sufficient, however, owing to its great depth, to give the gigantic volume of water a continuous impulse towards the ocean. The lower Amazon presents every evidence of having once been an ocean gulf, the upper waters of which washed the cliffs near Obidos. Only about 10% of the water discharged by the mighty stream enters it below Obidos, very little of which is from the northern slope of the valley. The drainage area of the Amazon basin above Obidos is about 1,945,000 sq. miles, and, below, only about 423,000 sq. miles., or say 20%, exclusive of the 554,000 sq. miles of the Tocantins basin.

The width of the mouth of the monarch river is usually measured from Cabo do Norte to Punto Patijoca, a distance of 207 statute miles; but this includes the ocean outlet, 40 miles wide, of the Para river, which should be deducted, as this stream is only the lower reach of the Tocantins. It also includes the ocean frontage of Marajo, an island about the size of the kingdom of Denmark lying in the mouth of the Amazon.

Following the coast, a little to the north of Cabo do Norte, and for 100 miles along its Guiana margin up the Amazon, is a belt of half-submerged islands and shallow sandbanks. Here the tidal phenomenon called the bore, or Pororoca, occurs, where the soundings are not over 4 fathoms. It commences with a roar, constantly increasing, and advances at the rate of from 10 to 15 miles an hour, with a breaking wall of water from 5 to 12 ft. high. Under such conditions of warfare between the ocean and the river, it is not surprising that the former is rapidly eating away the coast and that the vast volume of silt carried by the Amazon finds it impossible to build up a delta.

The Amazon is not so much a river as it is a gigantic reservoir, extending from the sea to the base of the Andes, and, in the wet season, varying in width from 5 to 400 m. Special attention has already been called to the fourteen great streams which discharge into this reservoir, but it receives a multitude of secondary rivers, which in any other part of the world would also be termed great.

Population, trade, etc.

For 350 years after the European discovery of the Amazon, by Pinzon, the Portuguese portion of its basin remained almost an undisturbed wilderness, occupied by Indian tribes whom the food quest had split into countless fragments. It is doubtful if its indigenous inhabitants ever exceeded one to every 5 sq. miles of territory, this being the maximum it could support under the existing conditions of the period in question, and taking into account Indian methods of life. A few settlements on the banks of the main river and some of its tributaries, either for trade with the Indians or for evangelizing purposes, had been founded by the Portuguese pioneers of European civilization. The total population of the Brazilian portion of the Amazon basin in 1850 was perhaps 300,000, of whom about two-thirds were white and slaves, the latter numbering about 25,000. The principal commercial city, Para, had from 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants, including slaves. The town of Manaos, at the mouth of the Rio Negro, had from 1000 to 1500 population; but all the remaining villages, as far up as Tabatinga, on the Brazilian frontier of Peru, were wretched little groups of houses which appeared to have timidly effected a lodgment on the river bank, as if they feared to challenge the mysteries of the sombre and gigantic forests behind them. The value of the export and import trade of the whole valley in 1850 was but

On the 6th of September 1850 the emperor, Dom Pedro II, sanctioned a law authorizing steam navigation on the Amazon, and confided to an illustrious Brazilian, Barao Maua (Irineu Evangilista de Sousa), the task of carrying it into effect. He organized the "Compania de Navigacao e Commercio do Amazonas" at Rio de Janeiro in 1852; and in the following year it commenced operations with three small steamers, the "Monarch," the "Marajo" and "Rio Negro." At first the navigation was principally confined to the main river; and even in 1857 a modification of the government contract only obliged the company to a monthly service between Para and Manaos, with steamers of 200 tons cargo capacity, a second line to make six round voyages a year between Manaos and Tabatinga, and a third, two trips a month between Para and Cameta. The government paid the company a subvention of L. 3935 monthly. Thus the first impulse of modern progress was given to the dormant valley. The success of the venture called attention to the unoccupied field; a second company soon opened commerce on the Madeira, Purus and Negro; a third established a line between Para and Manaos; and a fourth found it profitable to navigate some of the smaller streams; while, in the interval, the Amazonas Company had largely increased its fine fleet. Meanwhile private individuals were building and running small steam craft of their own, not only upon the main river but upon many of its affluents. The government of Brazil, constantly pressed by the maritime powers and by the countries encircling the upper Amazon basin, decreed, on the 31st of July 1867, the opening of the Amazon to all flags; but limited this to certain defined points -- Tabatinga, on the Amazon; Cameta, on the Tocantins; Santarem, on the Tapajos; Borba, on the Madeira; Manaos, on the Rio Negro; the decree to take effect on the 7th of September of the same year. Para, Manaos and Iquitos are now thriving commercial centres. The first direct foreign trade with Manaos was commenced about 1874.

The local trade of the river is carried on by the English successors to the Amazonas Company -- the Amazon Steam Navigation Company. In addition to its excellent fleet there are numerous small river steamers, belonging to companies and firms engaged in the rubber trade, navigating the Negro, Madeira, Purfis and many other streams. The principal exports of the valley are india-rubber, cacao, Brazil nuts and a few other products of very minor importance. The finest quality of india-rubber comes from the Acre and Beni districts of Bolivia, especially from the valley of the Acre (or Aquiry) branch of the river Purus. Of the rubber production of the Amazon basin, the state of Para gives about 35%. The cacao tree is not cultivated, but grows wild in great abundance. There is but one railway in the whole valley; it is a short line from Para towards the coast. The cities of Para and Manaos have excellent tramways, many fine public buildings and private residences, gardens and public squares, all of which give evidence of artistic taste and great prosperity.

The number of inhabitants in the Brazilian Amazon basin (the states of Amazonas and Para) is purely a matter of rough estimate. There may be 500,000 or 600,000, or more; for the immigration during recent years from the other parts of Brazil has been large, due to the rubber excitement. The influx from the state of Ceara alone, from 1892 to 1899 inclusive, reached 98,348.

As Commander Todd, in his report to the United States government, says: "The crying need of the Amazon valley is food for the people.... At the small towns along the river it is nearly impossible to obtain beef, vegetables, or fruit of any sort, and the inhabitants depend largely upon river fish, mandioc, and canned goods for their subsistence."

Although more than four centuries have passed since the discovery of the Amazon river, there are probably not 25 sq. miles of its basin under cultivation, excluding the limited and rudely cultivated areas among the mountains at its extreme headwaters, which are inaccessible to commerce.

The extensive exports of the mighty valley are almost entirely derived from the products of the forest. (G. E. C.)

[1] Pongo is a corruption of the Quichua puncu and the Aymara ponco, meaning a door. The Pongo de Manseriche was first named Maranon, then Santiago, and later Manseric, afterwards Mansariche and Manseriche, owing to the great numbers of parakeets found on the rocks there.

[2] One of the most daring deeds of exploration ever known in South America was done by the engineer A. Wertheman. He fitted out three rafts, in August 1870, and descended this whole series of rapids and cascades from the Rio Chinchipe to Borja.

[3] Igapo is thus the name given to the recent alluvial tracts along the margins of rivers, submerged by moderate floods, whereas vargem is the term used for land between the levels of moderate and high floods, while for land above this the people use the term terra firma.

Wildlife

The Amazon River is one of the main habitats of the Boto, also known as the Amazon River Dolphin. Piranha are also notorious for dwelling in the Amazon.

This page, and the pages about the tributaries derived from it originally came from the public domain 1911 encyclopedia

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Amazon River."

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Amazon.com

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Amazon.com is an American electronic commerce company based in Seattle, Washington. It was one of the first major companies to sell goods over the Internet. Amazon owns Alexa Internet and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

Business model

Founded as Cadabra.com by Jeff Bezos in 1994, the mainstream Internet's early days, the company began as an online bookstore. Bezos saw the potential of the Internet; while the largest brick-and-mortar bookstore might sell upwards of 200,000 titles, an online bookstore could sell many times more. Bezos renamed his company Amazon in deference to the world's most voluminous river, the Amazon. His bookstore quickly began expanding, branching off into retail sales of music CDss, videos and DVDs, software, consumer electronics, kitchen items, tools, lawn and garden items, apparel, sporting goods, gourmet food, jewelry, watches, and more. Amazon assigns a unique identifier to all items it sells, the Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN). For books, the ASIN is the same as the item's ISBN.

Amazon's initial business plan was unique, in that the company did not expect to turn a profit for a good four to five years after it was founded. This strategy proved to be a sound one in the wake of the dotcom collapse of 2000. Amazon grew at a steady pace in the late 1990s while other Internet companies appeared out of nowhere and grew at a blindingly fast pace. Amazon's "slow" growth caused a number of its stockholders to complain, saying that the company was not reaching profitability fast enough. When the Internet "bubble" burst and many e-companies began going out of business, Amazon perservered and finally turned its first-ever profit in the fourth quarter of 2002. It totaled a meager $5 million, just 1 cent per share, on revenues of over $1 billion, but it was extremely important symbolically for a company that kept promising profitability but wasn't delivering. It has since remained profitable and maintained revenues of over $1 billion per fiscal quarter.

Amazon currently offers access to its catalog via web services, much as Google does to its search engine. Google also provides search services directly on Amazon's US site.

Patent controversies

The company has been controversial for its use of patents as an alleged hindrance to competitors. The "one click patent" is perhaps the best-known example of this. On February 25, 2003, the company was granted a patent titled "Method and system for conducting a discussion relating to an item" on Internet discussion boards.

Since October 23rd 2003 the company has been making it possible for customers to search for keywords in the full text of more that 120,000 books--33 million pages of text, all told. While there are public-domain book projects (see List of digital library projects), Amazon.com in cooperation with about 130 publishers allows users to search copyrighted books as well. To avoid copyright violations, Amazon.com does not return the text of the book but rather a picture of the page containing the selected reference, disables printing of the pages, and there are limits on the number of pages in a book a single user can see. The service has the potential to be extremely valuable to customers and may direct a large amount of traffic to Amazon.com, increasing both the reputation and the sales of the company. From the customer's point of view, the new search capability allows completely new ways of research. As people now google the Internet, they will be able to do the same with many of the books available on Amazon.com. For example, one might search for the name of their hometown on Amazon and find a large number of references in completely unexpected places. Furthermore, references to special areas of interest can now be found easily even in books whose titles would not indicate a relation to the chosen topic.

Expansion and partnerships

Amazon.com operates retail websites not only in the United States, but also in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. In addition, the websites of Borders.com, Waldenbooks.com, Virginmega.com, Virginmega.co.jp, Waterstones.co.uk, CDNOW.com, and HMV.com now redirect to Amazon's site for the country in question, for which these companies are paid referral fees. Typing ToysRUs.com into one's browser will similarly bring up Amazon.com's Toys & Games tab. Amazon.com also operates the retail websites of Target Corporation's internet properties (including the online stores of Target, Marshall Field's, and Mervyn's) and provides the technology behind AOL Shopping and the online NBA store.

Amazon bought the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) in April 1998, a move that upset a number of long-time users of the database; the transformation of IMDb from a public-domain, nonprofit site to a commercial venture was seen as a slap in the face to many Internet users. However, the IMDb has continued to grow and prosper.

In 2002, Amazon became the exclusive retailer for the much-hyped Segway Human Transporter. Bezos was an early supporter of the Segway before its details were made public.

See also: List of Wikipedia articles based upon websites

External links

Amazon sites

• Amazon.com (United States)
• Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)
• Amazon.ca (Canada)
• Amazon.de (Germany)
• Amazon.fr (France)
• Amazon.co.jp (Japan)

Patents

• Amazon.com discussion board patent

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Amazon.com."

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Amazons

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In Greek mythology, the Amazons were an ancient legendary nation of female warriors. In modern usage, the word is often used to refer to strong and independent women, in contrast to conventional stereotypes of women as weak and passive.

Amazons of Mythology

Amazons were said to have lived in Pontus near the shore of the Euxine Sea, where they formed an independent kingdom under the government of a queen with the capital being Themiscyra on the banks of the river Thermodon (Herodotus iv. 110-117). From this centre they made numerous warlike excursions -- to Scythia, Thrace, the coasts of Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean Sea, even penetrating to Arabia, Syria and Egypt. They were supposed to have founded many towns, amongst them Smyrna, Ephesus, Sinope, Paphos. According to another account, they originally came to the Thermodon from the Palus Maeotis (Sea of Azov).

No men were permitted to reside in Amazon country; but once a year, in order to prevent their race from dying out, they visited the Gargareans, a neighbouring tribe. The male children who were the result of these visits were either put to death or sent back to their fathers; the female were kept and brought up by their mothers, and trained in agricultural pursuits, hunting, and the art of war (Strabo xi. p. 503).

It is said that their right breast was cut off or burnt out, in order that they might be able to use the bow more freely; hence the ancient derivation of Amaxones from mafos, "without breast." But there is no indication of this practice in works of art, in which the Amazons are always represented with both breasts, although the right is frequently covered. Other suggested derivations are: a (intensive) and mafos, breast, "full-breasted"; a (privative) and masso, touch, "not touching men"; maza, a Circassian word said to signify "moon," has suggested their connection with the worship of a moon-goddess, perhaps the Asiatic representative of Artemis.

Though the bow-and-arrow was their primary weapon, the Amazons also fought with swords, double-sided axes and a distinctive crescent shaped shield. They usually fought on horseback.

In the Iliad, the Amazons were referred to as Antianeira ("those who fight like men"). Herodotus called them Androktones ("killers of men").

The Amazons appear in connexion with several Greek legends. They invaded Lycia, but were defeated by Bellerophon, who was sent out against them by Iobates, the king of that country, in the hope that he might meet his death at their hands (Iliad, vi. 186). According to Diodorus, Queen Myrine led them to victory against the Antlanteans, Libya and much of Gorgon.

They attacked the Phrygians, who were assisted by Priam, then a young man (Iliad, iii. 189). Although in his later years, towards the end of the Trojan War, his old opponents took his side again against the Greeks under their queen Penthesilea, who was slain by Achilles (Quint. Smyr. i.; Justin ii. 4; Virgil, Aen. i. 490).

One of the tasks imposed upon Heracles by Eurystheus was to obtain possession of the girdle of the Amazonian queen Hippolyte (Apollodorus ii. 5). He was accompanied by his friend Theseus, who carried off the princess Antiope, sister of Hippolyte, an incident which led to a retaliatory invasion of Attica, in which Antiope perished fighting by the side of Theseus. In some versions, however, Theseus marries Hippolyte and in others, he marries Antiope and she does not die. The battle between the Athenians and Amazonians is often commemorated in an entire genre of art, amazonomachy, marble carvings such as from the Parthenon.

The Amazons are also said to have undertaken an expedition against the island of Leuke, at the mouth of the Danube, where the ashes of Achilles had been deposited by Thetis. The ghost of the dead hero appeared and so terrified the horses, that they threw and trampled upon the invaders, who were forced to retire.

They are heard of in the time of Alexander the Great, when their queen Thalestris visited him and became a mother by him, and Pompey is said to have found them in the army of Mithradates.

The origin of the story of the Amazons has been the subject of much discussion. While some regard them as a purely mythical people, others assume an historical foundation for them. The deities worshipped by them were Ares (who is consistently assigned to them as a god of war, and as a god of Thracian and generally northern origin) and Artemis, not the usual Greek goddess of that name, but an Asiatic deity in some respects her equivalent. It is conjectured that the Amazons were originally the temple-servants and priestesses (hierodulae) of this goddess; and that the removal of the breast corresponded with the self-mutilation of the god Attis and the galli, Roman priests of Cybele. Another theory is that, as the knowledge of geography extended, travellers brought back reports of tribes ruled entirely by women, who carried out the duties which elsewhere were regarded as peculiar to man, in whom alone the rights of nobility and inheritance were vested, and who had the supreme control of affairs. Hence arose the belief in the Amazons as a nation of female warriors, organized and governed entirely by women. According to J. Vurtheim (De Ajacis origine, 1907), the Amazons were of Greek origin: "all the Amazons were Dianas, as Diana herself was an Amazon." It has been suggested that the fact of the conquest of the Amazons being assigned to the two famous heroes of Greek mythology, Heracles and Theseus -- who in the tasks assigned to them were generally opposed to monsters and beings impossible in themselves, but possible as illustrations of permanent danger and damage, -- shows that they were mythical illustrations of the dangers which beset the Greeks on the coasts of Asia Minor; rather perhaps, it may be intended to represent the conflict between the Greek culture of the colonies on the Black Sea and the barbarism of the native inhabitants.

In works of art, combats between Amazons and Greeks are placed on the same level as and often associated with combats of Greeks and centaurs. The belief in their existence, however, having been once accepted and introduced into the national poetry and art, it became necessary to surround them as far as possible with the appearance of not unnatural beings. Their occupation was hunting and war; their arms the bow, spear, axe, a half shield, nearly in the shape of a crescent, called pelta, and in early art a helmet, the model before the Greek mind having apparently been the goddess Athena. In later art they approach the model of Artemis, wearing a thin dress, girt high for speed; while on the later painted vases their dress is often peculiarly Persian -- that is, close-fitting trousers and a high cap called the kidaris. They were usually on horseback but sometimes on foot. The battle between Theseus and the Amazons is a favourite subject on the friezes of temples (e.g. the reliefs from the frieze of the temple of Apollo at Bassae, now in the British Museum), vases and sarcophagus reliefs; at Athens it was represented on the shield of the statue of Athena Parthenos, on wall-paintings in the Theseum and in the Poikile Stoa. Many of the sculptors ofantiquity, including Pheidias, Polyclitus, Cresilas and Phradmon, executed statues of Amazons; and there are many existing reproductions of these.

Legendary Amazons From Greek Myth

• Ainia
• Antianara
• Antibrote
• Antiope
• Asteria
• Cleite
• Helene
• Hippolyte
• Otrera
• Penthesilea
• Thalestris
• Thebe

Amazon-like Cultures in More Recent History

The history of Bohemia affords a parallel to the Greek Amazons. During the 8th century a large band of women, under a certain Vlasta, carried on war against the duke of Bohemia, and enslaved or put to death all men who fell into their hands. In the 16th century the Spanish explorer Orellana asserted that he had come into conflict with fighting women in South America on the river Maranon, which was named after them the Amazon (q.v.) or river of the Amazons, although others derive its name from the Indian amassona (boat-destroyer), applied to the tidal phenomenon known as the "bore." The existence of "Amazons" (in the sense of fighting women) in the army of Dahomey in modern times is an undoubted fact, but they are said to have died out during the French protectorate. For notable cases of women who have become soldiers, reference may be made to Mary Anne Talbot and Hannah Snell.

Modern Depiction of Amazons

It has been noted that up until the 20th Century, Amazons have been typically depicted in literature as an alien adversary that threatened the masculinity of heroes. As such, the typical goal of the heroes has been to defeat and humiliate them as a way of reasserting male superiority.

In the 20th century, Amazons have been depicted with increasing sympathy. Today, the typical depiction of the characters is as an isolated community of powerful and beautiful warriors whom the heroes are challenged to earn their respect to become valuable allies. The most famous modern example of an Amazon is the superhero, Wonder Woman.

References

• A. D. Mordtmann, Die Amazonen (1862)
• W. Stricker, Die A. in Sage und Geschichte (1868)
• A. Klugmann, Die A. in der attischen Literatur und Kunst (1875)
• H. L. Krause, Die Amazonensage (1893)
• F. G. Bergmann, Les Amazones dans l'histoire et dans la fable (1853)
• P. Lacour, Les Amazones (1901)
• articles in Pauly-Wissowa's Realencyclopadie, and Roscher's Lexikon der Mythologie
• Grote, Hist. of Greece, pt. i. ch. 11.

Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Amazons."

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Synonyms within Context: Amazon

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Modern Usage: Amazon

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Commercial Usage: Amazon

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Image Slideshow: Amazon

Photos: Amazon More pictures...

Illustrations: Amazon More pictures...

Computer Images: Amazon More pictures...

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Photo Album: Amazon

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Brazil's Araca River is a tributary of the Negro River, which feeds into the Amazon. Credit: NASA.		Once a vast carpet of healthy vegetation, the Amazon rain forest is changing rapidly. This image of Bolivia shows dramatic deforestation in the Amazon Basin. Loggers have cut long paths into the forest, while ranchers have cleared large blocks for their herds. Fanning out from these clear-cut areas are settlements built in radial arrangements of fields and farms. Healthy vegetation appears bright red in this image. Credit: NASA.
	A marsh-like area borders the Demini River in northwestern Brazil. The Demini eventually joins the Amazon River. Credit: NASA.		Transportation on the upper Amazon River Transporting survey crews of Carl Aslakson Aslakson with Army Air 311th Air Photo Wing. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.
	Carl Aslakson in middle while in Brazil Meeting with Brazilian officials prior to survey work on upper Amazon River Aslakson with Army Air 311th Air Photo Wing. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.		Amazon women with shields by tree and letter A. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Swamps of the Amazon. Credit: Library of Congress.		The christian amazon, with her invincible target, Alias, the focus of genial rays, or Dian of the Rushes, to much for 300,000, Infidels. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Mandrake the magician. Mandrake and Colonel Barton are captured by the Amazon warriors of Amoz Island!. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Digital Photo Gallery: Amazon
 

"Amazon River" by Cesar Barreto Commentary: "Amazon river - Salinopolis - Para - Brazil."	"Amazon leave" by Nara Vieira Da Silva Commentary: "No."
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Amazon

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Usage Frequency: Amazon

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Usage in Company Names: Amazon

Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.

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Expression: Amazon

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Amazon

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Modern Translation: Amazon

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Derivations & Misspellings: Amazon

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Rhyming with "Amazon"

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Anagrams: Amazon

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