Encyclopaedia Amazonia
Don’t know your Alti from your Melosa? Confused by Centaurs? Want to know which episode to watch to learn the steps to a tribal dance? Let John Miller and Jim Smith guide you through the secrets of Xena’s mythical warrior tribe…
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 03
Alti
Alti was an evil Shamaness who came to Xena long ago, claiming that she could help her defeat the Amazons. She was once an Amazon herself, but was expelled from their number because her powers were too great. Alli was killed after being impaled on a tree branch during a spiritual battle with Xena in Adventures in the Sin Trade, Part II. She is later reincarnated as the Indian warrior Khindin who meets Xena when the Warrior Princess is thrown forward in lime and forced to live as a future reincarnation of herself. Xena and Gabrielle bring Alti back to their time and defeat her at her most powerful, although they are told that she will be reborn after every one of her deaths and continue to spread her evil for thousands of years.
Examples of Alti’s evil include her cursing Xena’s son Solan so that he would never know the love of his parents, trapping a number of Amazons in the Land of the Dead, and sending the Berserker to attack a group of Amazons.
Amarice
A warrior who claims to be from the same village as Gabrielle’s tribe, Amarice joined Xena on her quest to defeat Caesar in Endgame. Amarice tried to kill Ephiny’s murderer, the Roman Brutus, and was angered when Xena stopped her, claiming that her tribe would have done things differently. Amarice chose to accompany Xena on her travels, and although occasionally bemused by the more peaceful solutions Xena and Gabrielle implement to problems they encounter, soon learns to trust their judgement.
Artemis
The moon goddess, and the goddess of the Amazons. Some Amazons, such as Velasca, scorned Artemis, believing that by allowing their leaders to be killed by the unreformed Xena, and the nation to be split into scattered tribes as a consequence, she had effectively abandoned them.
At the funeral for an Amazon warrior (such as that held for Terreis in Hooves and Harlots), a special ceremony is held to ensure that the dead Amazon’s spirit is sent to Artemis.
Amazon Princess
Title of the heir apparent to the Mask of Queenhood. In The Quest, when Gabrielle showed herself willing to sacrifice her own life to save that of an Amazon she had only just met, Terreis passes the title to her.
Centaurs
Once described by Ephiny as ‘disgusting animals’, there has always been racial tension between Centaurs and Amazons. In Hooves and Harlots, the warlord Krykus exploited this tension as part of his plan to cause a war between the two races. Such a war would weaken both sides sufficiently to enable him to annex both races’ territories. The Centaur Phantes was framed for the killing of the Amazon Princess Terreis, the punishment for which would be his execution.
After it was revealed that Krykus had framed Phantes, the centaur is set free and the Amazon and Centaur races decide that to live together in peace would be beneficial, ending a protracted period of continual mistrust interspersed with sporadic fighting. The new-found peace between the two nations has unexpected effects, resulting in the marriage of the Amazon Ephiny to the Centaur Phantes.
Challenge
In the event of an Amazon Queen’s powers of judgement being doubted, it is possible for a warrior of eligible status (for example, an Amazon Princess) to issue a Challenge to the Queen. The Challenger demands that the Queen must fight her to the death in order to defend the wisdom of her decisions. Should the Queen lose the fight, her decision will be overturned and the challenger made ruler in her stead. Whoever makes the challenge is able to choose a champion to fight on her behalf. In Hooves and Harlots, Gabrielle issued a Challenge to Melosa following the Queen’s decision to put Phantes to death. Chosen by Gabrielle as her champion, Xena won the Challenge and defeated Melosa, but refused to kill her. Xena chose instead to provide further evidence of Phantes’ innocence, finally convincing Melosa that her reasoning was flawed.
Velasca, the Queen’s adoptive daughter, gained the Mask Of Queenhood by Challenge, defeating and killing Melosa.
Cyane
Legendary Queen of the Amazons, killed by Xena during the warrior princess’ darker days (Adventures in the Sin Trade).
Edge of the World
Where, according to the historian Aeschulus, real Amazons lived. An inhospitable area in Pontic, Asia Minor, it bears a strong visual similarity to the Amazon Land of the Dead seen in Adventures In The Sin Trade.
Ephiny
An Amazon warrior who was initially extremely mistrustful of centaurs, she eventually learned to live in peace with them and married Phantes, a centaur she had befriended whilst he was in Amazon custody having been accused of killing Terreis. Phantes was killed in battle not long after leaving his widow pregnant. Their child was born in Is There A Doctor in the House? The child was named Xenan, and later accompanied Ephiny to the village where Xena had left her own son for safety.
When Autolycus and Gabrielle stole Xena's (temporarily) dead body (The Quest), she openly sided against Vclasca in front of the whole Amazon nation, winning a large group of warriors onto her side and effectively destroying Velasca’s powerbase, leaving the deposed Queen to search for ambrosia alone.
After Velasca’s assumption of godhood and eventual defeat by an alliance of Xena, Gabrielle, Callisto and the Amazon nation, Gabrielle passed the Mask of Queenhood, and effective leadership of the Amazons to Ephiny. A good friend of Gabrielle’s, Ephiny later tried to console her following the premature death of her child, Hope. After helping Hercules to convince Johe that not all Amazons were bad (Prodigal Sister) and helping him save a village from a volcano (Sky High) she returned to her tribe but was tragically killed by the Roman Brutus. Upon her death, the Mask of Queenhood passed temporarily back to Gabrielle, who then passed it to Chilapa.
Face Paint
Amazons have been known to paint their faces on various occasions in order to intimidate potential enemies. The renegade Amazon faction seen in Prodigal Sister chose to decorate their faces in elaborate stripes in order to further indicate their estrangement from the main tribe. On her death bed, Ephiny (Endgame) wore a stripe of paint on her face, the symbolic purpose for which is unknown.
Gate to Eternity
Eternity is the final holy resting place of the Amazons. After death, Amazons’ spirits first go to the Land of the Dead, and after time spent there they pass through the Gate into Eternity itself.
Hercules
In Prodigal Sister, the leader of the renegade Amazon faction claimed (perhaps rather unfairly) that Hercules was ‘the epitome of everything we’re against. Male glory and domination.’
Hercules & the Amazon Women
This is where, in Xenaverse terms, it all begins. The Amazons we meet here are different in a number of ways from the ones we grow to know later, but we do learn something about their culture. This group of Amazons have deliberately, and fairly recently, divided themselves from the men of their village, and live in a separate settlement on the opposing side of a river. They operate a matriarchal system, are ruled over by a Queen named Hippolyta, and are far more aggressive and resentful towards human men than any others we see during the course of either series (the other groups seem to reserve their hatred for centaurs).
Unlike the other Amazon groups we see, their number includes old women. Like all Amazons, this group are trained to fight from a young age (we saw a group of young adolescents being efficiently drilled) and as a result are skilled warriors. A small group of them even managed to defeat and capture Hercules and (temporarily) kill lolaus. The lack of men in their village means that they conceive children by the unorthodox method of riding into the ‘enemy’ village at night, attacking the menfolk and... Well, use your imagination!
Hippolyta
Queen of the Amazon Tribe encountered by Hercules. Hippolyta had a number of legitimate grievances against the men of her village, but had allowed herself to be blinded by hatred and manipulated by Hera. Seeing that not all men were intrinsically brutal, stupid and predisposed to violence, she helped Hercules reconcile the men and women of what had once been one community and fell in love with the hero.
After Hera killed her, Hippolyta’s body was possessed by Hercules' evil stepmother, and thrown from a waterfall. Or rather it would have been, had Hercules not arranged for all these events to have never happened via magic, and found another way to reconcile the warring groups. Accordingly, Hippolyta has no memory of her and Hercules’ love affair, and lives in the reconciled village. Hercules, however, remembers all these events.
Land of the Dead
When an Amazon dies, their spirit is sent to the Amazon Land of the Dead, the resting place for weary souls. Here, they are left for an unspecified period of time before they are allowed to pass through the Gate to Eternity. When Alti cast a spell which changed the holy word needed to pass through the gate, numerous Amazons were trapped in the Land of the Dead for many years more than they should have been.
It is possible for someone who has not died to visit the Land of the Dead, but to do so involves a complicated ritual involving dancing around a fire in a precise manner that enables a person's spirit to temporarily leave their body.
Love
The new secret holy word of the Amazons, learnt by them after Alti’s plan to keep them out of Eternity is foiled by Xena.
Lysia
A hard-edged Amazon featured in Hercules and the Amazon Women and head of the war party that captured Hercules and dragged him, stripped, bound and gagged, to meet Queen Hippolyta. She went on to have a brief but intimate rendezvous with Hercules’ father, Zeus. Or rather would have done, if these events had not been erased by Hercules’ intervention. Lysia is most notable for being the first role in Hercules played by the actress Lucy Lawless, who would eventually be cast as Xena.
Masks
All Amazons wear large, purple wooden masks when in the outside world. Designed to intimidate, the masks feature huge upright ears and snarling basilisk or bat-like facial features. The most splendid mask is the Mask of Queenhood, worn by Melosa in Hooves and Harlots, claimed by Gabrielle in The Quest and bequeathed to Chilapa in Endgame. It is uncertain whether a new mask is made for each successive Queen, or if one permanent Mask is passed down from one incumbent ruler to another. The masks worn by the tribe of Amazons featured in Hercules and the Amazon Women seemed to be based on images of goats and birds rather than bats, suggesting variance across the various tribes of the Amazon nation.
Mayem
Leader of the renegade Amazon tribe seen in Prodigal Sister. This more violent subgroup frequently attacked villages, notably Sarna, where a young girl, Lucenne, was adopted into their number after the tribe killed her parents during the attack.
Melosa
‘Fair Queen of the Amazons’, Melosa was the ruler of the Amazon tribe introduced in Hooves and Harlots. Melosa was determined to avenge the death of her beloved sister and heir Terreis. It was Melosa who was most insistent that Gabrielle kill Phantes, the Centaur she believed responsible for Terreis’ death. Melosa refused to accept evidence offered by Xena which proved that Phantes was not the killer (a dung-ball found near the incriminating hoofprints contained hay, yet Centaurs don’t eat hay), so Gabrielle issued a Challenge, questioning the Queen’s right and fitness to lead.
Upon losing the Challenge, Melosa was removed from her position of power, and was astonished to watch Xena and Gabrielle expose Krykus’ plan to incite war between the Amazons and the Centaurs. Seeing that Melosa relented her past prejudice, and understood how it had been exploited, Gabrielle handed back leadership of the nation to the Queen, but remained her rightful heir. By the time Gabrielle next encountered Amazons, Melosa was dead.
Noon
The traditional time for the execution of anyone committing crimes against the Amazon nation. In Hooves and Harlots, Gabrielle was expected to kill Phantes at noon on the first day following the completion of the Mourning Period for Princess Terreis, his supposed victim.
Original Intent
Given their role in Xena: Warrior Princess and popular 20th Century culture, it is astonishing to realise that Amazons began life not as an empowerment myth for women but as a misogynistic fantasy. In classical culture, Amazons (which are probably fictional) existed to be fought and ultimately defeated by men in an ‘Amazonomachy’ or ‘Amazon Battle’.
There are many references to their defeats in the masterpieces of antiquity, and few to their victories. These include the slaughter of Amazon by Bellephron (The llliad, Book 6, Line 186) and their spectacular defeat at the river Sangarios (Illiad 3.189). It is probable that stories of Amazons were spread to show that women could not make good warriors and should know their place. One can’t help but wonder what Xena would make of that!
Philosophy
The guiding philosophy of the Amazon nation, as taught by the dying Terreis to Gabrielle, is that “The Amazon world is based on truth and a woman’s individual strength.”
It was once claimed that “It’s not blood that makes an Amazon warrior, it’s training, preparation and attitude.”
In Hooves and Harlots, Terreis told Gabrielle that “Women let men have the world, because the real world is based on weakness.”
Purification Ritual
Shrouded in mystery, the details of the Amazon purification ritual are uncertain. What is known is that following extreme trauma an Amazon has the right to enter a ‘sweat hut’, an unpleasantly hot, cloudy environment in which they can, as Ephiny says in The Bitter Suite, “Work through the pain”. Following the deaths of Hope and Solan, Gabrielle underwent the purification ritual, watched over by an attentive Ephiny and a perplexed and worried Joxer. (The Bitter Suite)
Right of Caste
Each Amazon Princess holds the Right of Caste. This Right makes them the heir to the title of Amazon Queen. Although Right of Caste is initially determined by blood relation to the incumbent Queen, it is possible for a Princess, upon her death, to bequeath her Right of Caste to someone she considers worthy. The dying Terreis passed her Right of Caste to Gabrielle in Hooves and Harlots in deference to her valour.
However, Gabrielle’s acceptance of this had unexpected consequences. Whoever takes the Right of Caste is obliged to kill the deceased's murderer on their behalf. When Gabrielle informed Queen Melosa that she had no intention of putting Phantes, the Centaur accused of Terreis’ murder, to death, she discovered that to not do so would be seen as an insult to Terreis’ memory. It was an act of treason against the Amazon nation, the penalty for such an offence being Gabrielle’s own death. Although, of course, it didn’t come to that.
Renegades
A renegade faction of Amazons attacked the village of Sarna in Prodigal Sister. The Amazon nation had, by this point, been divided up into several distinct groups, at least partially as a result of Xena’s murder of many of their leaders, and some groups had been designated ‘outlaws’. Most Amazon factions wanted to unite in peace but the outlaws’ attitude threatened to destroy the chance of this happening. Under Ephiny’s leadership the main Amazon tribe began to adopt renegade factions back into the Amazon nation, although some chose to remain independent.
Symbol of Peace
In Hooves and Harlots, the moment Xena realises that she and Gabrielle have entered Amazon territory, she raised her arms above her head and clasped her hands together. This gesture, the Amazon Symbol of Peace, is a way for travellers to show that their intent is peaceful, and that all they want is safe passage through Amazon land. Gabrielle remembers this and uses it herself when attempting to carry Xena’s corpse through Amazon country in The Quest.
Solari
Amazon warrior loyal to Ephiny who pretended to betray her to Velasca as part of a trap designed to capture the goddess. She was killed by a group of Romans and her body found by Ephiny in Endgame.
Terreis
Melosa’s sister, and heir to the Mask, Terreis died after one of the minions of the warlord Krykus shot her in the chest with an arrow (Hooves and Harlots). Krykus made it appear that the centaur Phantes was responsible for Terreis' murder in order to ferment war between the Amazons and the centaurs. The attendant losses to each side would have left both races unable to defend their respective territories from his own army’s advances. When Terreis was shot by an arrow, Gabrielle leapt on her to prevent her from suffering further injuries. Touched by Gabrielle’s selfless attitude to someone she had only just met, Terreis passed her Right of Caste on to Gabrielle.
Tribal Dances
Spectacular tribal dances are an important feature of traditional Amazon life, occurring whenever an important event needs to be commemorated. The funerals held for Terreis (Hooves and Harlots) and Ephiny (Endgame) featured a mournful dance around a fire, accompanied by the sound of war drums and the waving of weapons in a way that seems to imply the Amazons are recreating great battle victories. An even more elaborate Tribal dance celebrates a Queen's acceptance of the Mask, as seen when Gabrielle takes her place as Queen in The Quest, and later when Chilapa succeeds Ephiny in Endgame.
Another, more mysterious, dance is the Dance of the Spirits which enables someone still very much alive to temporarily cross over to the Amazon Land of the Dead. Xena has done this on two occasions, once to find Anokin, whose soul had been poisoned, and again to find Gabrielle, who she believed had been killed in the battle with Hope.
Tribes
We encounter several different tribes of Amazons during the course of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, each having slightly different rules and customs. The main tribes encountered include the villagers from Hercules and the Amazon Women, the pagan tribe living in fear of Alti in Adventures in the Sin Trade and the Centaur-hating tribe introduced in Hooves and Harlots. When looking for Gabrielle in the Amazon Land of the Dead, Xena refers to her as a “Greek Amazon”, possibly implying that the different tribes tended to be based in different countries.
Velasca
One-time Queen of the Amazons, Velasca was Melosa’s adopted daughter introduced in The Quest. When Velasca’s birth mother was killed during the first war with the Centaurs, Melosa adopted her and raised her as her own. When Melosa made Terreis heir apparent to the Mask of Queenhood, Velasca challenged the decision and lost. She left the village in disgrace and was therefore not in the village at the time of the events of Hooves and Harlots. She later returned and challenged her adoptive Mother’s right to rule. Defeating Melosa in single combat (Ephiny implies by somewhat dubious means) she assumed the Mask of Queenhood.
As a ruler some felt she was an appropriate leader for the Amazons (even Ephiny described her as "strong”). She talked about “The old days” and openly planned to take back “The land across the river”, former Amazon country now peacefully occupied by Centaurs. This was an action that would inevitably cause open war. She claimed to “Like pain. I like what it does to people and I like what it makes them do.” She also kept the captured Autolycus on a neck chain for the express purpose of beating him.
Following Xena’s (temporary) death and Gabrielle’s assumption of her rightful place as Amazon Queen, Velasca became obsessed with becoming a goddess and sought out ambrosia, the food of the gods, in order to achieve this transformation. She was successful, attaining full godhood with all the attendant powers, including the ability to throw lightning bolts at her enemies and immortality. Velasca was defeated by Callisto, who had allied with Xena in order to claim godhood for herself. Velasca eventually fell into an open lava flow, along with Callisto. Velasca has not come back to trouble Gabrielle since, but considering the ease of Callisto’s escape, her eventual return cannot be ruled out
Weapons
The Amazons have been seen to use a variety of weapons, which could be related to which tribe the warrior is part of. When the Amazons are in a large group, they tend to use bows and arrow. However, as Gabrielle discovers, the weapon of choice is often a fighting staff. We also see that some Amazons prefer to fight with a good old-fashioned sword.
Xena
Before Xena reformed, she considered allying with the Amazons in order to fight centaurs (Adventures in the Sin Trade). Some time after this, Xena killed several Amazon leaders, weakening the Amazon nation and forcing them to live in numerous scattered tribes.