A is for Antiope, a Unique Amazon #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to Post one of the A to Z Challenge. My theme is mythical goddesses and ancient queens. My post for the first day is arguably both.

Antiope is an Amazon princess, daughter to Ares, the Greek god of war. In some stories, she is also an Amazon queen.  What brought her to my attention is that Antiope is the only known Amazon ever to formally marry. Her husband was Theseus, king of Athens, companion to Hercules, and famed for defeating the minotaur. The ending is sad, as most myths tend to be.   Theseus kidnapped Antiope when traveling with Hercules on the quest to gain the girdle of Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen.  In the process, she fell in love with him. The Amazons attack to reclaim the girdle and rescue Antiope, who was killed by the Amazon Molpadia in the process. As with most myths, there are other versions of this story, such as Theseus killed her in order to marry Phaedra. Here she is:

 

No matter which version is true, if any indeed are, it makes a great story.  I had wanted to develop a romance series around the Amazons and I couldn’t resist rewriting Antiope’s story to kick it off. Its called Thirteen Nights, because in myth, the Amazons would procreate once a year with their neighbors, the Gargareans, a group of male-only warriors. It was believed that spending thirteen nights together ensured conception.

I updated that pair matching to an annual speed-dating event.  If you like hot romances, check it out. If you just like kick-ass female mythical leaders. come visit during the A to Z challenge. I’ll be doing one each day. I promise not too much promo. But I have two heroines from my mythology-based series whose names happen start with A and B.  As historical figures, they are interesting because they are not as well known.

While you’re blog hopping, don’t forget to visit other A to Z Participants. Here’s the full list.