De penthasilea: noble reyna de las amazonas · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: De penthasilea: noble reyna de las amazonas
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Ancient Greece; Asia Minor; Troy
Description: This engraving depicts Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons, riding a horse into battle with her lance pointed towards her enemies. We know that this figure is Penthesilea as her name is engraved to beside her head. We also know that this is a woman as her long hair is sticking out from underneath her helmet. Penthesilea, as Boccaccio describes, was a great warrior. She wanted to secure a strong heir for the Amazons, so she sought out Hector of Troy to provide her with an heir. She fought in a battle against the Greeks to prove herself worthy of bearing Hectors child. The enemies she is fighting against in the image are the Greek soldiers in the Trojan War.
Image Creator: Anonymous (Engraver)
Type: Text; Woodcut Engraving
Identifier: mta:16657
Language: spa
Source Name: De Las Mujeres Ilustres [On Famous Women]
Parent Collection: 1494 Mujeres Ilustres; 1494 Mujeres Ilustres
Image: mta_16657_OBJ.png
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Penthesilea; Important Women; Important Queens; Famous Women; The Trojan War; Greek Mythology; Amazons