Penthesilea regina Amazonum · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Penthesilea regina Amazonum
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Asia Minor; Ancient Greece; Troy
Description: This engraving depicts Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons, riding a horse into battle with her lance pointed towards her enemies. She is depicted with her long hair sticking out from her helmet to identify her as a woman. 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:18151
Language: lat
Source Name: Iohannis Bocacij in librum de claris mulieribus
Parent Collection: 1487 Leuven; 1487 Leuven
Image: mta_18151_OBJ.png
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Amazons; Important Women; Famous Women; Important Queens; The Trojan War; Greek Mythology; Penthesilea