Literature Pseudo-Apollodorus attributed to the Painter of the Berlin Hydria, dating c. 450 BCE, depicting Achilles slaying Penthesilea,
Eskenazi Museum of Art In the Pseudo-Apollodorus
Epitome of the Bibliotheke she is said to have been killed by Achilles, "who fell in love with the Amazon after her death and slew Thersites for jeering at him".
Lycophron In the 3rd century BC,
Lycophron went against the grain of the Homeric tradition. The poet had been born in
Euboea, the site of a shrine to wounded Amazons who had fought in a mythic Battle for Athens. Lycophron tells the story of the young Amazon
Clete, Penthesilea's attendant, who had been left behind in
Pontus. Clete sets out with a company of Amazons to search for Penthesilea when she does not return from the
Trojan War. The ship with Amazons is swept off course and after a shipwreck on the toe of
Italy in
Bruttium, Clete becomes the queen of the Amazons that settle there.
Virgil In
Virgil's
Aeneid, written between 29 and 19 BC, the Trojan army falls back when Achilles advances. Achilles drags the greatest Trojan warrior,
Hector, around the city walls and sells his dead body to king
Priam for gold. Penthesilea is cast as a tragic Amazon queen who came too late in vain to help the beleaguered city. When
Aeneas sees the panel of Penthesilea in the Juno temple of
Carthage, he knows that the defeat of Penthesilea and
Memnon presage a chain of events that would culminate in the sacking of the city. Penthesilea's fate also foreshadows that of
Camilla, which is described in detail by Virgil later in the epic. According to Virgil, Penthesilea led an army of Amazons and is a
bellatrix (Latin for "female warrior") who dared to fight men (
audetque viris concurrere virgo). Virgil based his narrative in
Homer's
Iliad, while relying on the
Epic Cycle for his portrayal of Penthesilea. Virgil also reworked oral legends into an epic on the foundation of Rome. In
Aeneid the
Romans descended from the hero
Aeneas and Trojan refugees who sailed to
Italy after the
Trojan War. This interweaving of the Penthesilea legend with the founding legend of Rome can be traced to
Lycophron.
Diodorus In his universal history
Bibliotheca historica,
Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BC celebrated Penthesilea as the last Amazon to win renown for valour in war. Diodorus wrote that after the
Trojan War the Amazons diminished and tales of their former glory began to be considered mere legends.
Smyrnaeus In the 4th century AD, the imperial Greek poet
Quintus Smyrnaeus made Penthesilea the subject of the first book in
Posthomerica. In this epic, Smyrnaeus tries to finish
Homer by telling the colourful story of how the city of Troy fell. This work explains how Penthesilea came to be at Troy: Penthesilea had killed Hippolyta with a spear when they were hunting deer; this accident caused Penthesilea so much grief that she wished only to die, but, as a warrior and an Amazon, she had to do so honorably and in battle. She therefore was easily convinced to join in the Trojan War. Smyrnaeus also describes in gory detail how the army of Amazons surprises the Greek army and the slaughter that commenced. The Amazon Klonie, after slaying her first opponent, is in turn killed. Penthesilea mows through the Greek lines, killing eight warriors, and cuts the arm off the Greek warrior who had killed Klonie. Penthesilea's Amazon comrades
Bremusa,
Evandre and
Thermodosa fight valiantly alongside her but are slain, and so are
Derinoe, Alkibie and Derimachea. Penthesilea slays more Greeks with
axe and
spear. From the towers the Trojan women watch and Penthesilea inspires the young
Hippodamia, who urges the Trojan women to join the battle. Antimachus' daughter Tisiphone gives an inspirational speech: "not in strength are we inferior to men; the same our eyes, our limbs the same; one common light we see, one air we breathe; nor different is the food we eat. What then denied to us hath heaven on man bestowed? O let us hasten to the glorious war!"
Art Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae n red-figure bell-
krater, late 5th century BC At the
Temple of Apollo Epicurius, built in the mid- to late-5th century BC, scenes from the
Trojan War are preserved in the
Bassae Frieze, a high relief marble sculpture in 23 panels. Here the Greek army is charged by the Amazons, who gain the upper hand, and at the height of the battle Achilles slays Penthesilea on a slab known as BM 537. Achilles and Penthesilea are flanked by a Greek soldier and an Amazon. Penthesilea is identified as a queen by a crown. Penthesilea, shown on the ground just before being struck, and Achilles are exchanging a gaze. The final slab of the series on the Amazons depicts a truce between the Greek army and the Amazons at the end of the battle.
Temple of Zeus at Olympia According to
Pausanias, the throne of Zeus at Olympia bore a painting by
Panaenus of the dying Penthesilea being supported by Achilles. Pausanias wrote "And, at the extremity of the painting, is Penthesilea breathing her last, and Achilles supporting her". The motif of Achilles supporting a dying or dead Penthesilea has been preserved at the
Temple of Aphrodisias and was reinterpreted in sculptures and mosaics in
ancient Rome.
Vase figure A
black-figure vase from about 510–500 BC shows Achilles carrying Penthesilea from the battlefield. in part by
J.D. Beazley. A
white-ground alabastron from the 6th century BCE depicts Penthesilea as being courted by a female Thracian hunter, labelled Theraichme. It appears to be a reversal of a common male
courtship scene in
Athenian art, where a suitor gifts a token of affection – typically a
rabbit – to his beloved. == Later portrayals ==