Penthesilea- Greek HeroHero"Queen of the Amazons"

Daughter of Ares

Penthesilea was born to Ares, god of war, and the Amazon queen Otrera. She rose to lead the Amazons after her sister Hippolyta. The event that drove Penthesilea to Troy was a terrible accident: during a hunt, she cast a spear that struck and killed Hippolyta. Whether it happened during a hunt or in battle, the result was the same — she was stained with blood-guilt, and only ritual purification could lift it. She sought this at Troy, where Priam could perform the rites. She also sought war, hoping combat might ease what ceremony could not. She gathered twelve Amazon companions and rode for Troy.

Arrival at Troy

Penthesilea arrived after the death of Hector, when the city was desperate for a new champion. She brought her contingent of Amazon warriors and offered her services to King Priam. Priam purified her of the blood-guilt for Hippolyta's death, and Penthesilea prepared to enter the war.

Battle and Death

On the battlefield, Penthesilea cut down Greek after Greek and drove the Achaeans back toward their ships. In the Posthomerica, the Greeks scatter before her, some believing a goddess has taken the field.

But when she faced Achilles in single combat, even her divine parentage could not save her. Achilles drove his spear through her, and as she fell dying, he stripped her helmet and saw her face for the first time. He was overcome with grief and desire — he had fallen in love with the woman he had just killed.

Thersites and Aftermath

Thersites, an ugly and contentious Greek soldier, mocked Achilles for his grief. In one version he went further, gouging out Penthesilea's eyes with his spear. Achilles struck him dead with a single blow — an act that caused a quarrel among the Greeks, since Thersites was a kinsman of Diomedes. Achilles gave Penthesilea's body an honorable burial, or in some versions surrendered it to the Trojans for funeral rites.