Thalestris, the Amazon Queen: Curtius Rufus, Hist. Alex. Magn. VI.v.24-32

Trigger Warning: This passage provides an example of xenophobia and misogyny, as historical Amazons here are glamorized and sexualized by the author's deliberate digression into their "lurid" habits. 

Erat, ut supra dictum est, Hyrcaniae finitima gens Amazonum, circa Thermodonta amnem Themiscyrae incolentium campos. Reginam habebant Thalestrin, omnibus inter Caucasum montem et Phasin amnem imperitantem. Haec cupidine visendi regis accensa finibus regni sui excessit et, cum haud procul abesset, praemisit indicantes venisse reginam adeundi eius cognoscendique avidam. Protinus facta potestate veniendi, ceteris iussis subsistere trecentis feminarum comitata processit, atque, ut primum rex in conspectu fuit, equo ipsa desiluit duas lanceas dextera praeferens. Vestis non toto Amazonum corpori obducitur: nam laeva pars ad pectus est nuda, cetera deinde velantur. Nec tamen sinus vestis, quem nodo colligunt, infra genua descendit. Altera papilla intacta servatur, qua muliebris sexus liberos alant: aduritur dextera, ut arcus facilius intendant et tela vibrent. Interrito vultu regem Thalestris invebatur, habitum eius haudquaquam rerum famae parem oculis perlustrans: quippe omnibus Barbaris in corporum maiestate veneratio est, magnorumque operum non alios capaces putant quam quos eximia specie donare natura dignata est. Ceterum interrogata num aliquid petere vellet, haud dubitavit fateri ad communicandos cum rege liberos se venisse, dignam, ex qua ipse regni generaret heredes; feminini sexus se retenturam, marem reddituram patri. Alexander, an cum ipso militare vellet, interrogat: et illa causata sine custode regnum reliquisse petere perseverabat ne se inritam spei pateretur abire. Acrior ad venerem feminae cupido quam regis; ac, ut paucos dies subsisteret, perpulit: XIII dies in obsequium desiderii eius absumpti sunt. Tum illa regnum suum, rex Parthienen petiverunt.

 --Quintus Curtius Rufus, Historia Alexandri Magni, VI.iv.24-32

As I mentioned earlier, there was a race of Amazons that neighbored Hyrcania; their territory lay on the plains surrounding the Thermodon River. Their queen was Thalestris, who ruled over everyone from the Caucasus mountains to the Phasis River. The queen, burning with a desire to see King Alexander, left her kingdom; when she was not too far from his camp, she sent ambassadors to let him know that she was coming and wanted to meet him. 

When she was granted a meeting, Thalestris sent away the remainder of her retinue except for a body guard of three hundred women. She trotted up to the king, and leapt down from her horse, carrying two lances in her right hand.

Amazons do not go about fully clothed. Their left side remains bare, including their breast, but they cover up the rest of their body. The rest of their outfit (which they tie up in a knot) does not cover their knees. They keep their left breast intact so they can nurse their daughters, but they burn off their right breasts, so that they can more easily draw their bows and shoot their spears.

Thalestris greeted Alexander with a scowl, for his looks did not live up to his royal status. (As you know, all barbarians venerate the majesty of royal bodies, and consider other bodies not as worthy of great deeds as the body of kings).

When asked what she wanted, Thalestris immediately confessed that she wanted to create children with the king, stating that she was worthy to create his heirs; if she bore a daughter, she would keep it; if she bore a son, she would return it to him. Then Alexander asked her if she wished to go on campaign with him; she replied that she could not leave her kingdom without a ruler, but instead insisted that she not leave with her request unfulfilled.  The queen’s desire for love overrode the king’s [desire for a military ally]; and so he tarried with her for a few days. They spent thirteen days together fulfilling the queen’s request. Then the queen returned home, and the king returned to Parthia.

QUINTUS CURTIUS RUFUS	MAP:
Name:  Quintus Curtius Rufus Date:  1st c. CE Works:  History of Alexander the Great	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman statesman and author who lived during the reign of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Although much of his work is lost, the remaining fragments of his History of Alexander the Great provide insight into the life of the great hero.	GOLDEN AGE ROME