The idea of female warriors or warrior women is a staple across much of science fiction and fantasy, with examples ranging from Xena, to Wonder Woman, to Katniss. Warrior women featured as a trope in ancient cultures and mythology as well, perhaps none so much as the famous Amazons of Greek and Roman legend. Archaeologists and historians have long wondered if there was indeed something to these stories.
This is where the Scythians and Sauromatians come in! Greek texts (and some others, such as Persian) tell us that the Amazons lived initially in Pontus, but that they eventually moved to the Pontic-Caspian steppe. This was where the Scythians, and later the Sauromatians, lived. It’s probable that legends about warrior women and the Amazons were reinforced and grew due to the presence of the Scythians, who apparently had female warriors of their own.
The presence of warrior women in Scythian and Sauromatian culture was disputed for an extremely long time. However, the excavations of Scythian kurgans and the sequencing of DNA in those graves has essentially confirmed the presence of female warriors in Scythian culture, and their presence continues to grow.
SOURCES:
The Scythians, Barry Cunliffe, esp. chapter 5
The Eurasia Steppe, Warwick Ball, esp. chapter 4
Scythian Archers of the 4th century BC, Marina Daragan
New Investigations of Scythian Kurgans & their Periphery in the Lower Danube Region, Polin et al
Tomb Containing Three Generations of Warrior Women Unearthed in Southern Russia, Machemer
Different Gentes, Same Amazons: Liccardo
Women Warriors & the Amazon Myth, Vovoura
