[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.39,0:00:08.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Since the time of Homer,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.97,0:00:14.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ancient stories told of fierce warriors \Ndwelling beyond the Mediterranean world,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.12,0:00:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,striking fear into the mightiest \Nempires of antiquity.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.70,0:00:21.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their exploits were\Nrecounted by many epic poets.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.69,0:00:26.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They fought in the legendary Trojan War \Nand their grand army invaded Athens.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.96,0:00:29.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jason and the Argonauts \Npassed by their shores,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.66,0:00:32.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,barely avoiding their deadly arrows.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.56,0:00:37.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These formidable fighters faced off \Nagainst the greatest champions of myth:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.05,0:00:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Heracles,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.08,0:00:39.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Theseus,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.11,0:00:40.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Achilles.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.88,0:00:45.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And every single one \Nof these warriors was a woman.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.38,0:00:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The war-loving Amazons,\N"the equals of men" in courage and skill,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.50,0:00:53.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were familiar to everyone in\NAncient Greece.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.61,0:00:58.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Amazon battle scenes decorated \Nthe Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis;
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.10,0:01:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,paintings and statues of Amazons\Nadorned temples and public spaces.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.80,0:01:05.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Little girls played with Amazon dolls,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.67,0:01:09.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Amazons were a favorite subject \Non Greek vase paintings.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.88,0:01:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Greek art and literature,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.60,0:01:14.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they were depicted as daring \Nand desirable
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.52,0:01:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also terrifying and deadly,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.92,0:01:20.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and doomed to die \Nat the hands of Greek heroes.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.34,0:01:24.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Were Amazons merely figures of myth,\Nor something more?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.38,0:01:27.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was long assumed \Nthat they were imaginary,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.14,0:01:29.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the Cyclops and centaurs.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.06,0:01:32.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But curiously enough, \Nstories from Ancient Egypt,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.77,0:01:33.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Persia,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.76,0:01:34.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Middle East,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.79,0:01:36.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Central Asia,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.01,0:01:36.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,India,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.82,0:01:37.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and China
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.85,0:01:41.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also featured Amazon-like warrior women.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.13,0:01:46.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Amazons were described in ancient\Nhistorical accounts, not just myths.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.44,0:01:51.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Writers like Herodotus, Plato, \Nand Strabo never doubted their existence.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.49,0:01:55.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So who were the real women \Nwarriors known as Amazons?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.74,0:02:00.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ancient historians located \Nthe Amazon homeland in Scythia,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.02,0:02:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the vast territory stretching from
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.12,0:02:05.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Black Sea across \Nthe steppes of Central Asia.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.25,0:02:08.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This immense region was populated \Nby nomadic tribes
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.70,0:02:10.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whose lives centered on horses,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.44,0:02:11.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,archery,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.32,0:02:12.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and warfare.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.62,0:02:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their culture flourished for about\N1,000 years beginning around 800 BC.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.00,0:02:22.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Feared by Greeks, Persians, and\Nthe Chinese, the Scythians left
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.32,0:02:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no written records.\NBut we can find clues in how
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.03,0:02:29.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their neighbors described them,\Nas well as in archaeology.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.77,0:02:32.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Scythians' ancestors were \Nthe first to ride horses
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.79,0:02:35.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they invented the recurve bow.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.39,0:02:40.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, because a female mounted archer \Ncould be as fast and as deadly as a male,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.85,0:02:44.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all children were trained \Nto ride and shoot.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.06,0:02:48.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Women hunted and fought alongside men,\Nusing the same weapons.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.59,0:02:51.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The harsh landscape \Nand their nomadic lifestyle
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.55,0:02:54.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,created its own form of equality.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.36,0:03:00.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This amazed the ancient Greeks, \Nwhose women led restricted indoor lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.25,0:03:03.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The earliest stories of the Scythians, \Nand Amazons,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.37,0:03:05.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,may have been exaggerated rumors.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.85,0:03:10.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as the Greeks began to trade around \Nthe Black Sea and further east,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.07,0:03:12.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their portrayals became more realistic.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.88,0:03:17.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Early depictions of Amazons showed them \Nwith Greek weapons and armor.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.10,0:03:19.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in later representations,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.15,0:03:21.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they wielded bows and battle-axes,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.46,0:03:22.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rode horses,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.69,0:03:25.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and wore pointed caps \Nand patterned trousers
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.62,0:03:28.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,characteristic of steppe nomads.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.29,0:03:32.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Until recently, no one was sure \Nhow strong the links were
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.18,0:03:35.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between Scythians \Nand the Amazons of Greek myth.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.67,0:03:39.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But recent archaeological discoveries \Nhave provided ample evidence.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.95,0:03:45.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More than 1,000 ancient Scythian kurgans,\Nor burial mounds, have been excavated,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.76,0:03:48.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,containing skeletons and weapons.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.27,0:03:50.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Archaeologists had previously assumed
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.44,0:03:53.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that weapons could only \Nbelong to male warriors.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.67,0:03:56.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But modern DNA analysis so far
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.09,0:03:59.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has revealed that about 300 skeletons \Nburied with weapons
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.82,0:04:04.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,belong to females ranging\Nin age from 10 to 45,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.09,0:04:06.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more are being found every year.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.59,0:04:08.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The women's skeletons \Nshow battle injuries:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.93,0:04:10.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ribs slashed by swords,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.90,0:04:13.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,skulls bashed by battle-axes,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.34,0:04:17.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and arrows embedded in bones.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.02,0:04:18.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In classical art and writings,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.77,0:04:23.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the fearsome Amazons were always portrayed\Nas brave and heroic.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.90,0:04:26.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In male-dominated classical Greece, \Nhowever,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.44,0:04:33.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the very idea of strong women who gloried \Nin freedom and war aroused mixed feelings.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.45,0:04:37.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, the Greeks were also drawn\Nto egalitarian ideals.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.43,0:04:41.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is it possible that the mythic realm \Nof thrilling Amazon tales
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.52,0:04:45.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a way to imagine women\Nand men as equal companions?