Theseus and Antiope: Amazon War

The remainder of Theseus's life was as convoluted as that of Hercules. Theseus's marriage to the Amazon, Antiope (or Hippolyte), started a war with the Amazons which the Athenians won.



Antiope, one of the Amazon queens, fell in love with him. Betraying her sisters, she followed Theseus on his way back to Greece. The Amazons pursued the hero and Antiope to Athens, where they engaged in a fierce battle. Hippolyte, defeated, escaped to Megara, where she died.

Antiope and Theseus had a son, Hippolytus. Storytellers disagree on the way she died:Some say she was killed by an Amazon warrior, while others say that she was accidentally killed by an Amazon ally of hers, Penthesilia, while they were battling against the other Amazons. 



The AMAZONS attacked Athens and were vanquished by Theseus. 0112: Amazonentriptychon 1887. Mittelstück: Amazonenjagd. Adolf von Hildebrand 1847-1921. Neue Pinakotek, München.