Aella (Amazon)

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In Greek mythology, Aella (Ancient Greek: Ἄελλα, meaning "storm-swift" in Ancient Greek, pronounced /ˈɑːɛllɑː/ or "AH-ell-ah") was an Amazon warrior who fought Heracles during his Ninth Labor (the fetching of the girdle of Queen Hippolyta). Diodorus Siculus highlights her exceptional swiftness, noting that she was the first Amazon to charge Heracles in battle.[1]

A hippeis rider seizes a mounted Amazon armed with a labrys by her Phrygian cap. This 4th-century AD Roman mosaic, from Daphne near Antioch-on-the-Orontes (present-day Antakya in Turkey), is housed in the Louvre in Paris.

The Amazons, daughters of the war god Ares and the nymph Harmonia, were renowned as fierce and independent women warriors. They were often depicted as residing in the region around the Black Sea, though their homeland's exact location varies in different accounts. Some ancient writers place the Amazons near the Thermodon River in modern-day Turkey, while others suggest Scythia or Libya.[2]

Mythology

Mentions in Ancient Literature

Notes

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