Eureka Amazon Army Design Contest Entries

Hordes of the Things Amazon Army, 24 Army Points (AP)

This is the Amazon army which comes to the aid of the Trojans, as told in the Iliad.

Their queen, Penthesilia, is the daughter of Ares and Otrera, and sister of Hippolyte.

According to Greek myth, Penthesilia accidentally killed her sister Hippolyte while hunting; Penthesilia is so overcome with grief that she wishes only to die, but as an Amazon warrior, she should do so only in battle. She is therefore easily convinced to join in the Trojan War on the side of the defenders of Troy.

Hero, Penthesilia and command group, x 1 stand
100MYT22 Amazon Officer x 1 figure (Penthesilia)
100MYT24 Amazon Musicians x 2 figures
100MYT23 Amazon Standard Bearer x 1 figure (all on the same stand) - 4 AP

As the Amazons are supposed to have hailed from Pontus, which is part of modern-day Turkey, they would undoubtedly have had something of the flavor of Asia Minor; we therefore will give them some mounted units along those lines:

Knights x 1 stand - 100MYT20 Amazon Heavy Cavalry x 4 mounted figures - 2 AP
Riders x 1 stand - 100AMZ11 Amazon "Traditional" Cavalry x 3 mounted figures - 2 AP
Light Chariot x 1 stand - 100AMZ15 Amazon Chariot x 1, 100AMZ16 Amazon Chariot Runners x 2 figures (all on one stand) - 2 AP

Some myths hint that the Amazons, being huntresses, were highly proficient with the bow (and I won't even go into the largely debunked etymology of the word 'amazos', meaning 'without breast', referring to the fact that Amazons supposedly had their right breasts removed in order to more easily use a bow). We shall give our army some shooters:

Shooters x 1 stand - 100AMZ06 Amazon Archer x 4 figures - 2 AP

In the Iliad, the Amazons are referred to as 'Antianeira' ("those who fight like men"). So now, let us give our Amazon force some Bronze Age backbone:

Spears x 2 stands - 100AMZ14 Amazon Armored Phalangite x 8 figures, four to a stand - 4 AP
Blades x 2 stands - 100AMZ01 Amazon Hoplite x 8 figures, four to a stand (use only the four variants which come with sword) - 4 AP

And finally, we will field two elements of the wildest, most untamed Amazons; these are the Amazons who are sent, as myth tells us, to raid the men of the Gagarian tribe, and mate with them, so that the Amazon tribe will not die out. Male children are killed, of course, or turned loose in the wilderness to fend for themselves. Here then are the women who lead those fearful raids:

Warband x 2 stands - 100AMZ10, Amazon Royal Guard Axewomen x 3 figures (one stand), and 100AMZ09, Amazon Axewomen x 3 (one stand) - 4 AP

And that makes up our Amazon force, totaling 24 AP as per the Hordes of the Things rules, to fight alongside Hektor and Paris and their Trojan soldiers. The Amazon army's brave leader, Penthesilia, is, alas, fated to die at the hands of Achilles... (Her death is chronicled in the Aethiopis, which chronicles events after those in the Iliad.)

Tactics

The force is very supple, and if desired can be used with tactics from the Biblical era or Classical era.

For example: The left flank is refused, with the Riders, Light Chariot (treated as Riders), and Shooters posted there. The center in anchored by the Spears and Blades, who will advance slowly; the right flank is the hammer, with the Warbands and Knights attacking along with the Hero General.