Scholars have long been divided on the question of whether the Amazons of Greek legend actually existed. Notably, Soviet archaeologists' discoveries of the bodies of women warriors in the 1980s appeared to directly contradict western classicists' denial of the veracity of the Amazon myth, and there have been few concessions between the two schools of thought since. Postcolonial Amazons offers a ground-breaking re-evaluation of the place of martial women in the ancient world, bridging the gap between myth and historical reality and expanding our conception of the Amazon archetype. By shifting the center of debate to the periphery of the region known to the Greeks, the startling conclusion emerges that the ancient Athenian conception of women as weak and fearful was not at all typical of the region of that time, even within Greece. Surrounding the Athenians were numerous peoples who held that women could be courageous, able, clever, and daring, suggesting that although Greek stories of Amazons may be exaggerations, they were based upon a real historical understanding of women who fought. While re-examining the sources of the Amazon myth, this compelling volume also resituates the Amazons in the broader context from which they have been extracted, illustrating that although they were the quintessential example of female masculinity in ancient Greek thought, they were not the only instance of this phenomenon: masculine women were masqueraded on the Greek stage, described in the Hippocratic corpus, took part in the struggle to control Alexander the Great's empire after his death, and served as bodyguards in ancient India. Against the backdrop of the ongoing debates surrounding gender norms and fluidity, Postcolonial Amazons breaks new ground as an ancient history of female masculinity and demonstrates that these ideas have a much longer and more durable heritage than we may have supposed.

The story of the materialist prince Paesi is the only larger legend common to Jain and Buddhist (Payasi in the Digha-nikaya) canonical literature and a rare sample of a lively dialogue. Its subject, the corporeality of the soul, is denied by the Jains. In contrast the Buddhists consider the "I" a facon de parler for practical reasons. Modern brain research tends in favour of the Buddhist view of the ego as being impermanent and therefore an illusion created by the brain. The problem in this dialogue of Paesi with a Jain monk, which is set in the axial age of reflexion on and discussion of the soul (6th century BCE), but in its present literary form dates some centuries later, has therefore in two millennia not lost its actuality. Differently from the Buddhist version the story of Paesi ends tragically; after his conversion the prince is murdered by his wife. The single arguments in the discussion show many ancient Indian realia (birth ritual, diseases, etiquette, ethnic list of female servants, execution of thieves, regicide, 72 professions, similes etc.) which have been commented upon in the notes.

Through the use of epigraphical evidence, Leslie C. Orr brings into focus the activities and identities of the temple women (devadasis) of medieval South India, and suggests new ways of understanding the character of the temple woman -- and of the role of women in Indian religion and society.

The Encyclopaedia Covers All Possible Subjects Pertaining To Ancient Indian Culture And Civilization Excepting Political History. Entries Have Been Supported By Textual And Epigraphical References. It Serves Two-Fold Purpose, Overall Comprehension Of Topics On The One Hand And Detailed Information On Particular Aspects On The Other. A Valuable Reference Tool For Students, Researchers And Teachers.