A m a z o n s
Theseus against the Amazons. Fourteen figures compose this painting, but only six are shown here. Theseus is aided by Perithous; he attacks Andromache, who raises her ax against him to defend herself desperately, because she has already fallen and Theseus is about to stab her. From the right arrive on the scene three Amazons on horses, one of whom is Hippolyta. They carry spears and axes. Similar scenes of the Amazon battle were depicted by Phidias on other famous vase paintings of the same time, which have a symbolic meaning. The Amazons symbolize the Persians, who invaded from the East, and their defeat by Theseus corresponds to the Athenian victory. According to one myth Theseus encouraged the Athenians in the battle of Marathon. [dinos, 450 B.C., London, British Museum]