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Penthesilea

One of the Amazons, sister of Hippolyta and Antiope.   She accompanied Hippolyta in her attack on Athens to rescue Antiope, who had been kidnapped by Hercules.   Later, she accidentally killed Hippolyta during a hunt and replaced her as Queen of the Amazons.   She was  haunted by the Furies, the three goddesses of retribution, for killing her sister, and faced dissent among the Amazon ranks.   Amid this atmosphere, Penthesilea led twelve of her women on an expedition to assist the city of Troy when they were beseiged by the Greeks.   She is recorded as having taken with her an Amazon named Bremusa, who appears to have been her lover, the first instance of the Amazons being specifically portrayed as practicing lesbian love.   Both Penthesilea and Bremusa, and indeed the entire Amazon troop, were killed by the Greeks.   Penthesilea was killed by Achilles, who was then heartbroken when he removed the visor of her helmet and, looking upon her dead face, realized how beautiful she had been.   A variation of the tale has Penthesilea killing Achilles, who is then brought back to life by Zeus at the beseeching of his mother Thetis, whereupon Achilles kills Penthesilea.   When Achilles is later shot by Paris with a poisoned arrow, Zeus refuses to prevent his death a second time.   It is this version of Penthesilea's death which German poet Heinrich von Kleist uses in his famous poem, "Penthesilea."

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