{"id":652,"date":"2014-08-16T20:27:37","date_gmt":"2014-08-16T17:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yedek.ahmetkaracalar.com\/?page_id=652"},"modified":"2025-12-16T21:30:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:30:36","slug":"amazons-pdf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/amazons-pdf\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazones (article)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SPECIAL TOPIC<\/p>

The Amazons and an Analysis of Breast<\/p>

Mutilation from a Plastic Surgeon\u2019s Perspective<\/p>

Ahmet Karacalar, M.D.<\/p>

Background: The Amazon philosophy has been increasing in popularity because<\/p>

of the evolving status of women in society. Many references point to<\/p>

Themiscrya on the southern coast of the Black Sea in Anatolia as the Amazon<\/p>

homeland. The primary objective of this article is to discuss the different femininity<\/p>

of the Amazons and their breast mutilation from the perspective of a<\/p>

plastic surgeon who has been living in this region that the Amazons inhabited.<\/p>

Methods: Findings from archaeology, linguistics, anthropology, medicine, history,<\/p>

psychology, and the fine arts were integrated.<\/p>

Results: The hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the method of<\/p>

breast mutilation include amputation, cauterization, breast searing, and breast<\/p>

pinching. It is generally believed that the primary purpose was to facilitate the<\/p>

efficient use of a bow. Another explanation would be that breast mutilation was<\/p>

performed for medical reasons, including the prevention of breast pain, the<\/p>

development of a tender lump, or cancer. There is another school of thought<\/p>

on this involving religious and sociological reasons that breast mutilation was a<\/p>

badge of honor for warrior women and a sign that a woman had become a real<\/p>

warrior and a sacrifice to Artemis as a sign of service.<\/p>

Conclusions: Much indirect proof and archaeological evidence point to their<\/p>

historical existence. The Amazons, who lived in an autonomous and original<\/p>

social model, changed their image and function to suit the needs of the society<\/p>

and the times. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 119: 810, 2007.)<\/p>

The Amazons, a race of dominant warrior<\/p>

women in the bronze age, were mentioned<\/p>

by many ancient famous, infamous, and<\/p>

obscure historians. The Amazons first emerge<\/p>

into literature in two epics about the Trojan War,<\/p>

The Iliad of Homer1 and a lesser known poem,<\/p>

The Aethiopis, attributed to Arctinus of Miletus.2<\/p>

There are differing views as to how many nations<\/p>

of Amazons there were. Many references,<\/p>

including Herodotos,3 Diodorus,4 Apollonius,5<\/p>

Justinus,6 Virgil,7 and Strabo,8 point to Themiscrya<\/p>

as the Amazon homeland, which is located<\/p>

in the Black Sea region of the Anatolian peninsula<\/p>

of modern day Turkey. (The list of ancient<\/p>

authors is not limited to those we have selected<\/p>

for quotation; one may also draw from the works<\/p>

of Pliny, Aeschylus, Stephanos, Hesiod, Lysias,<\/p>

and Pausanias.) From this center, they made<\/p>

numerous warlike excursions to various regions<\/p>

that made the geography of the Amazons rather<\/p>

complex. Kugler9 reported that the Amazons appeared<\/p>

on the Ebstorf Map (thirteenth century)<\/p>

northeast of Troia (Fig. 1).<\/p>

The Amazons supposedly removed one breast<\/p>

to use the bow more effectively. Interestingly, no<\/p>

medical explanation has been hypothesized in<\/p>

any reports accounting for this tradition. In<\/p>

1962, Schechter10 from the University of Colorado<\/p>

School of Medicine reported some known<\/p>

historical proofs of breast mutilation without<\/p>

making commentaries on the mutilation procedure.<\/p>

It is noteworthy that the word Amazon<\/p>

entered plastic surgery literature in 1977. Mu\u00a8hlbauer<\/p>

and Wangerin11 proposed the Amazon<\/p>

syndrome for female patients with Poland\u2019s syndrome<\/p>

associated with ipsilateral hypoplasia or<\/p>

aplasia of the breast.<\/p>

The author of this article, who has been living<\/p>

in the area formerly inhabited by the Amazons,<\/p>

attempted to view the Amazons from a plastic<\/p>

surgeon\u2019s perspective and to highlight some of<\/p>

the prominent, or simply the known, facts and<\/p>

thoughts connected with them. In view of their<\/p>

different femininity and breast mutilation, there<\/p>

is a link between the Amazons and the broad<\/p>

From the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,<\/p>

Ondokuz May\u0131s University.<\/p>

Received for publication November 24, 2004; accepted February<\/p>

16, 2005.<\/p>

Copyright \u00a92007 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons<\/p>

DOI: 10.1097\/01.prs.0000240816.99127.f3<\/p>

810 www.PRSJournal.com<\/p>

interdisciplinary nature of our distinguished speciality.<\/p>

Because of the extreme complexity of the<\/p>

subject, this article, which includes integrated<\/p>

findings from archaeology, linguistics, anthropology,<\/p>

medicine, history, psychology, and fine<\/p>

arts, was confined chiefly to breast mutilation<\/p>

with general information on the Amazons.<\/p>

AMAZONS AND MYTHOLOGY<\/p>

The corpus of myths may be taken to display<\/p>

some type of internal logic.12 Therefore, we should<\/p>

mention several myths related to the Amazons,<\/p>

because the Amazon reality is situated at the intersection<\/p>

of history and mythology. The myth of<\/p>

Theseus of Athens tells of the Amazons invading<\/p>

Attica to take back their queen. The myth of the<\/p>

labors of Herakles is the most important and interesting<\/p>

one relating to the Amazons. Herakles,<\/p>

the greatest of all the Greek heroes, performed his<\/p>

famous 12 labors at the command of Eurystheus,<\/p>

king of Argos or Mycenae. In one of his labors, he<\/p>

was sent off to the shores of the Black Sea to fetch<\/p>

the girdle of the queen of the Amazons.13<\/p>

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD AMAZON<\/p>

AND BREAST MUTILATION<\/p>

Although the precise meaning of the word<\/p>

Amazon is not clear, there is a popular belief that<\/p>

the word is derived from the word amazoi,meaning<\/p>

without breast. This folk etymology was supported<\/p>

by the folktale that the Amazons sacrificed their<\/p>

right breast. The hypotheses that have been proposed<\/p>

to explain the method of breast mutilation<\/p>

include amputation, cauterization, breast searing,<\/p>

and breast pinching.4,6,14\u201318<\/p>

Hippocrates15 discussed the mutilation procedure<\/p>

of the Amazons, writing that mothers cauterized<\/p>

their daughters\u2019 right breast region before<\/p>

puberty so that it would not later develop. Plastic<\/p>

surgeons are quite knowledgeable about how thermal<\/p>

burns to the breast interfere with normal<\/p>

breast development by damaging the pliable skin<\/p>

and breast bud.<\/p>

According to Hippocrates,15 all the strength<\/p>

and fullness are transferred to the right shoulder<\/p>

and arm. His explanation parallels the traditions<\/p>

of the Yahuna and the Xingfi in northwest Brazil,<\/p>

who are in the habit of scarifying themselves to<\/p>

strengthen their muscles.19 Alfred Adler\u2019s idea of<\/p>

\u201corgan inferiority\u201d further supports Hippocrates\u2019<\/p>

theory. Simply stated, he postulates that when<\/p>

there was a biological weakness in an organ, compensation<\/p>

may take place on the physical level by<\/p>

striving to attain a homeostatic balance.20<\/p>

According to Strabo,8 the right breasts of the<\/p>

Amazons were seared when they were infants so<\/p>

that they could easily use their right arm for every<\/p>

needed purpose, and especially that of the javelin;<\/p>

they also used the bow, sagaris, and light shield.<\/p>

According to Diodorus,4 the Amazons seared the<\/p>

right breast of girls so that it might not project and<\/p>

be in the way when their bodies matured; it is for<\/p>

this reason that the nation of the Amazons received<\/p>

the appellation it bears. In Anabasis of Alexander,<\/p>

Arrian21 reports an unambiguous story of<\/p>

the hundred female warriors, alleged to be Amazons,<\/p>

who were introduced to the king in Media by<\/p>

the satrap Atropates. It is said that their right<\/p>

breasts were smaller and were uncovered in battle.<\/p>

This report supports the theory of breast hypoplasia<\/p>

caused by binding or pinching. Body deformation<\/p>

by binding has been a bodily mutilation<\/p>

throughout history.22 Hypothetically, strenuous<\/p>

activities could have caused small breasts. Jansen<\/p>

et al.23 evaluated two cases of breast hypoplasia<\/p>

that developed after traumatic injury to the breast<\/p>

bud while the body was under increased physical<\/p>

stress. Theintz et al.24 tested the theory that intense<\/p>

physical training could inhibit the hypothalamicpituitary-<\/p>

gonadal axis of female athletes. General<\/p>

depression of this axis influences early breast development<\/p>

before menarche.<\/p>

Some people disagree with the theory of selfmastectomy<\/p>

and claim that the Amazons would<\/p>

not have had the medical knowledge to manage<\/p>

the inevitable massive hemorrhage or infection if<\/p>

such ablation of the breast actually occurred. Am-<\/p>

Fig. 1. A feminine Amazon figure appears in the northeast of<\/p>

Troia (Ebstorf Map, E. Sommerbrodt, 1891).<\/p>

Volume 119, Number 3 \u2022 Amazons and Breast Mutilation<\/p>

811<\/p>

putation of the breast followed by cauterization<\/p>

could have been performed with instruments specifically<\/p>

designed for this purpose. Throughout<\/p>

history, mutilating surgery of breast cancer has<\/p>

been performed without anesthesia.25 It is known<\/p>

that surgeons of the sixteenth and seventeenth<\/p>

centuries, including Tabor and Heister, devised<\/p>

instruments that facilitated rapid amputation of<\/p>

the breast.26<\/p>

It is generally believed that the primary purpose<\/p>

was to facilitate shooting with the bow, during<\/p>

which the breast might get in the way. Obviously,<\/p>

a chest somewhat similar to a man\u2019s chest allows<\/p>

accuracy in releasing the bow, which is the most<\/p>

critical step in the sequence. We might question<\/p>

why they did not remove both breasts. The removal<\/p>

of both breasts would have allowed the<\/p>

women to be more skilled and precise when working<\/p>

with a bow. According to Apollorodorus,14 the<\/p>

Amazons kept their left breasts for nursing.<\/p>

Some people think that the belief that the<\/p>

Amazons mutilated one breast makes little sense<\/p>

in light of today\u2019s two-breasted female archers. In<\/p>

fact, today\u2019s sportswomen, including female archers,<\/p>

are usually small-breasted because athletic<\/p>

activities are hampered by heavy breasts. In archery,<\/p>

a chest guard is used to prevent or minimize<\/p>

the risk of injury to the breast.<\/p>

Based on the clinical facts, we can say that it<\/p>

may be much more difficult for a woman with<\/p>

heavy breasts to use a bow despite a chest guard.<\/p>

Letterman and Schurter27 reported that heavy<\/p>

breasts change the center of gravity by increasing<\/p>

cervical lordosis, intensifying tension on the extensor<\/p>

muscles of the neck and thoracis kyphosis.<\/p>

Another explanation would be that breast mutilation<\/p>

was performed for the prevention of breast<\/p>

pain. There is scientific evidence to support this<\/p>

speculative theory. Physical exercise causes the<\/p>

breasts to move up and down and side to side. This<\/p>

large displacement of the breasts often leads to<\/p>

breast pain.28 Breast motion is difficult to reduce<\/p>

because the female breast does not contain strong<\/p>

intrinsic structural support. Many athletes complain<\/p>

of breast pain while running or engaging in<\/p>

other high-impact exercises, especially during premenstrual<\/p>

days.29 Another common breast complaint<\/p>

is irritation of the nipples from repetitive<\/p>

friction against clothing during running.30<\/p>

The postovulation period can contribute to the<\/p>

mechanism causing breast pain. Shooting an arrow<\/p>

would have been very painful if the bow had caught<\/p>

the tender breast in the postovulation period.<\/p>

Of interest is Murray\u2019s statement in his book31<\/p>

that the prolonged repetition of pressure from the<\/p>

bowstring can lead to the formation of a lump<\/p>

within the fatty tissue, which is clinically difficult to<\/p>

distinguish from cancer tissue. Chronic trauma<\/p>

and irritation would remain applicable as a possible<\/p>

cause for cancer, although there is no strong<\/p>

medical evidence to support claims that chronic<\/p>

trauma to the breast can result in cancer. The<\/p>

history of breast trauma has been associated with<\/p>

an increased risk for breast cancer in men.32 Breast<\/p>

trauma causes benign breast lesions that are associated<\/p>

with an increased risk of developing breast<\/p>

cancer.33<\/p>

All this leads us to question whether the Amazons<\/p>

performed prophylactic mastectomy to prevent<\/p>

the development of a tender lump or cancer.<\/p>

Cancer has been with us since prehistoric times.<\/p>

The earliest medical record concerned with tumors<\/p>

of the breast is the ancient Edwin Smith Surgical<\/p>

Papyrus (3000 to 2500 BC).34<\/p>

With a longbow draw, the left breast of righthanded<\/p>

female archers is in the firing line. Therefore,<\/p>

right-handed female archers today use a<\/p>

leather restraint to keep their left breast clear of<\/p>

the bowstring. This fact contradicts the hypothesis<\/p>

that the mutilation of the right breast was performed<\/p>

to facilitate shooting with the bow. With a<\/p>

short, composite reflex bow fired from horseback,<\/p>

the draw is short and across the body.35 This may<\/p>

explain why the Amazons sacrificed the right<\/p>

breast.<\/p>

Based on the available data, it would not be<\/p>

unreasonable to think that they were left-handed<\/p>

archers. Sassanian archers were capable of shooting<\/p>

to both sides.36 There is a possibility that the<\/p>

Assyrian archers may have been left-handed.37<\/p>

However, this theory contradicts the eye-dominance<\/p>

theory in modern archery that if you are<\/p>

right-eye-dominant, then you should be a righthanded<\/p>

archer (a person may be right-handed but<\/p>

left-eye-dominant, or vice versa).31 The reason behind<\/p>

this is to align the dominant eye over the<\/p>

arrow for aiming. Claude Serre,38 a famous French<\/p>

cartoonist, depicted a female archer, with devastating<\/p>

humor (Fig. 2). The left breast of the woman,<\/p>

who is not dressed as an archer, gets in the way of<\/p>

pulling the bowstring. It seems that the mutilation<\/p>

of the right breast cannot be explained by simple<\/p>

practical reasons, suggesting that a more complex<\/p>

explanation must exist. Because of her role as a<\/p>

fertility goddess, Artemis was sometimes depicted<\/p>

as having many breasts, as in marble statues of the<\/p>

second century AD from Ephesus (Figs. 3 and 4).39<\/p>

The Ephesus Artemis statue was supposedly<\/p>

placed by the Queen of the Amazons. Some scholars<\/p>

have suggested that they sacrificed one breast<\/p>

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery \u2022 March 2007<\/p>

812<\/p>

to Artemis, the Goddess they worshipped. Slater40<\/p>

conjectured that women who devoted themselves<\/p>

to goddesses at the time of the Greeks cut off one<\/p>

or both breasts to present their bodily parts to the<\/p>

deities as a sign of service. Artemis and Cybele<\/p>

(Fig. 5) seem to have incorporated the same or a<\/p>

similar metaphor of a feminized nature.41,42<\/p>

Taylor35 reported that breast mutilation has a symbolic<\/p>

meaning that represents women who were<\/p>

half men.<\/p>

When we judge this behavior with respect to<\/p>

today\u2019s modern culture, the Amazons\u2019 denial of<\/p>

femininity to increase their effectiveness in battle<\/p>

seems to be a barbaric custom. This is really no<\/p>

more peculiar, or at least no more wrong, than<\/p>

foot-binding, teeth sharpening, genital mutilation,<\/p>

intentional scarring and cranial deformation,<\/p>

inserting large disks in the lip, or giraffe<\/p>

women. Removal of both nipples of both breasts<\/p>

for religious reasons by the Skoptsy has also been<\/p>

reported.43 From a sociological perspective, in the<\/p>

Amazons\u2019 purely feminine society, breast mutilation<\/p>

may have been interpreted as a badge of<\/p>

honor for warrior women and a sign that a woman<\/p>

had become a real warrior. The image of the onebreasted<\/p>

woman might have been a psychological<\/p>

projection of the fear that a woman with the power<\/p>

to nurture might arbitrarily withhold such privi-<\/p>

Fig. 3. Ephesus Artemis. This colossal Artemis statue is covered<\/p>

with multiple breasts, symbolizing fertility(EphesusMuseum,AD<\/p>

200).<\/p>

Fig. 4. Artemis the Fair. This statue is similar to the colossal Artemis.<\/p>

The upper torso is covered with multiple breasts, symbolizing<\/p>

fertility (Ephesus Museum, AD 200).<\/p>

Fig. 2. Note the left breast of the woman in the way of pulling<\/p>

the bowstring (Claude Serre).<\/p>

Volume 119, Number 3 \u2022 Amazons and Breast Mutilation<\/p>

813<\/p>

leges, as reflected in a mutilated one-breasted<\/p>

biology.44 Revisionist thinking is also evident in<\/p>

Raber\u2019s article.45 The bared, or in some versions<\/p>

amputated, breast of the classic Amazon signifies<\/p>

the rejection of the sexualized femininity expected<\/p>

of women in favor of masculine, violent<\/p>

pursuits. In Greco-Roman mythology, the monstrosity<\/p>

of Medusa and the mutilation of the Amazons<\/p>

are representations of the threat that a<\/p>

woman represents for a man in her double condition<\/p>

of mother\/object of desire.46 Some ancient<\/p>

authors pinpointed Medusa as queen of a tribe of<\/p>

Amazons called Gorgons (Fig. 6).47<\/p>

It has been reported that patients with mastectomy<\/p>

have high scores for mutilation anxiety or<\/p>

mutilation-related psychiatric symptoms.48 Psychiatrists<\/p>

sometimes speak of a penis\u2013 breast equation.<\/p>

Mastectomy has the same catastrophic degenderizing<\/p>

effect for a woman as amputation of<\/p>

the penis has for a man.49 This brings to mind a<\/p>

Freudian theory related to the Oedipus complex<\/p>

and including the benefits of castration fear. According<\/p>

to this theory, girls can never develop a<\/p>

strong superego because they do not experience<\/p>

castration fear. Thus arises the unfortunate fact of<\/p>

the woman\u2019s weak moral nature.50<\/p>

What accounts for this complex, maladaptive<\/p>

behavior is unknown. As stated by Scupin and<\/p>

DeCorse,51 human behavior is always extremely<\/p>

complex, and sorting out the causes and effects of<\/p>

human activity is always difficult. This asymmetric<\/p>

mutilation reminds me of Dagobert Frey\u2019s words,<\/p>

which are a replica of the shining original of Plotinus:<\/p>

\u201casymmetry signifies motion, loosening, arbitrariness,<\/p>

accident, life, play, and freedom.\u201d52<\/p>

AMAZONS IN ART<\/p>

An indirect proof of the existence of breast<\/p>

mutilation may be obtained by examining Greek<\/p>

art, because the Amazonomachy was a very popular<\/p>

theme among Greek artists. Based on a thor-<\/p>

Fig. 5. Mother Goddess figurine (6000 to 7000 BC, Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Turkey).<\/p>

Fig. 6. Apollon Temple head of Medusa, whose snaky locks and<\/p>

monstrous facewerebelieved to turnmento stone if they looked<\/p>

at her. She represents the Amazonian male-terrifying power<\/p>

(Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Turkey).<\/p>

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery \u2022 March 2007<\/p>

814<\/p>

ough analysis of the Attic black figure work, red<\/p>

figure vase painting, and sculpture, we identified<\/p>

extremely feminine Amazons, with intact, high<\/p>

conical, and perfectly symmetrical breasts (Fig. 7);<\/p>

Amazons with the bare right breast and another<\/p>

breast visible under their clothing (Fig. 8), Amazons<\/p>

with their left breasts larger than their right;<\/p>

Amazons with no apparent breasts; Amazons with<\/p>

circular marks where the breasts should have appeared;<\/p>

Amazons with their breasts covered with a<\/p>

design of little spirals; and single-breasted Amazons<\/p>

depicted with the right breast bare and another<\/p>

missing or aplastic breast covered.<\/p>

Allegedly, Amazons sacrificed their right<\/p>

breasts. However, there is no representation showing<\/p>

a mutilated right breast. On the contrary, a<\/p>

hypoplastic or aplastic left breast can be seen beneath<\/p>

the Amazons\u2019 clothes in Greek art. Some<\/p>

modern writers have pointed out these sources as<\/p>

evidence to maintain that the Amazons were not<\/p>

mutilated. Obviously, these Amazon images reflect<\/p>

the fantasies of Greek artists. Therefore, they<\/p>

may not be accurate depictions of real Amazons<\/p>

and should be treated separately from the written<\/p>

sources as a poor guide to scientific insight. Figure<\/p>

9 is a noteworthy example; a Roman sarcophagus<\/p>

in the Konya archaeology museum in Turkey. In<\/p>

this representation, there is some sign of a mutilated<\/p>

left breast.<\/p>

AMAZON FEMININITY<\/p>

Amazon femininity has inspired many writers.<\/p>

An important focus is placed on Penthesilea\u2019s<\/p>

beauty. Quintis53 writes that \u201cabout her face there<\/p>

was a beauty at once terrible and splendid.\u201d It is<\/p>

reported that Achilles killed her with a spear above<\/p>

her right breast. Quintis notes her exquisite<\/p>

Fig. 7. Wounded Amazon, 400 BC. Between her two naked<\/p>

breasts, the belted dress is drawn up over the right shoulder<\/p>

(Ephesus Museum, Turkey).<\/p>

Fig. 8. Frieze from the temple of Hadrian. Four blocks form the<\/p>

frieze. In block B, the Amazons are fleeing from Hercules (AD 300<\/p>

to 400; Ephesus Museum, Turkey).<\/p>

Fig. 9. Roman sarcophagus from the museum in Konya, Turkey,<\/p>

depicting HerculesandanAmazonwarrior, from the second century<\/p>

AD. There is some sign of breast mutilation. The Amazon<\/p>

warrior does not wear any metal or leather clothing that flattens<\/p>

the breast.<\/p>

Volume 119, Number 3 \u2022 Amazons and Breast Mutilation<\/p>

815<\/p>

beauty even in death: \u201cThough she had fallen in<\/p>

dust and blood, her face shone out under her<\/p>

lovely brows beautiful even in death.\u201d<\/p>

As reported by Weinbaum,44 although Homeric<\/p>

Amazons were androgynous, more warrior<\/p>

than woman (Fig. 10), by the second phase,<\/p>

beauty, vulnerability, and other male-prescribed<\/p>

aspects of femininity had become dominant. She<\/p>

is reduced to a male projection of the conquered<\/p>

beauty, deprived of her individual existence that<\/p>

would have included a community of women.54<\/p>

In the Amazon figures depicted by sculptors<\/p>

and painters, the faces are usually calm and ideally<\/p>

beautiful. Their bodies are feminine yet muscular,<\/p>

supple, and graceful in a short tunic. However, in<\/p>

fact, the physical environment might have produced<\/p>

very different phenotypes, such as the<\/p>

curved leg bones and wide pelvis bone caused by<\/p>

a life spent on horseback.<\/p>

The Amazons are also associated with wild<\/p>

femininity. From this perspective, the female<\/p>

bodybuilder is a contemporary version of the Amazon<\/p>

and provides an alternative to the oppressive<\/p>

body beauty norms.<\/p>

Women now work in a variety of jobs previously<\/p>

thought to be only for men, and there are<\/p>

more women in positions of authority. This type of<\/p>

femininity contrasts to conventional stereotypes of<\/p>

women as weak and passive and represents the<\/p>

reversal of the cultural imperative. The Amazon is<\/p>

a woman who we believe can successfully challenge,<\/p>

and thus help transform, domination related<\/p>

to gender, race, class, age, disability, and<\/p>

sexual orientation.55<\/p>

The Amazon philosophy has a growing popularity<\/p>

and increasing sympathy because of the<\/p>

evolving status of women in society, and the word<\/p>

Amazon is often used to refer to strong and athletic<\/p>

beauty. Amazon feminism is also concerned<\/p>

with physical equality. As mentioned by Greer,56 it<\/p>

was enough to look beautiful in the past; now, a<\/p>

woman has to have a tight and toned body as<\/p>

reinforced by magazines and the television industry.<\/p>

Hargreaves57 reported that slender muscularity<\/p>

is the new female body ideal, at least among the<\/p>

white middle class. Thinness has been exchanged<\/p>

for tautness and containment.58 For obvious reasons,<\/p>

feminists tend to idealize the Amazons.<\/p>

\u201cAmazonism\u201d is also an emerging form of lesbian<\/p>

activism. According to Pastre,59 the autonomous<\/p>

and original social model created by the Amazons<\/p>

was exclusively homosexual.<\/p>

ETYMOLOGICAL FINDINGS<\/p>

To gain insights into the effects of Amazonism<\/p>

on the local culture, we used unstructured interviews<\/p>

involving open-ended conversations with informants.<\/p>

Anecdotal evidence based on our conversations<\/p>

included tales recalled by the elder<\/p>

members of the society, myths, narratives, life histories,<\/p>

and styles suggesting that the Amazons were<\/p>

cruel, helpless, rich, and antagonistic to cultural<\/p>

values.<\/p>

Although today\u2019s society in the Black Sea region<\/p>

is in general male-dominated and the position<\/p>

of women is inferior, the women in some rural<\/p>

areas practice a way of life that seems matrilineal.<\/p>

Interestingly, the ancestors of Turkish women living<\/p>

in the geographical region of the Amazons<\/p>

were well trained to use sword and shield and<\/p>

could fight competently with men.60<\/p>

Another tradition that has been passed down<\/p>

through many generations is a festival on Giresun<\/p>

Island, formerly called Ares, on the Black Sea.<\/p>

Every year, women circumnavigate the island, rowing<\/p>

boats, and make vows for the fulfillment of<\/p>

their wish to have a baby. It is believed that the<\/p>

Amazons lived on this island. Supporting this theory<\/p>

is a ruined temple that is described by Apollonius<\/p>

of Rhodes61: \u201c. . . they all hastened to the<\/p>

temple of Ares to sacrifice sheep. Without delay<\/p>

they took their places around the altar of small<\/p>

stones which stood outside the roofless temple.<\/p>

Inside the temple was a sacred black stone to<\/p>

which all the Amazons once used to pray . . ..\u201d<\/p>

NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS<\/p>

Herodotos reported that in a battle, the<\/p>

Greeks had defeated the Amazons near Thermodon<\/p>

and sailed for home with many female prisoners<\/p>

aboard. However, on the open sea, the Am-<\/p>

Fig. 10. A Roman sarcophagus in the museum in Ku\u00a8 tahya, Turkey,<\/p>

AD 200. Homeric Amazons were androgynous and more<\/p>

warrior than woman.<\/p>

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery \u2022 March 2007<\/p>

816<\/p>

azons rebelled and killed all the Greeks (this<\/p>

reminds me of a well-known superstition of sailors<\/p>

that a woman on board a ship at night brings bad<\/p>

luck). However, the Amazons were poor sailors<\/p>

and during a storm were cast up on the shore of<\/p>

the land of the Scythians. The Scythian youths and<\/p>

the Amazons married and formed a new tribe, the<\/p>

Sauromatians, who settled in the steppe between<\/p>

the Don and Volga Rivers. Intensive explorations<\/p>

of this region have verified the myth of the Amazons<\/p>

through archaeological proof of rich female<\/p>

graves containing full sets of weapons and horse<\/p>

trappings.62,63<\/p>

CONCLUSIONS<\/p>

Scientific data about the Amazons are not primary<\/p>

because there is no information written by<\/p>

any Amazon. However, it is beyond speculation to<\/p>

say that the Amazons are a reality, with many indirect<\/p>

proofs (e.g., written sources, art, legend,<\/p>

local myths, and traditions) and marked archaeological<\/p>

evidence. Excavations may help to explain<\/p>

many intriguing problems that await solution.<\/p>

Most of the scientific knowledge related to breast<\/p>

mutilation is tentative and hypothetical. However,<\/p>

there is a testable scientific proposition that the<\/p>

Amazons mutilated the right breast to make the<\/p>

right side of the body stronger. In patients with<\/p>

simple mastectomy, it would be a worthwhile avenue<\/p>

of research for scientific knowledge to compare<\/p>

the strength of the right arm with that of the<\/p>

left. It seems that the concept of the Amazon is still<\/p>

active in the cultural process.<\/p>

Ahmet Karacalar, M.D.<\/p>

Ondokuz May\u0131s U\u00a8 niversitesi<\/p>

T\u0131p Faku\u00a8ltesi<\/p>

Plastik ve Rekonstru\u00a8ktif Cerrahi A.D.<\/p>

Samsun 55139, Turkey<\/p>

akaraca@omu.edu.tr<\/p>

DISCLOSURE<\/p>

The author does not have a financial interest in any<\/p>

of the products, devices, or drugs mentioned in this<\/p>

article.<\/p>

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Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery \u2022 March 2007<\/p>

818<\/p>

Meme ba\u015f\u0131 i\u00e7e d\u00f6n\u00fckl\u00fc\u011f\u00fc-\u00e7\u00f6k\u00fckl\u00fc\u011f\u00fc<\/strong>
Meme ba\u015f\u0131n\u0131n i\u00e7e d\u00f6n\u00fckl\u00fc\u011f\u00fc \u00a0sadece estetik bir sorun \u00a0de\u011fildir. \u0130\u00e7e d\u00f6n\u00fckl\u00fck emzirmeyi engelledi\u011fi kadar, meme ba\u015f\u0131 alt\u0131 apselerine de neden olur. \u00a0\u0130\u00e7e d\u00f6n\u00fck meme ba\u015f\u0131n\u0131, i\u00e7eri do\u011fru \u00e7eken bantlar\u0131 gev\u015fetildikten sonra kullan\u0131lacak piercing olduk\u00e7a etkilidir. Alt\u0131ndan yap\u0131lan bu materyalin doku uyumu y\u00fcksek olup aksesuar havas\u0131nda oldu\u011fu i\u00e7in kolayca ta\u015f\u0131nabilir. Yakla\u015f\u0131k 3 ay yerinde durmas\u0131 \u00f6nerilir.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SUJET SP\u00c9CIAL Les Amazones et une Analyse de la Mutilation Mammaire du Point de Vue d'un Chirurgien Plastique Ahmet Karacalar, M.D. Contexte : La philosophie des Amazones gagne en popularit\u00e9 en raison de l'\u00e9volution du statut des femmes dans la soci\u00e9t\u00e9. De nombreuses r\u00e9f\u00e9rences d\u00e9signent Themiscrya sur la c\u00f4te sud de la mer Noire en Anatolie comme la patrie des Amazones.\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahmetkaracalar.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}