Amazons of Black Sparta : the women warriors of Dahomey / Stanley B. Alpern.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Alpern, Stanley B. (Stanley Bernard), 1927-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women soldiers--Benin--History--19th century.

Women soldiers.

History, Military.

History.

Benin--History, Military--19th century.

Benin.

Physical Description:

xii, 280 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, 1998.

Summary:

History is rife with tales of fighting women. More often than not, these stories prove more legend than history. Dating back to the amazons of ancient Asia Minor, myths of fierce, autonomous women of martial excellence abound.

And yet, the only thoroughly documented amazons in world history are the women warriors of Dahomey, an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Western African kingdom. Once dubbed a "small black Sparta", the kingdom of Dahomey shared with Sparta an intense militarism and sense of collectivism. Moreover, the women of both kingdoms prided themselves on bodies hardened from childhood by rigorous physical exercise. But Spartan women kept in shape to breed male warriors, Dahomean amazons to kill them. Originally a praetorian guard, the Dahomeans developed into a force 6,000 strong and were granted semi-sacred status. They lusted for battle, fighting with fury and valor until the kingdom's final defeat by France in 1892.

Stanley B. Alpern has chronicled this remarkable history in depth for the first time. The product of meticulous archival research, Amazons of Black Sparta is defined by Alpern's gift for narrative and will stand as the most comprehensive and accessible account of the woman warriors of Dahomey.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 262-271) and index.

ISBN:

0814706770

0814706789

OCLC:

38132681