Celebrating Ancient Amazons of Myth and History to Women in the Modern Military and Warrior Women fighting Beyond the borders of Reality

With a background in traditional media including oils, pastels & colored pencils, Howard David Johnson embraces leading edge digital media in the creation of his realistic depictions of fantasy, folklore, mythology, legend, religion, and heroic history. He works in and mixes a wide variety of media * Oil paintings * Acrylic Paintings * Prismacolor Paintings * Drawings * Chalk & Oil Pastel Paintings * Photography * Digital Artistry & Mixed Media * 

" Scáthach ,guarding Dún Scáith on the the Isle of Skye"

  "Scáthach is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the mythical Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology."

 Finding Scáthach? 

   Indeed, before any warriors could even ask Scáthach for help, they had to first find and then reach her domain. The woman’s fortress, called Dun Scaith (Castle of Shadows), reportedly sat on Isle of Skye northwest of Scotland. Kings and princes who wanted to get there had to cross the Irish Sea, known for its deadly storms and choppy waters, eastward or navigate the cold waters of the Atlantic northward along the craggy islands of western Scotland. Scáthach's instruction of the young hero Cú Chulainn notably appears in Tochmarc Emire (The Wooing of Emer), called the Irish Iliad, it was an early Irish folk tale preceding the great epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. 

The legends of the Amazons have a basis in historical fact according to Herodotus, the Father of History. (book four) He wrote thousands of years ago that the Scythian warrior women encountered by the Greeks had the characteristics of the mythical Amazons and they were an amazing tribe of people.

  The Scythians who lived in today's Southern Ukraine lost all their men in the war with Darius so they procreated with their slaves, who it was their custom to blind so they posed no political threat. These warrior women had to kill at least three men in combat before surrendering their virginity and raising children.

They wore the same armor as the men and used the same weapons. Many historians doubted Herodotus accounts but Russian archaeologists in the 19th century found graves and tombs with women buried in full armor with weapons in the region and dated to the time period to substantiate his reports.

 The Amazons were persistent in their appearances in the shadow area between myth and history. they were mentioned in the Iliad at the battle of Troy which was only until recently thought to be a myth until archaeologists proved otherwise.

 Warrior Queen Boudica of the Celts

On a recent "History" Channel "documentary" she was shown wearing a mini-skirt and charging at the forefront of her army- the FIRST to exchange blows! No wonder U.S. Senators express outrage at the history channel's lack of history.

Women  Generals participating in battle plans? Yes! Women Judges and mayors? Yes! Celtic women battlefield combatants? Almost never. I have a collectible copy of Tacitus Annals of Rome printed in the 1880’s. She rode as a passenger in a chariot before battle and her daughters were before her in the bus-wagon like seating.

Because of the removal of history from schools and the influence of television the dividing line between history and myth & legend is becoming increasingly blurred. Recent surveys showed 50% of high school students could not recognize a picture of Abraham Lincoln or tell why he was an important figure or who the U.S. won their independence from. Movies like "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer" will only make matters worse.

Warrior Queen Zenobia of Palmyra

Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra (circa 278 A.D.) is one of the grandest & most underrated heroines of antiquity! She come from a long line of fabulous Syrian & Abyssinian queens, including the Legendary Queen of Sheba. She adored & emulated Cleopatra & ironically met a similar fate. Assyrian records speak of mighty Arab warrior queens like Zabibi, who revolted but was finally subdued in 738 B.C.  she was born Septima Bath-shabbi, consort of Odaenathus, the Dux Orientus succeeded his throne as his widow & on behalf of her son, the lawful successor. She ruled with very capable hands and was determined to surpass his excellence and make Palmyra mistress of the Roman Empire in the east.

 She was a scholar in her own right and was instructed in the sciences by the celebrated Longinus. Besides her native tongue, she spoke the Latin, Greek, Coptic and Syrian languages. She patronized learned men and herself formed an epitome of Egyptian history. The Talmud speaks of her goodness to rabbis. She was a conqueror and commanded a fine army, protecting the Roman flank from the Persians and subduing Egypt. In spite of her loyalty and capable leadership Zenobia was betrayed when the new emperor Aurelius took the throne because of gender prejudice. Zenobia then stood up to the tyranny of the Romans in the grandest heroic fashion. She led her troops into Phoenicia and Palestine, conquered the land to the borders of Egypt and defeated the world-governing Roman army. Personally leading her troops into battle on horseback was an important ingredient for Zenobia's success. A woman's presence in battle is inspiring (like a mythical goddess) common among early Arabs, in a pre-Islamic tradition; called the Lady of Victory. Her hair flowing and her body partly exposed, this Lady of Victory appealed both to valor and passion. In addition to this, the fact that every man that met her fell in love with her due to her beauty and charm makes her even more fascinating. 

Life of Aurelian, by Vopiscus in Augustae Historiae Scriptores (translated into English by Bernard in 1740)

She was a mystic who lived a very public life during the Middle Ages, her high profile political presence and her visions and voices made her one of the most controversial people of her times.

  She was condemned in spite of her unflagging faithfulness as a Christian and was burned alive at the stake on trumped up charges of being a heretic by the Roman Church, although it cannot be said that The University of Paris, one time favorite of the Popes, and the most influential educational institution since Aristotle, had nothing to do with the martyrdom of Joan of Arc.

    The Inquisition took it's earliest form around 1023 A.D. to deal with various kinds of heresies and made the Age of Faith complete.  Persecution of maverick Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Pagans was especially relentless during these centuries.

    Dante - 'The Divine Comedy' ( 1318 A.D.) with his 'Inferno' - a terrifying vision of Hell - was the most influential writer and philosopher of the times. 

 Sadly, fantasy television shows like Xena warrior princess have had more of an impact on our cultural consciousness than events of history. The truth is, there were very, very few real life female warriors in western history and most of those were fictionalized composites like Molly Pritcher.

In the 1970's women began serving in active duty in the American Armed Forces and this practice has  spread globally since. The uniform depicted to the left was the first U.S. combat uniform worn by women during the Vietnam War. That illustration was created as a cover for a time traveling fantasy novel set in ancient Greece, but shows the idealized image of a female warrior spanning thousands of years.

Warrior  goddesses of Mythology

Warrior Women of Fantasy and Mythology

      Howard David Johnson is a contemporary realistic artist and photographer with a background in the natural sciences and history.  David works in a wide variety of mixed media ranging from oil on canvas to digital media. David's realistic illustrations have made appearances in every major bookstore and game shop chain in America as well as magazines and educational texts around the world. 

   Some of David's more prestigious clients have included the University of Texas, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, The Australian Mint, The National Geographic Society, Paramount Studios, Universal Studios, MGM Studios, Warner Brothers Home Video, ABC/Disney, CBS TV, PBS TV, The History Channel, Enslow Educational Publishers, Adobe Photoshop, Auto FX, Tree-Free Greeting, Verizon wireless, Apple IPOD, Penguin, Doubleday (Now Random House), Harlequin Top Historical Romances, and the History Book of the Month Club, as well as appearing in periodical publications like Popular Photography and the Wall Street Journal.   

A Traditional style portrait of the artist. [Photo by his son Erich.]

   After a lifetime of drawing and painting, David's Traditional Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London in 1996, ( 3 years before he got his first computer ) as well as numerous American ones since, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

    Working in a variety of media David offers his customers a variety of options and more than three decades of experience. As an illustrator he has not only used the computer but has been involved in the development and marketing of software for Adobe Photoshop. Digital art, Colored pencils, Pastels, Mixed media, & also Oil Paintings can also be commissioned for select projects.Digital illustration projects start at $500.U.S. and group rates are available. David delivers custom made copyright free illustrations & old fashioned customer service when he does work-for-hire. To publish existing pieces of his realistic art, David sells licenses starting at only $99.USD.

You can e-mail for more details at: 

info@howarddavidjohnson.com

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