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Wine jar, made in Athens about 540-530 BC
The Trojan War
Achilles fights the Amazon queen
Even though he had killed Hector, Achilles was not yet fated to die. He still had time to fight the Amazons, fierce female warriors who were on the side of the Trojans. The Amazons fought hard and killed many Greeks, but when their brave queen, Penthesilea, came face to face with Achilles, she had met her match.
This vase shows Achilles thrusting his spear into Penthesilea's neck. As she fell, she turned to look up at him. One version of the story says that as Achilles killed her, their eyes met and they fell deeply in love.