Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey

by Stanley B. Alpern

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849041089
Publisher:	Hurst & Co.
Publication date:	03/28/2011
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Stanley B. Alpern worked as a sub-editor for the New York Herald Tribune and then as a foreign service officer of the United States Information Agency for twenty-two years, two of which were spent in West Africa. He lives on the French Riviera.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Alpern, a former Agency for International Development official long-stationed in Africa and now an independent scholar, draws together the available material on this peculiar institution into an interesting and readable book."

-Choice

Editorial Reviews

Alpern, who spent two decades in West Africa while working for the US Information Agency, chronicles the only documented amazons in world history--the women warriors of the 18th and 19th-century Western African kingdom Dahomey. He covers recruitment, celibacy, ornaments and charms, weapons, and military training, and details specific battles. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"Alpern, a former Agency for International Development official long-stationed in Africa and now an independent scholar, draws together the available material on this peculiar institution into an interesting and readable book."

-Choice

From the Publisher