On this bell-krater, the horse, with its ears flat, and the open-beaked griffin with hooded eyes appear menacing in contrast with the calmness of the Amazon. But this image contains a subtle warning.
The story of the Amazons was pervasive in Greek art and literature, in part because the myth dealt with what happens when societal norms are challenged. The Amazons did not play by the accepted rules of male-dominant society and, as a result, chaos and mayhem followed wherever they appeared.
