An army of Amazons sets out to conquer Greek heroes for the purpose of stocking their women's state with new female offspring. They blast into the midst of the Trojan War, confusing Greeks and Trojans alike and for a moment forcing those enemies into a terrified alliance. When Achilles, the pride and mainstay of the Greeks, and Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, meet, a chase begins, and it is the queen who is hunting Achilles, to the uncomprehending horror of the Greeks.

Thus begins a tragedy of love in a world governed by the rules of war, on which "the gods look down but from afar." For the first time, in this splendidly illustrated book, an English translation recreates the audacity, romance, and poetry of one of the strangest and most beautiful works of Western literature.