Whether outnumbered by enemies in battle or fighting Goddesses, Amazons never surrender. The Rite of Caste A ritual in which the Amazon Queen passes her status to another. Gabrielle received the right of caste from Terreis when she attempted to save her from a rain of arrows. Gabrielle has since passed on her rite of caste to Xena's daughter Eve, making her next in line for the throne should anything happen to Gabrielle.

The Beginning of the Fall ''Tomorrow we take the next step in reclaiming our ancestral lands. And when we take back our valley, we'll be sending a message to the whole world. Amazons want what is rightfully ours. And we'll fight our righteous war until we get it!" Mayhem

So far in the timeline, the Amazons in general have been shown in universally positive light as far as Xena & Gabrielle are concerned. The same cannot be said for Hercules. The Hercules episode 'Prodigal Sister' portrays some Amazons as wearing black hats rather than white. To be entirely fair, however, it is pointed out that not all Amazons are bad. Some "renegade tribes" that have broken off and act as laws and communities unto themselves. One of those tribes has been raiding a village and killing the citizens while kidnapping some girl children to raise as Amazons. Indeed, the events of 'Prodigal Sister' mirror those in 'The Quest' and 'A Necessary Evil' as regards Amazon internal strife. One very aggressive leader, Mayhem, is quite Velasca-esque in her determination to assert Amazon dominance over the area and to take back lands that she feels belong only to Amazons. There are also words of broken treaties which imply the Amazons may actually have a case and Mayhem is made out to be more homicidal maniac than Amazon stateswoman. In the end, Mayhem prefers death to concession and the more moderate (and Ephiny-esque) Surrie takes leadership of the tribe and calls off the "righteous war" with the villagers. Also noteworthy in this episode, Hercules ominously predicts that a divided Amazon Nation will fall. How right he was.

Confusing Past "I understand your anger with her, Cyane. But Xena's not like you and me. She thinks with her will-- not her reason. You must have warriors in your camp with the same weakness. It would be terrible to let the peace be destroyed by one wild act." Borias

'Adventures In The Sin Trade' gives us a glimpse of not one but two Amazon communities. One of them, a Northern (Thunderdome) Amazon tribe is young and without experienced leadership. It is almost an extended family of sisters in that while these Amazons are committed to an Amazon identity, they do not have a very good feel for precisely what an Amazon is. They are nomadic and kept on the run by enemies. This has been their situation since their leadership was destroyed several years ago. This group is contrasted with another that did have competent leadership a few years ago until Xena killed their queen, Cyane, a name that is a title as well since many Amazon queens began to adopt the name Cyane upon taking the crown. She is a diplomat as well as a warrior. Cyane arranges an alliance with Borias and feels that at least for the moment she can rely on him to keep his word. She is an undisputed leader of her people.

As Xena is learning Amazon secrets to use against them, Cyane still recognizes greatness in Xena and tries to veer her from her dark side. Cyane tells Xena, "You're a murderer because you still think and act like one. Join us. We can teach you a new way, a new code to live by. We live for each other, not ourselves. We'll be seeing a lot more of you, now that we're allied with you and Borias. Think about my offer." Cyane shows that the communal spirit of the Amazon Nation is what keeps them strong, but we also see that without strong leadership and direction, Amazon communities do not survive. After Xena killed Cyane and the tribal leaders, the Amazon Nation in this part of the world disintegrated and left only a few rag-tag survivors, the "Thunderdome" Amazons described earlier.

Chaos and Destruction     "Ephiny is dead-- and we need our queen to lead us." Amarice

'Endgame' is the episode in which two of the leading stars of the Amazon Nation, Ephiny and Solari, are extinguished. Recognizing lessons learned from the past, mainly the equation "No skilled leadership equals dead Amazons", Gabrielle is sought to take her place as Amazon Queen. Gabrielle and Xena help preserve what is left of this Amazon tribe. Gabrielle mourns the loss of her friend and queen, Ephiny, and Xena vows that the Amazons will not go quietly into the night.

The portrayals of the Amazons as a people continue to be respectful and dignified in this episode, and Gabrielle does her best to find the most promising leader to take her place and impart some last-minute wisdom, "What would Ephiny do?" However, at the conclusion of the episode, leadership is left in well-meaning but inexperienced hands. We have seen before that a strong and effective leader is the determining factor in whether or not an Amazon tribe survives.

Evolving Thunderdome Amazons     "She will lead us in our quest for vengeance." Cyane

In addition to killing off two more high-profile Amazons, Yakut the Amazon and Amarice the Amazon wannabe, the Amazons depicted in the scroll ‘Lifeblood’ display little of the sisterhood evident in Amazon episodes past. Perhaps it was the necessity of wrapping a Xena episode This Amazon episode displayed very little in the way of "Amazon soul". The episode did explain a few things, such as the tradition for naming Amazon queens Cyane. It also fixed the origin of Amazons in the Xenaverse. However, in the details of Amazon society and philosophy, things got a little muddled. Is there really one Amazon Nation that is a patchwork of scattered tribes, and if so, how many and how do they all inter-relate? Amazon laws and customs seem to change like the wind to suit the circumstances of the moment, but this is not something limited to Amazons on Xena. This is not the first time Gabrielle, as Amazon Queen, has left things in hands she thought suitable only to find an ever-downward spiral in Amazon circumstances upon her return.

If Xena and Gabrielle are individual examples of strong, independent, dignified female characters, the Amazons are a group equivalent. They and their society are treated with respect and dignity. Many popular Amazon characters have given their lives for the Amazon cause. Here is hoping that was not in vain.