"They'll restrain anyone weak and insignificant who gets caught in them, but they'll be torn to shreds by people with power and wealth."
-Anacharsis the Scythian.
This is the beauty of history. Comments made in the 6th Century BCE ring true today. How many times do people in our society lament that it is the poor punished by our criminal justice system while the rich can afford the lawyers and walk free? Anacharsis saw this issue already endemic in Athens, Greece.
This is why historical novels retain the capacity to speak to us, even while they set us down in a society so alien to our own. Laws may change and cities fall, but we as people continue to struggle with the same issues.
I also quote Anacharsis as well, because as a Scythian, his people were the nomadic steppe horsemen and women that gave rise to the Amazon legend. My main character, Ariella, is of Scythian heritage and like Anacharsis in Athens, she finds herself out of step with the society around her. This both allows her clarity into the danger the City faces and robs her of the ability to save it. Outsiders, even when born within our walls, are always distrusted.
The progenitors of the Amazons were amazing artisans:
