The Amazons DO go back to the Greeks. Homer
mentions em. Their original home was in the forests of the
Thermodon valley in Pontus in Asia Minor. Then
when the ancient Greeks started exploring the Thermodon
region and didn't find any Amazons there, they figured Hercules
had driven em away. So in legends that come
after that, the Amazons get further and further away, they're
always JUST out of reach. Talk about a gullible audience.
"There's no Amazons in Thermadon? Oh, they
moved to Ephesus. They're not there either? Oh, you know
what? They found a little village outside Naucratis--I can't
believe I forgot about that. Nevada! They're in
Nevada! Above the Arctic Circle! Antarctica--with the penguins.
That's where they live now."