Most of us have heard of Boudicca (or Boadicea, as she used to be called). Few of us however, could name any other female warriors – that is before we’d heard the latest talk given to Cowbridge u3a’s History Group recently by Dr Eve MacDonald, a senior lecturer in History at Cardiff University. She has travelled widely in the Mediterranean area and near East, and many references were made to these areas in her learned talk.
She began by mentioning the Amazons, a mythical group of women who lived on the edge of the then known world in the Black Sea area, rode on horseback, and fought the ancient Greeks. Homer described them as the ‘equals of men’. They were widely depicted on pottery, such as on a wine jug dating from the 5th century BC, a slide of which was shown to us. In the perception of ancient culture, they were seen as half sexy and half terrifying. This was extraordinary in the conceptualisation of women at the time, where they generally knew their place – and it wasn’t as warriors. They were usually thought of as victims or war (often still the case), supporters of their menfolk, and possibly advisers, but it wasn’t usual for women to participate actively in waging war. However, it is believed that the Amazons were based on real women, living in the Asian steppes.
Skeletal remains, now proven through modern DNA testing to be female, found in burial mounds in Russia, show evidence of battle wounds, and in some cases have weapons buried with them. This is the case for one tomb containing remains of 4 Scythian women, one of whom was aged about 45 (very old in such times), 2 in their twenties, and one we would now consider a child, all of whom must have been warriors
There were documented real examples of women warriors, obviously Boudicca who famously led a rebellion against the Romans, and as such, is still for us a powerful symbol today. Lesser known to us in the west, are Zenobia and Mavia, who were similar warrior queens in the Arab world.
Zenobia, whose image is immortalised on coins, led a rebellion in Syria with significant military losses, and set herself up as an empress and rival to Rome. She is referenced in both Roman and Arab literature as a woman who ‘ruled most excellently’. She eventually retired to a place of peace and luxury.
Mavia was an Arab warrior queen. With her army, she relieved Constantinople from the Barbarians who had overrun Thrace and advanced that far.
In the Greek and Roman civilisations, there were certainly influential female leaders, such as Cleopatra, who exercised their power over men sometimes emotionally or in a manipulative way, even if they did not actually go into battle.
It was noted that this role is still assumed today by, for instance, first ladies of the USA!
VEM