Warrior women: despite what gamers might believe, the ancient world was full of female fighters
But while it’s true that the Romans would not have had female soldiers in their armies, they certainly encountered women in battle – and when they did it created quite a stir. The historians of the ancient world recorded tales of impressive female military commanders from across many cultures.
When something is rare enough to cause a stir then it’s not a world full of that thing, is it?
“Full” meaning one every third generation
So how did Boudica do at Mancetter? Ask any Iceni you happen to see.
Liberal Logic: women are just as tough as the men who have easily subjugated them for thousands of years. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Is this from the same unfortunate-looking #woke historian who claims the Roman empire was as diverse (diverse means black) as the cast of DESMONDS/CRIMEWATCH?
Nevermind, I just remembered I don’t care.
@ Steve
You may have just written the perfect response to anything any SJW ever says is wrong with how they think the world should be.
“I just remembered I don’t care”
Outside of Boudica, I cannot remember a Roman general or historian ever mentioning one that was firmly established in historical fact.
How many of these female warriors won?
About the only successful female warriors outside of legend were the Dahomy- and they were mostly taking slaves.
A Roman legion would destroy any ‘Warrior Woman’ in seconds. No really seconds, they were brutal.
The author conflate head of state and commander-in-chief with warriors. Few women were warriors, but more were (often nominal) leaders in battle – eg Artemisia at Salamis or Cleopatra at Actium.
Ah The Conversation that has such articles as https://theconversation.com/how-capitalism-ruined-our-relationship-with-bacteria-103944 describing bacteria as cute and childlike. That Conversation.
“The author conflate head of state and commander-in-chief with warriors.”
Non-warriors can make fine commanders-in-chief e.g. Eisenhower.
Theo- yes. Some Great leaders and Great warriors meet in the middle of the eggheads and meatheads Venn, but most don’t.
Artemisia definitely makes the grade, because she was actually onboard a trireme at Salamis. She was a devious cow though, sinking a Persian boat in order to avoid capture.
“She was a devious cow though, sinking a Persian boat in order to avoid capture.”
She also had bothe the Persian and Greek colours on board her ship.
@ Steve: /applause
dearime,
Would that be the Eisenhower who cocked up in North Africa every time he faced a pathetic bunch of already-defeated Krauts, or the Eisenhower who allowed Patton to bugger off on his own so prolonging the war (instead of following the battle plan), or maybe it was the EIsenhower who was off in the south of France, incommunicado, shagging his PA when the Battle of the Bulge occurred. Perhaps, even, it was the Eisenhower who let his corps of engineers fail to anchor their Mulberry Harbour units properly, so they blew away in a storm. Or was it the Eisenhower who fucked the UK over about Suez because of his inferiority complex?
Or am I mistaking Eisenhowers?
“..they certainly encountered women in battle.”
How did that work out then?
One of my favourite bits of doublethink is when you get women praised for being so brave, tough and generally “extraordinary” for working in factories, on the land etc in the 2md World War.
You know, the stuff that men routinely did, year in year out, for their whole working lives.
Either what the women did was extraordinary or women are equally capable of doing these jobs. Pick one or the other.
I believe that the Soviet Army in WW 2 had female battalions or companies which fought on the battlefield. When living in Berlin, I spoke to an ex Whermacht soldier who fought on the Russian front (in fact, every ex German soldier I met claimed to fight the Soviets and not the British or Americans, but that’s another story) and said he faced female troops in battle. He added that if there was a danger of being captured by them, they were advised to kill themselves as the treatment they would receive would make death preferable. He added that they were ordered to shoot comrades who were wounded rather than leave them during a retreat. In later years, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. they apparently faced female guerrillas who became skilled at making their deaths long and painful if taken prisoner.
The Eisenhower that kept Patton and Montgomery from killing each other.
The Romans always outnumbered the barbarians by 3 to 1. And always had plenty of fresh troops to put on the fighting line. Easy to win against barbarians on the open field with proper roman discipline and weapons.
While there would have been occasional female warriors they were mostly male warriors. I can think of only a handful of sources mentioning them and half of them were about Iceni.
It was however common for some tribes to bring the women to battle to cheer them on and see how the menfolk fought. Also a psychological ploy, lose the battle and your woman would be raped and killed quickly.
when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. they apparently faced female guerrillas who became skilled at making their deaths long and painful if taken prisoner
When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.
The Young British Soldier – Rudyard Kipling