SOME INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE ROMAN WAR HEROES:
SOME INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE ROMAN WAR HEROES:
In this post, I have written about some of the personally most outstanding female Roman war heroes, in history: Fulvia and Cloelia...
1. EMPRESS FULVIA, THE FEMALE ROMAN GENERAL:
The wife of The Roman Emperor, Mark Antony, Fulvia was a female Roman General who led a Roman army, during the battle of Perusia, in 40-41 BCE.
The recount goes something like this...
The Roman Emperor, Mark Antony abandoned his life of military duty to live a life of leisure with Cleopatra in Egypt. Without an Emperor, in Rome, there was a conflict going on between the two main powers-possibly over dominion of the city.
Fulvia stormed around Rome compagning to persuade others to support her. She was very persuasive and influential-so much so that she persuaded many of the enemies to turn on their own ruler.
There was no Roman Emperor, in Rome to stop the conflict via force. So, Fulvia took matters into her own hands...
In ancient Rome, women traditionally weren't expected to be soldiers. Fulvia outstandingly went against the ancient Roman tradition and expectations by self-appointing herself her husband's assumed male roles as Emperor and General, while he was away.
She raised eight legions, as well as seized Perusia (modern Perugia) and Praeneste (modern Palestrina). It was said she occupied the city of Perusia for a short time.
Suddenly, Fulvia was besieged by the enemy troops. They sent volley after volley of sling bullets inscribed with insults directed at her. She persevered, despite the blows for a few months.
As the old saying goes, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.'
Historians of the time describe Antony as a playboy, who lacked the seriousness to be a military leader. It was Fulvia's courage, influence, leadership and strong will that led to Anthony's military success.
In honour of Fulvia, her image was embossed on coins, in the form of The Roman Victory Goddess, Nike or the Roman war Goddess, Minerva, the winged Victory. Fulvia was the first woman ever to have her face on Roman coinage.
The Roman historian, Cassius Dio remembers Fulvia as a woman who 'Girded on a sword.'
The biographer, Plutarch remembers Fulvia as a woman who ‘Wished to rule a ruler and command a commander and she schooled Antony to obey women.’.
In his Life of Mark Antony, Plutarch also remembers Fulvia as a "Woman who gave no thought to spinning or housekeeping"; on the contrary, he goes on to say, she preferred to accompany her husbands everywhere, even into their army camps.
2. CLOELIA, THE FEMALE WAR ROMAN HERO:
In Roman semi-history, Cloelia was basically a female Roman hero who rescued Roman war captives.
The story goes something like the following...
Around 508 BCE, the last king of Rome, Tarquinius was assassinated. The Romans and Etruscans engaged in a war with each-other-possibly over the throne.
The Etruscan king, Porsenna pressured the Romans to give him 200 Roman hostages as part of a peace treaty, otherwise he threated to continue destroying Rome. One of these hostages was Cloelia. She bravely handed herself in to protect Rome and was sent to an Etruscan war camp.
Cloelia can be comparable to Wonder Woman (aka. the amazon, Diana), as well as the Greek virgin goddess protector of women and children, Artemis. Like Artemis, Cloelia not only was a virgin, but prioritised freeing the women and younger children, since they were the most vulnerable to harm, including sexual abuse.
Similarly, to Wonder Woman, she led the Roman war hostages, on a horse, across the rapid currents of the deep Tiber River to their freedom. The only difference is that Wonder Woman freed Greek captives and travelled across the Atlantic ocean to serve in World War II.
The Romans rewarded Cloelia for her heroic feat by erecting a statue of her, on a horse, atop the Sacred Way: A well-known main street of Rome, in The Roman Forum, which led from the Capitaline Hill. It's also where Roman triumph parades were held. (Image of Cloelia's statue is below).
Cloelia was remembered by ancient Romans, including the male ones as a Roman military hero. The Roman historian, Livy paints Cloelia as a Roman military leader leading the Roman captives to a breakout from an Etruscan war camp, under a stream of arrows.
Cloelia reappears in Roman historical writing (including historical episodes in poetry) as a figure willing to die for the city republic of Rome.
The ancient Roman historian, Florus says that women as well as men deserved praise for their virtus, including courage (Epitoma 1. 4. 7) when discussing Roman heroes of the early Republic.
NOTES:
-A warrior and soldier isn't the same thing as a soldier. A soldier is formally enlisted, as well as trained for battle by an army organisation, whereas a warrior isnt, but just anyone who is naturally talented in military combat and displays great courage in battle.
-Fulvia is a female Roman General by definition. People who deny this personally just don't understand or are in self-denial
-Some accounts say that Fulvia co-led the battle with her husband. Others say that she did so with her brother-in-law, Lucius.
-Fulvia is comparable to Bellona Minerva, Otrera, Hippolyta and the amazons. She's like the real physical (solid) ones walking the Earth, in Roman history. She could even be them incarnated.
-Mark Antony acted more like a traitor woman and Fulvia behaved more like a loyal man. Fulvia outstandingly went against tradition and expectations by taking on her husband's assumed male roles as Emperor and General, while he was away. Kind of reminds me of how Mulan took on her father's assumed male role as soldier, because he was very sick. Comes to show that women can be stronger and have more military virtue than the men. Funny whenever the assumed gender roles are reversed.
-After Antony and Octavian had deprived Lepidus of his place in the triumvirate and Antony was living with Cleopatra, Fulvia conspired with Antony’s brother, Lucius Antonius, against Octavian, who was given the unpopular task of taking land from Italians to give to Caesar’s veterans.
-Rumour has it: Out of jealousy, wanting to force Antony’s return to Italy, Fulvia induced Lucius Antonius to rebel against the enemy.
-Cloelia personality could have been a Roman amazon incarnated. The amazons could have incarnated in ancient Rome, as well as Greece to rescue soldiers and promote women's rights. They were like real physical (solid) Roman or Greek amazons walking the Earth, throughout ancient history, but few people know about them-possibly because the Roman historians didnt want them to. They didnt want people to know that women can be warriors like the men. So, they just hid us in the shadows.
-Other female Greek & Roman heroes for further research include:
-Tullia
-Fulvia
-Hortensia
-Lucretia
-Agrippina the Younger
-Livia Drusilla
-Agrippina the Elder
-Julia Domna
-Claudia Metrodora
-Julia Maesa
-Julia Soaemias
-Ulpia Severina
-Theodora
-Aspasia of Miletus.
-Agnodice of Athens.
-Hipparchia of Marneia.
-Arete of Cyrene.
-Hydna of Scione.
-Telesilla of Argos.
-The female Spartan warriors, in the Siege of Sparta.
Link to more female Roman & Greek heroes:
https://books.google.com/books/about/Heroes_and_Heroines_of_Greece_and_Rome.html?id=4hlfEAAAQBAJ
SOURCES:
https://www.timetravelrome.com/2019/11/12/fulvia-defeat-perusian-wars/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fulvia-wife-of-Mark-Antony
https://www.historytoday.com/history-matters/woman-who-would-be-king
https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/fulvia-c-8580-40-bce
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_perusia.html
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Perusia
https://ancientromanhistory31-14.com/an-end-of-the-republic/triumvirs/acts-of-the-triumvirs/perusine-war/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/311223
https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/perusine-war/m02rlq0h
https://youtu.be/XtXdEjWjA9g
https://womeninantiquity.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/the-significance-of-cloelia-the-hostage/
https://ancientherstories.com/cloelia-roman-heroine-porsena-tiber/
http://vroma.org/vromans/bmcmanus/livy_english.html
https://digitalmapsoftheancientworld.com/mythology/roman-mythology/heroes/cloelia/
https://youtu.be/2Nr-0w1H9TQ
https://youtu.be/vjowzWj1zCk
https://youtu.be/V05bWsXOoH4
https://youtu.be/k_S1BzsC6gE
https://youtu.be/SNSWE47rSLQ
https://youtu.be/fuONj_PqccI
#romanmilitaryhistory
#romanheroines
#romanshieldmaidens
Comments
Post a Comment