Women and Warfare in the Ancient World: Virgins, Viragos and Amazons

by Karlene Jones-Bley

Explores mythological, legendary, archaeological, and historical evidence of women in a military setting.

Women and Warfare in the Ancient World presents a broad view of women and female figures involved in war in the ancient world, incorporating mythological, legendary, archaeological, and historical evidence for women in a military setting. Within this context are found not only fighters but also strategists, trainers, and leaders who may not have been on the actual battlefield. Exploring women and war within the Indo-European and Near Eastern worlds, this title seeks to challenge the view that women do not fight and that war is completely a male occupation – a view expressed as early as Xenophon and as late as the end of the 20th century.

Karlene Jones-Bley begins her study by defining Virgins, Viragos, and Amazons, going on to explore war goddesses, legendary, and historical women giving insights into different cultures, their attitudes towards women and how these have developed over time. Recent archaeological evidence supports her conclusions that women have always been a part of warfare.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published June 16, 2024

Reviews

[Melisende · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst extensively researched, the first part of the book is mainly on the earliest aspects of women and war which tend to be more mythological and refer to goddesses or legendary women. Having said that, the use of mythological references sets the cultural stage for an acceptance of the role of women in warfare, showing that ancient cultures were "... quite adept at envisioning women as warriors ..." - I would hesitate to say,even more so than in our own modern times.

Jones-Bley then discusses archaeological evidence and a more modern re-assessment of both ancient graves and grave goods, before launching into the historical sphere from the classical ancient world to the late 15th century. Jones-Bley concludes that whilst "... power was a factor in women's fighting, women, in general, have more often fought in defence ..." - usually of their own rights or those of their families and children - or husbands!

Points off for repeating a very basic research error when dealing with Eleanor of Aquitaine on Crusade (unfortunately, this author is not alone in this as I have found this same error repeated in other tomes - a little due diligence next time rather than repeating the same old tropes).

[Kristjan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is an interesting presumption about the participation of women in warfare, which is arguably an activity largely restricted to men; so I was very much interested in the potential for this book, especially given the fairly recent news of DNA results reclassifying some “warrior” burials (bodies interred with weapons) as female instead of their original classification of male. This had given me the impression that the historical record might be incorrectly over looking the contribution of woman warriors. Unfortunately, this book does very little to change what is arguably a consensus that actually taking up arms and fighting in the rank and file is a predominantly male activity. The focus here appears to be more on myth (gods and legends) and power (queens and commanders) which are more an exception to the rule than anything else and are not really anything new.

That is not to say I didn’t enjoy reading about these famous and powerful women, I did … but I was looking for something different here … evidence about what the “average” woman did in war … and as might be expected (although only hinted at here) is that this was primarily restricted to a defense of home and hearth (under or alongside the husband unless they were away) … with the potential exception of Scythian horse archers, the presumed inspiration for the amazon legends (which absolutely makes sense). In fact, the focus on female deities does not IMHO do anything to support the concept of human women in war (especially given the prevalence of such deities within societies that had near complete prohibitions of such). In addition, the area of investigation was restricted to what is largely considered to be the western world (and immediate influence such as Persia). So while the information was interesting, it remains a disappointedly incomplete treatment of the subject.


The chapters and sections in this work are

Chapter 1. In the Beginning: Mythological Figures
Chapter 2. Indo-European Goddesses Affiliated with War
Chapter 3. Legendary Figures - Mortal and Supernatural
Chapter 4. Archaeological Evidence
Chapter 5. Historical Women Through the Roman Period
Chapter 6. Historical Women from the Roman Period to 1492

Some of the other points that really got my attention are:

The military women we will examine in this work possess at least three characteristics in common. They are recurrently thought of, or described as, virgins, are characterised as viragos and very often labelled as amazons.

Although we have a fair amount of evidence for women working outside the home in antiquity (see Stol 2018: 339–90), for much of human history a woman’s place was thought to be in the home, bearing children and taking care of the needs of her family.

Although we might think that the archaeological evidence would clarify the question of what defines women warriors–she who has weapons is, she who lacks them isn’t–it does not. In fact, the archaeologists’ conclusions often lead to further questions. Some scholars take the presence of weapons as proof of ‘warriorhood’, but others do not. Weapons alone do not confirm military activities.

The weapons represented with the goddesses are, usually, less tangible and more generic, serving more as identifiers of their warrior aspects than weapons to be used in combat. The intangible weapons used by a number of the goddesses fall primarily into three categories: magic, interference or in a number of cases–particularly the Irish–sex.

Furthermore, other Semitic cognates of btlt render the term more as a ‘nubile girl, adolescent’, and not precisely ‘virgin’ in the modern English sense. The nubile designation also comports with the general depiction of her as ‘young and nubile, with small breasts and a thin body’ (ibid., 83), leading Walls to use the term ‘maiden’.

The term ‘virgin’did not always refer to a physical state, one which implied chastity … [T]he term may well have been a figurative one which pertained to age, not necessarily chronologically, but qualitatively. A virgin was in the youth of her powers, in the process of storing them, and, as such, her ‘batteries’ were ‘fully charged’. Indeed, virgins not only stored untapped energy for men, but they were also able to transmit their powers to them in a nonsexual manner, without diminishing those powers.

There may be a memory also of the priestesses of the god of war, women who officiated at the sacrificial rites when captives were put to death after battle. The name Valkyrie means, literally, ‘chooser of the slain’, and in the eleventh century an Anglo-Saxon bishop, Wulfstan, included ‘choosers of the slain’ in a black list of sinners, witches, and evil-doers in his famous Sermo Lupi.

To the Greeks, the thought of Amazons brought fear of chaos. Amazons were a symbol of female aggression and this was no way for a woman to behave.

The shieldmaidens (skjaldmær) appear in Scandinavian mythology and folklore as young women who choose to fight as warriors. A shieldmaiden is said to keep men at spear’s length, approaching them only when she is armed with a spear or axe. These shieldmaidens are females (it is not completely clear if they were maidens in the chaste sense) who chose to go into battle.

The results concluded that the skeleton of the Birka warrior in grave Bj.581 was, indeed, that of a female, establishing her as ‘the first confirmed female high-ranking Viking warrior’, and that she also has a genetic affinity to the population of what we can consider the Viking world (ibid., 5).

The earliest reference to women engaging in this activity comes from a senatorial edict of ad 11 that bars women from the arena and a later, ad 19, edict that ‘banned the descendants of senators and equestrians (as well as the wives of the latter) from fighting in the arena as gladiators’ (ibid., 956).

This extraordinary woman was never directly involved in the military, but she lived through war and revolution. Her Book of Deeds gives diverse advice on how to select a campground, what was good camp food, how to attack a stronghold, how to defend a castle and what was required for a general’s bed.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#WomenAndWarefareInTheAncientWorld #NetGalley

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

War has always been thought to be solely men's business but in mythology, legend and reality, many women fought in combat, as well as organised and commanded battles.The role that women have played in wartime throughout History is something that cannot be understated because it was impactful and influential.Despite facing significant societal and cultural barriers, many women have made remarkable contributions to their countries during war.
A war god or goddess in mythology is associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheistic religions.In Africa,Europe,Asia,Oceania and the America,there are plenty of renowned women warriors.War goddesses Anat,Bast,Neith,Menhit,Pakhet,Kara Māte,Junda,Zorya Utrennyaya,Argrona,Alaisiagae,Andarta,Andraste,
Anann,Badb,Catubodua,Macha,The Morrigan,Nemain,Baduhenna,Sandraudiga,Freyja,Valkyries,Athena,Aphrodite Areia,Eris,Hera in the Iliad,Bellona,Nerio,Juno,Victoria,Menrva,Lieu Hanh,Nirrti,Parvati and her forms of Durga and Kali,Panthoibi,Korravai,Anahit,Astarte,Tanit,Shaushka,Inanna,Pele,Qamaits etc.
In folklore,however, to be considered a warrior, the woman in question must have belonged to some sort of military, be it recognised, like an organized army, or unrecognized, like revolutionaries,such as Joan of Arc, Boudicca,Blenda, pirates and seafarers such as Anne Bonny and Mary Read,Ching Shih,Grainne O'Malley,Jeanne de Clisson,Rachel Wall,Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba,Dahomey Amazons,Kahina,Yennenga,Nefertiti,Sekhmet,Cleopatra VII,Aqualtune,Arawelo,Gudit,Colestah,Lozen,Iara,Frances Clayton,Sarah Pritchard,Harriet Tubman,Calamity Jane,Deborah Sampson,Molly Pitchers, La Adelita etc.
In post-classical warfare, women were active in direct warfare, such as warriors, spies, and women who actively led armies such as Matilda of Tuscany,Florine of Burgundy,Rudrama Devi,Joan I of Navarre,Isabella of France,Jadwiga of Poland,Margaret of Anjou,Jeanne Hachette,Caterina Sforza,Adela of Hamaland,Akkadevi,Eleanor of Aquitaine,Maud de Braose,Magistra Hersend,Ats Bonninga,Margareta of Celje,Pomellina Fregoso,Brita Tott,Mercadera,Razia Sultana,Yesui,Hangaku Gozen etc.

[Abi Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Karlene Jones-Bley certainly doesn’t start slowly. Her familiarity with writing for academic audiences shows through in the introduction to Women and Warfare in the Ancient World. This book certainly isn’t for the casual reader, but for more serious readers of history and mythology, it is a wonderful survey of the relationship between women and warfare.

Jones-Bley begins by talking about the Near Eastern goddesses who are associated with war, stretching all the way back in time to Akkadian Inanna-Ishtar and the Ugartic war goddesses Anat and Astarte. These goddesses and their stories serve as a backdrop for Jones-Bley to discuss the later deities from Indo-European cultures. In this way, Jones-Bley touches on many cultures in short succession: Hittite, Iranian, Greek, Armenian, Roman, Celtic, Brittonic, Germanic, Slavic, and Indic.

Jones-Bley has written a wonderful monograph on the study of war and defensive goddesses, women from myth and legend. The prose may be too dense for a casual reader or to be called popular history, but for those who have a deeper interest or greater experience, the book is a wonderful resource with an incredible number of citations and footnotes to guide the reader to more information.

[Nikki Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a self confessed history and mythology lover, I was really looking forward to reading this book.

The comparison between the various war goddesses around the world was interesting and I did actually educate myself on some of the more obscure goddesses. However, I was really hoping for more on the non-mythological females contribution to defence of their homes, lands and culture.

I fully accept that many cultures female contributions for warfare and defence was tied to caring and defending their homes and lands when the menfolk were off at war. But I would have loved to have read more about any new findings about actual female warriors, possibly misgendered previously.

The examples given tended to be very heavily based in Europe and the Middle East. I would have loved to see more from examples from China, the Far East, Maori and Samoan cultures - many of which I'm sure have at least one if not many warrior goddesses.

There was some discussion of historical females from the Roman to the medieval and renaissance period but It would have been great to see more of these figures fleshed out a bit more. I know that sometimes this is a challenge as women very rarely got to have a voice or leave records of their achievements but I feel this would really have balanced out the book.

A worthy read for those with a burgeoning interest in mythology but perhaps not suitable for those of us with a more advanced knowledge of the subject.

[Tara B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women and Warfare in the Ancient World is a vast expanse of knowledge put together in a well researched and chronologically catergorised book which was incredibly fascinating.

As a general reader it took me a little while to get through this piece of work but as I have a love of history and Greek Mythology this was a no brainer to request.

The author Karlene Jones-Bley  has crafted an extraordinary insight into the cultural aspects of women and their participation in Warfare.  From well known Greeks and Romans to lesser known Celts and Indo-European Goddesses this book was full of inciteful information, loads of historical references and contributions from scholars.

I loved this book and will definitely be putting it on my bookshelf.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting my wish for this ARC.

[Bernie Cummins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a wonderfully comprehensive women-in-warfare-epedia, reading as interestingly, as an old fashioned type of encyclopedia. Therefore it will be useful for those carrying out further academic research in this area, with the proviso of the book in the main, being western "civilisation" centric. Also the book lacks any societal analysis on why there were not more women warriors or what types of circumstances allowed women to be exceptions to the rules of the times.

Thanks NetGalley for the reading arc.

[Jessica Hembree · Rating 3 out of 5]

The extensive research that went into this collection is very evident. Learning about the various cultures, myths, and historical details of women and war was extremely informative. There were several that I was previously unfamiliar with and greatly enjoyed learning more. I may even do some more digging to learn more about some of these women. Great reference book!

[Mai H.]

Non-fiction November TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword History