Women warriors in literature and culture: Difference between revisions

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The portrayal of women warriors in literature and popular culture is a subject of study in history, literary studies, film studies, folklore and mythology, gender studies, and cultural studies.

Archaeology

In terms of the archaeological record, in 1997 the earliest known women warrior burial mounds were excavated in southern Russia. They were buried with their swords, daggers, arrowheads and saddles. David Anthony states, "About 20% of Scythian-Sarmatian "warrior graves" on the lower Don and lower Volga contained females dressed for battle in the same manner as men, a phenomenon that probably inspired the Greek tales about the Amazons."

In 2004, the 2,000 year old remains of an Iranian female warrior were found in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz.

Historical examples

v t e Women in war
Ancient Post-classical 1500–1699 18th-century 1800–1899 1900–1945 The world wars WWI WWII 1945–1999 2000–present

Fu Hao was one of the many wives of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty and, unusually for that time, also served as a military general and high priestess.

The daughter of a Duke, Princess Pingyang raised and commanded her own army in the revolt against the Sui Dynasty. Later, her father would become Emperor Gaozu. Artemisia I of Caria was a tyrant of Halicarnassus allied with Xerxes and commanded five ships of her own in the Battle of Salamis; though her actions in the battle are questioned by some historians, it is said that Xerxes commented after the battle, a Persian loss, that "my men have turned into women and my women into men" in compliment to Artemisia's performance. The Spartan princess Arachidamia is said to have fought Pyrrhus (of the phrase "pyrrhic victory") with a group of Spartan females under her command, and killed several soldiers before perishing, though little else is known about her. The Celtic Queen Boudicca with her two daughters led a revolt against the Roman Empire in AD 60 but was decisively defeated at at the Battle of Watling Street .

The Roman Empire sometimes have women fighting, called gladiatrix, in gladiator games.

Women leaders have not only played an important role in cultures where there is a direct analogy to the western concept of a "princess," but have also served their societies in indigenous tribal warfare and rebellion, as well. The Dahomey people, who live in western Africa also established an all female militia, who served as royal bodyguards to the king. With regard to Native American history, the majority of Native American tribes possessed respected and well established women leaders of their "militia". These female leaders determined the fate of prisoners of war among other tribal decisions. However, the Europeans and early American men refused to deal with Native American women on such matters and so their significance was not understood or appreciated until relatively recently.

In South Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, the concept of a "woman warrior" exists both in mythology and in history, and there are records of women who have led armies into battle. Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and was described by the British as "remarkable for her beauty, cleverness and perseverance", and that she had been "the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders". Unniyarcha was a famed warrior princess who lived in Kerala during the 16th century. Kittur Chennamma, queen of the princely state of Kittur led a rebellion against the British decades before the 1857 uprising.

Folklore and mythology

In Hindu mythology, Chitrāngadā, wife of Arjuna was the commander of her father's armies.

The Amazons were an entire tribe of woman warriors in Greek legend. "Amazon" has become an eponym for woman warriors and athletes.

In British mythology, Queen Cordelia fought off several contenders for her throne by personally leading the army in its battles.

Literature

Media

Notes

Davis-Kimball J (1997). Warrior women of Eurasia. Archaeology v50 #1 (abstract)
Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691058873.
"Woman warrior found in Iranian tomb". MSNBC. December 6, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
Herodotus' Histories,
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda (1991). The Encyclopedia of Amazons. Paragon House. p. 17. ISBN 1-55778-420-5.
, Dig Uncovers Boudidicca's brutal streak.
, The Amazons.
Social Text Collective (Auth.); McClintock A, Mufti A, & Shohat E (Eds.) (1997). Dangerous liaisons: Gender, nation, and postcolonial perspectives. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9780816626496
David, Saul (2003), The Indian Mutiny: 1857, Penguin, London p367
Book review

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