Women - Ancient Queens - Warriors - Mothers - Poets - Courtesans

A passage from Diodorus explaining the most unusual situation that two women led military forces against each other in the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great.

This is a picture gallery of ancient women. Most of ancient history deals with famous men, but there were also many famous women, most of whom were also mothers. Here are some of the diverse types of ancient mothers from mythology and Greek and Roman history.

Glossary entry on Briseis.

Circe is a sorceress best known in Greek mythology for her hosting of Odysseus in the Odyssey.

Clytemnestra is a figgure from Greek mythology and literature who was sister to Helen of Troy. Clytemnestra was married to the Greek King Agamemnon. In some versions of the story, she murdered him and then was murdered by her own son Orestes.

Cynisca, whose name comes from the Greek for dog, was the daughter of a Spartan king and became the first female Olympic victor.

A look at the question of whether Mary, the Mother of Jesus, really existed.

Information on Enheduanna, the world's first writer, who was the daughter of Sargon.

Fausta was the wife, daughter, sister, and mother of Roman emperors.

Dinah, one of the women of the Bible, has been given a new voice during the past 14 years.

Gorgo was the daughter of one king and wife of the next Agiad king of Sparta and was renowned for wisdom.

Julia Flavia may be the last of the Flavians. Read more about why she has a place in history and Roman literature.

Martha and Mary represent two of the earliest women Christian leaders.

Medea is the witch of Colchis known for killing the children she and her husband Jason produced.

Myth, history, and legend provide evidence of ancient women who were considered beautiful, but for most of them, we have no reliable portraits. Beauty is an aesthetic consideration. When judging the beauty of a woman, it's tempting to think in terms of the whole person, but that's not this top beauties list. This one is strictly for physical attractiveness. Here are the women I consider the most …

In Greek mythology, Niobe was the proud and fertile daughter of Tantalus who lost all her children as a result of her boast to the mother of Apollo and Artemis, Leto (Latona).

Olympias was the daughter of Neoptolemus, king of Epirus, a wife of Philip II of Macedon, and the mother of Alexander the Great

Poppaea Sabina was the mistress of one emperor and the wife of another.

Pulcheria was an important woman in the dynasty of the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius.

Contributing Writer Cynthia Astle answers FAQs to show that there were strong women in the Bible who stood out all the more because they surmounted or circumvented the patriarchy in which they lived.

Telesilla was a fifth century B.C. Greek poet.

Highlights of the Book of Ruth.

The story of Chiomara, the famous Galatian woman who got the best of her rapist.

Review of Debra Hamel's "Trying Neaira - The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece."

The following ancient Roman women have been considered the embodiment of Roman virtue and as women to be emulated.

Julia Mamaea was one of the four Severan Julias or Roman Julias; niece of Julia Domna, daughter of Julia Maesa and sister of Julia Soaemias; mother of Roman emperor Alexander Severus.

Julia Soaemias was one of the four Severan Julias or Roman Julias; niece of Julia Domna, daughter of Julia Maesa and sister of Julia Mamaea; mother of Roman emperor Elagabalus.

Diotima's bibliography for weddings. See also marriage and divorce.

Women in Herodotus who are named, but don't act, women who act in the public sphere (including Tomyris), groups of women in ethnographic accounts, women who act in a family context, priestesses, and founders of religious cults.

Peer reviewed site listing dozens of essays on women, status, legends, etc. Some on homosexuality and pederasty. Covers Greece, Rome, Egypt, and late antiquity.

Andromeda was rescued by Perseus, married him, produced numerous children and was transformed into a constellation.