The importance of women in ancient wars

[themuzicman]

Yeah, I know, they didn't fight.

But, given the percentages of the male population that would die during a war, it would seem that having a lot of fertile women around would be important to re-establishing a large male population for any war that might happen in 20 or so.

And the only way that's going to happen is to have a healthy, fertile female population that gives birth on a regular basis.

Is it any wonder that when a man died, his brother was to have children for him, or that women were to be kept pure until marriage (preventing the possibility of STD infection causing infertility), and that fertility was celebraged by ancient peoples?

Has anyone studied ancient war from ths perspective?

Michael

[Durthorin]

Yeah, I know, they didn't fight.

You might start with that was not universally true. Celtic and Germanic women often fought alongside their men. The Romans not only commented on it they thought it was how to say "barbaric".



The Roman historian Plutarch described a battle in 102 B.C. between Romans and Celts: "the fight had been no less fierce with the women than with the men themselves... the women charged with swords and axes and fell upon their opponents uttering a hideous outcry."
(source Queen Boudicca And The Events Leading To The Iceni Rebellion of 60 A.D (http://members.tripod.com/%7Eancient_history/boad.html))


Other sources are available. While the Roman's didn't like the idea they seemed to accept that some Client states and enemies did.

[Dee Dee Warren]

someone doesn't watch Xena