The Noble Women of Antiquity.
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The mother of Cleomenes
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Who willingly went a hostage to Egypt in exchange for aid to her son Cleomenes in his
reforms of the Spartan polity saying: "Make haste and put me on shipboard,
and send this carcass where it may be most serviceable to Sparta,
before age destroys it unprofitably here."
[Life of Cleomenes, 22].
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Cleopatra
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Plutarch tells us that Cleopatra "...first captivated Caesar
[Life of Caesar, 49] by her bold wit, and afterwards overcame him by the charm of her society."
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Cornelia [1]
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Mother of the Gracchi who as matron and widow was beyond reproach.
To her sons natural talents she added an education that made them first
among the Romans [Life of Tiberius Gracchus, 1] and urged Tiberius
to action [T. Gracchus, 8] for the good of the republic.
As an example of republican virtue she is equal to any of Plutarch's men
[Life of Caius Gracchus, 19]
The people had a great veneration for Cornelia, not more for the sake of
her father [Scipio Africanus Major] than for that of her children; and they afterwards erected a statue
of brass in honor of her, with this inscription,
Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi. [C. Gracchus, 4]
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Cornelia [2]
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Wife of Pompey
[Life of Pompey, 55] and following.
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Porcia
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On the eve of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar, Porcia bids her
husband Marcus Brutus [13] to confide in her, saying,
"I am your wife, not just your bed-mate, I know you are about a business of the
gravest importance, confide in me, I am as strong as any man, which I have proved
by this self-inflicted wound, like unto the cuts of mortal battle --I can bear this
great thing with you."
See also [Life of Marcus Brutus, 53] for the death of Porcia.
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Roxanne
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According to Plutarch, Alexander [Life of Alexander, 47], for whom women in general held no
allure, married the oriental princess Roxanne for love, not political alliance.
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Volumnia
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She saves Rome, [Life of Coriolanus, 33-36] when she tells her son Coriolanus, who has
gone over to fight for Rome's enemies, that to invade Rome he must first trample the
dead body of his mother.
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