
Episode #28
28: When the Women Took the Walls: Telesilla and the Defence of Argos
In battle, Telesilla was formidable. In his Mulierum Virtutes (“Bravery of Women”), Plutarch tells us that in 494 BC, when king of the Spartans Cleomenes I moved his troops against the city of Argives after killing many of the Argaean men, the younger women of Argives rose up to hold off the enemy for their country’s sake. Led by Telesilla, the women took up arms and guard the walls all around the city. Socrates tells us that despite experiencing great loss in their numbers, the women fought Cleomenes and another king, Demaratus, who managed to get inside the city wall and gained possession of the Pamphyliacum. Tune in!






