Though most rulers in the ancient (and classical) world were men, some women wielded power and influence. Some ruled in their own name, some influenced their world as royal consorts. Here are some of the most powerful women in the ancient world.
Artemisia
When Xerxes went to war against Greece (480-479 B.C.E.), Artemisia, ruler of Halicarnassus, brought five ships and helped Xerxes defeat the Greeks in the naval battle of Salamis.Boudicca (Boadicea)
Queen of the Iceni, a tribe in East England, Boudicca led a rebellion against Roman occupation in about 60 C.E.Cartimandua
Queen of the Brigantes, Cartimandua signed a peace treaty with the invading Romans, and ruled as a client of Rome. Then she dumped her husband, and even Rome couldn't keep her in power -- and they ultimately took direct control, so her ex didn't win, either.Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt
From World Noted Women, 1883. Modifications © 2006 Jone Johnson Lewis.
Cleopatra was the last Pharaoh of Egypt, and the last of the Ptolemy dynasty of Egyptian rulers. As she tried to keep power for her dynasty, she made famous (or infamous) connections with Roman rulers Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.
Cleopatra Thea
A profile of Cleopatra Thea, less well known than her later namesake, a queen of Syria who exercised power after her husband died and before her son succeeded to power. A number of queens in antiquity bore the name Cleopatra.Elen Luyddog - Helen of the Hosts
A shadowy legendary figure, the stories say she was a Celtic princess married to a Roman soldier who became the Western Emperor. When he was executed after failing to invade Italy, she returned to Britain, where she helped bring Christianity and inspired the building of many roads.Hatshepsut
(c) iStockphoto / BMPix
She was born about 3500 years ago, and when her husband died and his son was young, she assumed the full kingship of Egypt, even dressing in male clothing to reinforce her claim to be Pharaoh. Why did she assume the kingship, how was she nearly lost to history, how was her history recovered, and what's the latest news about what happened to her mummy after she died?
Lei-tzu or Si Ling-chi
More legend than history, Chinese tradition credits Huang Di as founder of the Chinese nation and of religious Taoism, creator of humanity and inventor of the raising of silk worms and spinning of silk thread -- and, according to tradition, his wife Lei-tzu discovered the making of silk.Meryt-Neith
The third ruler of the first Egyptian dynasty which united upper and lower Egypt is known only by name and a few objects -- but many scholars believe that this ruler was a woman. We don't know much about her life or her reign.Nefertiti
© 2008 Clipart.com, modifications © 2008 Jone Johnson Lewis.
Chief wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV who took the name Akhenaten, Nefertiti is portrayed in realistic art of Egypt's religious revolution initiated by her husband. The famous bust of Nefertiti is sometimes considered a classic representation of female beauty.
