Concerning the Virtues of Women (22-24)

It fell out that Chiomara, the wife of Ortiagon, was taken captive with other women, in the time when the Romans under Cneus Manlius overcame the Galatians of Asia in battle. The centurion that took her made use of his fortune soldier-like and defiled her; for he was, as to voluptuousness and covetousness, an ill-bred and insatiable man, over whom avarice had gotten an absolute conquest. A great quantity of gold being promised by the woman for her ransom, in order to her redemption he brought her to a certain bank of a river. As the Galatians passed over and paid him the money in gold, and received Chiomara into their possession, she gave an intimation of her pleasure to one of them by nod,—to smite the Roman while he was kissing and taking his leave of her. He obeyed her commands and cut off his head. She takes it, wraps it up in her apron, and carries it with her; and as she comes to her husband, she casts down the head before him, at which being startled he said, O wife! thy fidelity is noble. Yea, verily, replied she, it is a nobler thing that there is now but one man alive that hath ever lain with me. Polybius saith that he discoursed with this woman at Sardis, and admired her prudence and discretion.

When Mithridates sent for sixty noblemen of Galatia as friends, he seemed to carry himself abusively and imperiously towards them, which they were all mightily provoked at. Poredorix, a man of a robust body and lofty mind, who was no less than tetrarch of the Tosiopae, designed to lay hold on Mithridates, seizing him when he should be determining causes on the bench of judicature in the gymnasium, and to force him bench and all into the ditch;

but by a certain chance he went not up to the place of judicature that day, but sent for the Galatians to come home to him to his house. Poredorix encouraged them all to be of good courage, and when they should be all come together there, to fall upon him on every side, slay him, and cut his body in pieces. This conspiracy was not unknown to Mithridates, an intimation of it being given him; accordingly he delivers up the Galatians one by one to be slain. But calling to mind a young man among them, who excelled in comeliness and beauty all whom he knew, he commiserated him and repented himself and was apparently grieved, supposing him slain among the first, and also sent his command, that if he were alive he should remain so. The young man’s name was Bepolitanus. There was a strange accident befell this man. When he was apprehended, he had on very gay and rich apparel, which the executioner desired to preserve clean from being stained with blood; and undressing the young man leisurely, he saw the king’s messengers running to him and calling out the name of the youth. So that covetousness, which is the ruin of many, unexpectedly saved the life of Bepolitanus. But Poredorix being slain was cast forth unburied, and none of his friends did dare to come near him; only a certain woman of Pergamus, that was conversant with him while he lived at Galatia, attempted to cover his corpse and bury it. But when the guards perceived her, they laid hold on her and brought her before the king. And it is reported that Mithridates was much affected at the sight of her, the young maid seeming altogether harmless, and the more so, as it seemed, because he knew that love was the reason of her attempt. He gave her leave therefore to take away the corpse and bury it, and to take grave-clothes and ornaments at his cost.

Theagenes the Theban, who held the same sentiments with regard to his country’s welfare with Epaminondas, Pelopidas, and the other most worthy Thebans, was slain in Chaeronea, in the common disaster of Greece, even then when he had conquered his enemies and was in pursuit of them. For it was he that answered one who cried out aloud to him, How far wilt thou pursue? Even (saith he) to Macedonia. When he was dead, his sister survived him, who gave testimony that he was nobly descended, and that he was naturally a great man and excellently accomplished. Moreover, this woman was so fortunate as to reap a great benefit by her prowess, so that the more public calamities fell upon her, so much the easier she bore them. For when Alexander took Thebes and the soldiers fell a plundering, some in one part and some in another, it happened that a man, neither civil nor sober but mischievous and mad, took up his quarters in Timoclea’s house. He was a captain to a Thracian company, and the king’s namesake, but nothing like him; for he having no regard either to the family or estate of this woman, when he had swilled himself in wine after supper, commanded her to come and lie with him. Neither ended he here, but enquired for gold and silver, whether she had not some hid by her; sometimes threatening as if he would kill her, sometimes flattering as if he would always repute her in the place of a wife. She, taking the occasion offered by him, said: Would God I had died before this night came, rather than lived to it; that though all other things had been lost, I might have preserved my body free from abuse. But now seeing it is thus come to pass, and Divine Providence hath thus disposed of it that I must repute thee my guardian, lord, and husband, I will not hold any thing from thee that is thine own. And as for

myself, I see I am at thy disposition. As for corporeal enjoyments, the world was mine, I had silver bowls, I had gold, and some money; but when this city was taken, I commanded my maids to pack it up altogether, and threw it, or rather put it for security, into a well that had no water in it. Neither do many know of it, for it hath a covering, and nature hath provided a shady wood round about it. Take then these things, and much good may they do thee; and they shall lie by thee, as certain tokens and marks of the late flourishing fortune and splendor of our family.

When the Macedonian heard these things, he stayed not for day, but presently went to the place by Timoclea’s conduct, commanding the garden-door to be shut, that none might perceive what they were about. He descended in his morning vestment. But the revengeful Clotho brought dreadful things upon him by the hand of Timoclea, who stood on the top of the well; for as soon as she perceived by his voice that he reached the bottom, she threw down abundance of stones upon him, and her maids rolled in many and great ones, till they had dashed him to pieces and buried him under them. As soon as the Macedonians came to understand this and had taken up the corpse, there having been late proclamation that none of the Thebans should be slain, they seized her and carried her before the king and declared her audacious exploit; but the king, who by the gravity of her countenance and stateliness of her behavior did perceive in her something that savored of the greatest worth and nobility, asked her first, What woman art thou? She courageously and undauntedly answered: Theagenes was my brother, who was a commander at Chaeronea, and lost his life fighting against you in defence of the Grecian liberty, that we might not suffer any such thing; and seeing I have suffered things unworthy of my rank, I refuse not to die; for it is better

so to do than to experience another such a night as the last, which awaits me unless thou forbid it. All the most tender-spirited persons that were present broke out into tears; but Alexander was not for pitying her, as being a woman above pity. But he admired her fortitude and eloquence, which had taken strong hold on him, and charged his officers to have a special care and look to the guards, lest any such abuse be offered again to any renowned family; and dismissed Timoclea, charging them to have a special regard to her and all that should be found to be of her family.