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Goddesses, Empresses, and Warrior Queens
Female leadership from Biblical times to the Early Modern era
In this article, I discuss modern female leaders who became Prime Ministers, Presidents, or Chancellors as well as ponder why the US still hasn’t elected a female President.
In ancient times, however, leadership was granted in two ways — heredity or conquest.
Becuse most of the world was patriarchal, usually the rulers were men. But there were women leaders as well. There were more of them among the ancient Egyptians, Scandinavians, Celts, some Native American tribes, and, surprisingly, parts of India.
Even among the most patriarchal societies, however, women sometimes ascended to leadership.
In ancient Israel, Deborah was a Judge. This was a position of power that she earned due to her wisdom. Because she was a woman, she did not lead troops to war, leaving that to Barak, but she was the civilian head of government.
In China, the society was extremely patriarchal. As in ancient Rome and Greece, women were supposed to be subservient. In all three cultures, female babies were sometimes abandoned to die. Nevertheless, in China, there were a few cases where women had power.
