NATIONALITY Greek

ROLE Naval commander
LIVED During the fifth century,
around 480 BC

 

his queen is probably best known from actress Eva Green’s portrayal of her in the film

300: Rise of an Empire—which was derived from Frank Miller’s graphic novel Xerxes:
The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander. Artemisia was an actual person
and like in the movie, she was considered a brilliant naval commander.

Artemisia was queen of the Greek city-state Halicarnassus and the islands of Kos,

Nisyros, and Kalymnos. Beyond her battle history, little else is known of her—she
lived during the fifth century and became ruler after her husband’s death. During the
second Persian invasion, Artemisia allied with Persian king Xerxes against the allied but
independent Greek city-states. In 480 BC, Artemisia was the only one among Xerxes’
confidants who opposed the Battle of Salamis, an ill-fated naval battle that pitted the
Persian fleet against the more powerful Greek fleet. She escaped the battle by ordering her
ships to fly Greek colours and begin attacking Persian vessels—allegedly ones belonging
to allies Egypt, Cyprus, Cilicia, and Pamphylia, whom she claimed were useless and whom
Xerxes needed to be wary of. Upon her return to Xerxes, she garnered greater reputation for
having correctly predicted many crucial aspects of the battle.

‘eee 6 NATIONALITY Vietnamese
te bel = ROLE National heroines of Vietnam
Fi LIVED C. 12 AD to 43 AD

 

he Trung sisters hailed from Nanyue, a kingdom in Vietnam that was controlled by the

occupying Chinese Han Dynasty. Consisting of Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, their father
was a prefect of the district of Mé Linh, so the sisters were highly educated in both literature
and martial arts.

The elder sister, Trung Trac, married Thi Sach, a neighboring prefect’s son. However,

Thi Sach was later executed by the governor of Jiaozhi after he attempted to resist Chinese
cultural assimilation within his domain. After Thi Sach’s death, the Trung sisters enacted
vengeance by amassing a large army of mostly women and leading them in a revolt. In
a short few months they had reclaimed approximately 65 citadels and freed Nanyue of
Chinese occupation. Trung Trac was declared queen regent with Trung Nhi as vicereine,
and they ruled for three prosperous years before they were defeated by Chinese commander
Ma Yuan in 43 AD. Both sisters were either executed shortly after their defeat or they died
during the battle—historical accounts vary.

NATIONALITY Japanese
ROLE Samurai warrior
LIVED C. 1157 AD to 1247 AD

 

lomoe Gozen was a mysterious female samurai who served the samurai general

Minamoto no Yoshinaka. It is highly suspected that she was either his wife or lover,
but factual accounts differ. Tomoe’s aid, and that of her two brothers, was instrumental
in Yoshinaka conquering Kyoto and driving out the Japanese Taira Clan, a warring clan of
samurai. During the Battle of Awazu—where Yoshinaka failed to wrestle control of the
Minamoto Clan from his cousin and was subsequently killed—Tomoe Gozen supposedly
escaped capture by beheading Uchida leyoshi, a samurai serving her enemy.

What happened afterward is a little hazy. The Heike Monogatari, a text documenting
the feud between the Taira and Minamoto clans, does not state what became of her after.
Other historical accounts claim that she was captured and became the concubine of Wada
Yoshimori. Supposedly Wada and the son she bore him were killed in 1213 by the Hojo Clan.
After their deaths, Tomoe Gozen retired to become a nun and lived to be 91.

 

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the resistance fighters and sp
just knowing where to look.

NATIONAI
ROLE Supe
LIVED 191

 

Ihe White Mouse, more commonly known
industrialist Henri Edmond Fiocca. Appar
committed by the Nazis, Wake joined the Frer
the Maquis groups—French guerilla forces. Sh
soldiers for her ability to evade capture by the
France, having accumulated a price on her hez
Gestapo’s most wanted person in the Marseill
insistence, who was later tortured and killed in
Wake escaped to Britain, where she beca1
Executive (SOE)—a British organization durir
sabotage, and reconnaissance. She began acti
British intelligence. Her role was that of recrui
in weapons and other necessities. Wake facilit.
between the French forces and London, at tim
were well appraised of every minute detail.
Her dedication and resolve earned her m:
the most decorated servicewomen of World W