Challenging Gender Roles: Telesilla, Suidas in Telesilla T.260

Telesilla poetria. Huic statua posita est, ad cuius pedes libri iacent: galea vero capiti eius imposita est. Etenim cum Lacedaemonii, interfectis iis, qui in templum Argorum confugerant, ad urbem capiendum irent, Telesilla mulieres, quae per aetatem arma ferre poterant, armavit, et sic hostibus obviam processit. Quod conspicati Lacedaemonii retro cesserunt, turpe ducentes cum mulieribus pugnare, quas et vincere nulla sit gloria, et a quibus vinci, magnum sit dedecus.

Τελέσιλλα, ποιήτρια. ἐπὶ στήλης τὰ μὲν βιβλία ἀπέρριπτε, κράνος δὲ τῃ̂ κεφαλῃ̂ περιέθηκε. καὶ γὰρ ὅτε Λακεδαιμόνιοι τοὺς ἐν τῳ̂ ἱερῳ̂ του̂  ̓́Αργους καταφυγόντας διέφθειρον καὶ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ᾔεσαν ὡς αἱρήσοντες, τότε Τελέσιλλα τὰς ἐν ἡλικίᾳ γυναι̂κας ὁπλίσασα ὑπήντησεν οἱ̂ προσῄεσαν. ὅπερ ἰδόντες οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐς τοὐπίσω ὑπέστρεψαν, αἰσχρὸν νομίσαντες γυναιξὶ πολεμει̂ν, ἃς καὶ τὸ νικα̂ν ἄδοξον καὶ ἡττα̂σθαι μέγα ὄνειδος. ἐς του̂το καὶ ὁ χρησμὸς πεπλήρωτο,  ̓Αργείοις λέγων: ἀλλ' ὅταν ἡ θήλεια τὸν ἄρρενα νικήσασα ἐξελάσῃ καὶ κυ̂δος  ̓Αργείοισιν ἄρηται, πολλὰς  ̓Αργείων ἀμφιδρυφέας τότε θήσει.

--Suidas, in Telesilla, [T.260]; Translated into Latin by Ludolfus Kufterus

Telesilla the Poet: She is depicted with a helmet upon her head and with books scattered at her feet. For when the Lacedaemonians had killed those who had fled to the temple in Argos, and had marched against the city to capture it,  Telesilla armed the women capable of battle and went out to meet the enemy. When the Lacedaemonians saw them, they retreated, thinking it would be inappropriate to fight against women, since they would earn no glory if they won, but great shame if they lost.

SUDA	MAP:
Name:  ??? Date:  10th c. CE Works:  Suda	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
The Suda is a literary encyclopedia created in the 10th century CE by an anonymous Byzantine scholar.	BYZANTINE GREEK