This nonfiction book had great premise about women who fought in battle during the era of antiquity. However, there were too many military details and not enough focus on the women themselves. Also, the book seemed to be very drawn out because it was very repetitive. Still, this is a great introduction into the women I did not really know in history. However, Antonia Fraser’s Warrior Queens is a more superior version of women who fought in battles in the era of antiquity.

The only interest of this volume lies in the fact that it allows to find in one place factoids and legends from the classical era having to do with female figures. In practice, rather than an essayistic and analytical text, it is a collection of figurines.

Great information, a little more information that I anticipated. Enjoyable and definitely a book you want to keep around. Well done Paul Chrystal.

This is one of the best books that I have read this year! I absolutely loved the breakdown, and the many different facets and facts this author brought out. While women are generally in the background, not all women were relegated to historical footnotes, and this book brings out some of the women who stood out and made a name for themselves.

If you enjoy history, you are going to want to get a copy of this book. It is the perfect addition to any bookcase!

I love the idea of this book, but for me it's a little too all over the place and a little mis-leading. I thought this would have more of a focus on women from the ancient world and their role in warfare, but I got the feeling the author didn't have enough research for that and therefore had to pad the book out with information about women more generally and women who existed in ancient texts and therefore probably weren't real.

The history of the world is full of wars and battles. Although the wars were generally fought by men, there were plenty of exceptions with women directly involved as combatants. Artemisia, Olympias, Cleopatra, Agrippina, Tomyris, Boudicca and Zenobia being the famous examples.<b> Women at War in the Classical World </b> is a study of women and warfare in the Greco Roman world, exploring the portrayal of female warriors and goddesses in classical mythology and literature.

This book is part history, part biographical, along with summaries of classical works, like Troy and Odyssey. The book is divided into several sections like <b> Goddesses in Greek mythology, Women, and war in Greek tragedy, Women and War in Greek history and philosophy, Spartan women, Macedonian women and so on. </b>

I expected to read about legendary women warriors who fought or played a significant role in wars. However, there’s actually very little of the book that is actually about women warriors. The majority of this book consists of the names and events of both fictional and historical women who were involved in ancient conflicts. There is no background information or deep analysis. It’s just a basic history lesson with a swift switch to the next character.

In a way, it’s a who’s who of historical figures who played a significant role in warfare without any depth or discussion. There are several chapters discussing women from epic tales, thereby blurring the line between myths and legends & real history. Instead of listing every single woman warrior, the author could have focused on a select few who had the most impact on history like Cleopatra or Artemisia. It's definitely not easy to enjoy the book due to the random nature of this compilation.

So, despite the remarkable research, it did not combine well with the narrative to create an equally remarkable book, which could do justice to the book’s theme. The book provides only a reference point which you may use to learn more about some remarkable historical figures. Overall, only serious history buffs will enjoy this.

<b> Many thanks to the publishers Pen & Sword and Netgalley for the ARC. </b>

***I was granted an ARC of this via Netgalley from the publisher.***

Women have been affected by the war since humans created the craft thousands of years ago. How they were involved has been determined by the culture that they are part of. In the book, Women at War in the Classical World by Paul Chrystal the reader is given an insight into how the Greeks and Romans viewed women at war in their societies and those around them. Chrystal gives an analysis of literature, myths, and history detailing how women participated directly in the fighting or how they offered support to the troops either in the field or at home. He also provide more focus on real-life powerful women such as Boudica, Cleopatra, and Zenobia. I applaud his addition of looking at sexual assault against women and how the Greek and Roman societies reacted to it. That usually is something that is glossed over or not talked about. However, the book can get bogged down at times when the author lists almost in encyclopedia style the different examples of women on a particular topic that can make the reading feel boring. This book is great for people interesting in history and women's lives in the classical world.

Rating: 3/5 stars. Would recommend to a friend.

Unfortunately I didn't get around reading this book title before the publication date. My apologies for this!

I had different expectations going into this book. I was under the impression we got a bit more historical information about women that took part in wars and how they contributed to it or possibly changed outcomes through strategy or heroism.
What we got was a whole lot of names and a whole section about all the women that got raped in war. I mean we know that this was and is still a given, but not great to read about it like this.
This wasn't really for me or what I expected.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC

Before reading this book, I could have probably named 3 or 4 "women warriors", so it came as a bit of a shock to discover a list as long as my arm. The research that has gone into this book is incredible - almost as astonishing as some of the lives mentioned. The names and facts are delivered in a way that's enjoyable and easy to read. "Women at War in the Classical World" doesn't just focus on the women who fought, but takes the reader on a journey through the impacts of war on women in general too. I found it absolutely fascinating.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

This tile wasn't quite what I expected; I thought the portrayals would be more in-depth.

This book was very organized, very concise, Mostly lists of names with little detail about the person or character. I think this would be a good resource for students /interested individuals who are not looking for comprehensive specifics.

Thanks to Paul Chrystal, Pen & Sword, and Netgalley for the review copy.

Thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m no fool, I know it sucked to be a woman in the Classical World but there’s some stuff in here that is just plain wrong. Briseis being described as the “love of Achilles’ life” for one thing? Bit of a stretch really.

This book essentially provides the names of both fictional and historical women who were involved in ancient conflicts. There is little to no analysis, it’s just info presented about someone and then a swift transition to the next. The chapter listing all of the women who were raped is a particularly unpleasant read.

It all feels rather rushed and there were times I had to re-read sentences multiple times and still struggled to make sense of them.

Sadly, this book failed to live up to my hopes in pretty much every way which is a shame because it could have been a really interesting read.

Good for those who are studying this period and want a look at the women in this period. You get some biographies, mens accounts and different topics like being warriors, wives, rape, women gladiators, marriage and more.

it doesn't go very far and doesn't show a lot of women warriors, I don't like the chapters that just tell you how women where deeds and motors of war and where raped etc. We alla already know that. I guess if you want to make a book about "women at war" you have to include this though.

It's a good ressource or research material. It's definitely not a book you'll enjoy reading cover to cover as it can be tiresome. However, I don't think it's supposed to be read on one setting. It's more a book for picking info and going back to from time to time. The info is only on surface level, it basically just a list of names, there is no analysis or anything. I say it's a good ressource because you can still easily find interesting information (you'll just have to look somewhere else to find in-depth info).

Now, it's kind of weirdly organised, too much for my taste, some parts are very lengthy while other only take a few pages. But it's still a book definitely worth the read ! (I found myself taking lots of notes for myself, primarily names to look into later).

I was a bit sceptical of this book about women written by a man, but I was excited to read it nonetheless because it seemed interesting. I didn't know how to feel about the fact that it is written by a man. Now that I read it I'm kind of uncomfortable because there is no analysis, so I don't know what point the author wants to make. Why listing ways women were raped ? Why listing stuff women did that had something to do with war but not really what they did AT war ? Why designating women as "daugther of..."/"wife of..."/"mistress of..." ?

I found this wasn't the book I anticipated, given the title. This gives a litany of names and dates of women during the ancient wars, but many played a minor or passive part in it. I anticipated this to be a fierce and feminist read, but instead I retained little of the long stream of names it contained.

This was a very good, interesting book. It focused on a part of woman's history that is rarely even thought of and brought it to life! Read it!!

Je suis dans l'impossibilité de lire ce livre au sujet super intéressant ; il est en pdf alors que je lis sur tablette et que ce format est rédhibitoire. C'est malheureux. Je mets 3 étoiles car je ne peux pas juger du contenu.

A rather short introduction to ancient women in warfare, in their various roles as participants and victims. Maybe I should not have read this cover to cover but just dip into it here and there and pick those names that interest me the most as a starting point for further reading. As it is, I found the endless list of short biographies and anecdotes a bit tiresome, but I liked the fact that they not only came from real women but also from mythology and fiction (not always easy to separate when it comes to the ancient world). Next time I read a classic I will pay more attention to those details.

An enjoyable, if a bit short, surface level, look at women's roles in the war-ridden Ancient World. I enjoyed getting snippets about the fascinating women throughout history. I knew about the ways women were ill-treated, so I did feel like focusing a portion of the book on that, while still within the scope of the book's subject, felt a little tiresome. Meanwhile, the amazing warrior women, of which there are many, some more well known than others, are each rendered to increasingly short paragraphs within larger topical chapters.

I was so excited to read this based on the title, and after having read quite a lot of historical fiction set in the classical world recently. However I was a bit disappointed by this book, as it seemed to be more of an overview of possibilities rather than what I had supposed it would be - a look at the evidence we have. Whilst I appreciate this is a scant amount, it was such an intriguing concept that I couldn't help but feel a little let down.
That said, it was an interesting read, and I took a lot away from it. It certainly gave me a lot to think about.