Ancient Greek women disguised as soldiers lined the walls of Sinope during a fourth-century B.C. conflict, helping the Black Sea city appear better defended against Persian forces, according to an archaeological study.
The city faced a shortage of men when Datames, the Persian governor of Cappadocia, attempted to seize Sinope in the 360s B.C. Residents selected women considered physically capable of passing for men and sent them onto the fortifications in sight of enemy troops.
Instead of military shields and helmets, the women carried bronze jugs and other household vessels. The study says the deception helped turn back Datames by making the defenders appear more numerous, a tactic documented by the ancient military writer Aeneas Tacticus. His account described the women being placed “where they were in fullest view of the enemy.”
Owen Patrick Doonan IV of California State University, Northridge, examined the episode in a study published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal.
Ancient Greek women disguised as soldiers challenged traditional wartime roles
Doonan argues the episode matters beyond the immediate military threat. Warfare was widely regarded as a male responsibility in Greek society, but the women’s appearance in the city’s defenses challenged those expectations.
The wall itself was central to Sinope’s security. Excavations indicate its earliest fortifications were constructed in the sixth century B.C., using packed rubble, stone facing, and a mud-brick upper structure. The barrier separated the Greek settlement and its farmland from the surrounding territory.
Sinope occupied a headland with two harbors and a narrow connection to the mainland. Established as a colony of Miletus in the late seventh century B.C., the city developed into an important Black Sea trading center.
A few generations after the confrontation with Datames, Sinope constructed a more imposing defensive wall. Dated to the early third century B.C., the rebuilt fortifications included openings for arrows and ballista weapons, along with protective mechanical shutters.
New dating changes who built Sinope’s stronger fortifications
Earlier scholars had linked the elaborate wall to the conquest of Sinope by King Pharnakes I in 183 B.C. The revised dating instead suggests the city’s inhabitants were responsible for building it before the conquest, underscoring their investment in shared defenses.
Doonan also examined cemeteries, streets, homes and the countryside to explore how Greek settlers and neighboring populations developed a shared community. Grave monuments depicting women, including some with non-Greek names, reveal how different groups adopted similar customs.
The study considers how gathering places reflected changing ideas about social standing, wealth and belonging. The account of women taking part in Sinope’s defense illustrates how a community could adapt established roles when confronted by danger.
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