Discover

On Famous Women (Latin: '''De mulieribus claris''') is a collection of one hundred and six short biographies of women by Giovanni Boccaccio, the first of such, in the West, devoted solely to women. It is modeled on Petrarch's lives Of Famous Men. The collection influenced Geoffrey Chaucer and inspired Christine de Pizan's ''The Book of the City of Ladies''. It includes mythological and historical women, as well as some of Boccaccio's Renaissance contemporaries.

Contents

The famous women

Sources

The famous women

★ Eve, the first woman in the bible

★ Semiramis, queen of the Assyrians

★ Opis, wife of Saturn

★ Juno, goddess of the Kingdoms

★ Ceres, goddess of the harvest and queen of Sicily

★ Minerva

★ Venus, queen of Cyprus

★ Isis, queen and goddess of Egypt

★ Europa, queen of Crete

★ Libya, queen of Libya

★ Marpesia and Lampedo, queens of the Amazons

★ Thisbe, a Babylonian maiden

★ Hypermnestra, queen of the Argives and priestess of Juno

★ Niobe, queen of Thebes

★ Hypsipyle, queen of Lemnos

★ Medea, queen of Colchis

★ Arachne of Colophon

★ Orithya and Antiope, queens of the Amazons

★ The Sybil Erythraea or Heriphile

★ Medusa, daughter of Phorcus

★ Iole, daughter of the king of the Aetolians

★ Deianira, wife of Hercules

★ Jocasta, queen of Thebes

★ The Sybil Almathea, or Deiphebe

★ Nicostrata, or Carmenta, daughter of King Ionius

★ Procris, wife of Cephalus

★ Argia, wife of Polynices and daughter of King Adrastus

★ Manto, daughter of Tiresias

★ The wives of the Minyans

★ Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons

★ Polyxena, daughter of King Priam

★ Hecuba, queen of the Trojans

★ Cassandra, daughter of King Priam of Troy

★ Clytemnestra, queen of Mycenae

★ Helen, wife of King Menelaus

★ Circe, daughter of the Sun

★ Camilla, queen of the Volscians

★ Penelope, wife of Ulysses

★ Lavinia, queen of Laurentum

★ Dido, or Elissa, queen of Carthage

★ Nicaula, queen of Ethiopia

★ Pamphile, daughter of Platea

★ Rhea Ilia, Vestal Virgin

★ Gaia Cyrilla, wife of King Tarquinius Priscus

★ Sappho, girl of Lesbos and poetess

★ Lucretia, wife of Collatinus

★ Tamyris, queen of Scythia

★ Leaena, a prostitute - beloved by Demetrius I of Macedon

★ Athaliah, queen of Jerusalem

★ Cloelia, a Roman maiden

★ Hippo, a Greek woman

★ Megullia Dotata - daughter of Caeso Tuccius

★ Veturia, a Roman matron

★ Thamyris, daughter of Micon

★ Artemisia, queen of Caria

★ Verginia, virgin and daughter of Virginius

★ Eirene, daughter of Cratinus

★ Leontium

★ Olympias, queen of Macedonia

★ Claudia, a Vestal Virgin

★ Virginia, Wife of Lucius Volumnius

★ Flora the prostitute, goddess of flowers and wife of Zephyrus

★ A young Roman woman

★ Marcia, daughter of Varro

★ Sulpicia, wife of Fulvius Flaccus

★ Harmonia, daughter of Gelon, son of Hiero II of Syracuse

★ Busa of Canosa di Puglia

★ Sophonisba, queen of Numidia

★ Theoxena, daughter of Prince Herodicus

★ Berenice, queen of Cappadocia

★ The Wife of Orgiagon the Galatian

★ Tertia Aemilia, wife of the elder Africanus

★ Dripetrua, queen of Laodice - daughter of Mithridates VI of Pontus

★ Sempronia, daughter of Gracchus

★ Claudia Quinta, a Roman woman

★ Hypsicratea, Queen of Pontus

★ Sempronia, a Roman Woman

★ The Wives of the Cimbrians

★ Julia, daughter of the dictator Julius Caesar

★ Portia, daughter of Cato Uticensis

★ Curia, wife of Quintus Lucretius

★ Hortensia, daughter of Quintus Hortensius

★ Sulpicia, wife of Cruscellio

★ Cornificia, a poetess

★ Mariamme, queen of Judaea (either Mariamne (second wife of Herod) or Mariamne (third wife of Herod))

★ Cleopatra, queen of Egypt

★ Antonia, daughter of Antony

★ Agrippina, wife of Germanicus

★ Paulina, a Roman woman

★ Agrippina, mother of the Emperor Nero

★ Epicharis, a freedwoman

★ Pompeia Paulina, wife of Seneca

★ Poppaea Sabina, wife of Nero

★ Triaria, wife of Lucius Vitellius

★ Proba, wife of Adelphus

★ Faustina Augusta

★ Symiamira, woman of Emesa

★ Zenobia, queen of Palmyra

★ Joan, an Englishwoman and Pope

★ Irene, Empress of Constantinople

★ Gualdrada, a Florentine maiden

★ Constance, Empress of Rome and queen of Sicily

★ Camiola, a Sienese widow

★ Joanna, queen of Jerusalem and Sicily

Sources

★ ''On Famous Women,'' Latin text and English translation, 2001 ISBN 0-674-00347-0