National Geographic History - 09.10 201

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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 1

FROM THE EDITOR

Amy Briggs, Executive Editor

Tawny-haired and tough, Boudica nearly drove


Rome from Britain in the first century A.D., but if it weren’t for historians


Tacitus and Dio Cassius, we wouldn’t know much about her. Women were


rarely the focus in Roman works, but Boudica was too big to ignore.


Both Tacitus and Dio Cassius wrote vibrantly, describing her appearance,


her deeds, and—most notably—her words. However, their depictions were


meant to shock Roman audiences with her “unwomanly” behavior.


In the classical world, men, not women, were the talkers: Historian Mary


Beard wrote in 2017’s Women and Power: A Manifesto, “[P]ublic speaking


and oratory were not merely things that ancient women didn’t do: they were


exclusive practices and skills that defined masculinity as a gender... Public


speech was a—if not the—defining attribute of maleness.” Romans would


have regarded Boudica’s oration as a sign of savagery, not civility.


But Tacitus and Dio Cassius could not have anticipated how their works


would be received by future generations. Centuries later the British would


revisit their accounts and find inspiration in the ancient queen, defending


her homeland from invaders. Unlike other women from the Roman era,


Boudica’s voice rings loud, clear, and true, bringing new supporters to her


cause—the fight against tyranny—with every word.

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