Chiomara (2nd-century BC) was a Galatian noblewoman and the wife of Orgiagon,

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

of the

Tectosagi The Volcae () were a Gallic tribal confederation constituted before the raid of combined Gauls that invaded Macedonia c. 270 BC and fought the assembled Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC. Tribes known by the name Volcae were found si ...

, one of three Galatian tribes during the

Galatian War The Galatian War was a war between the Galatian Gauls and the Roman Republic supported by their allies Pergamum in 189 BC. The war was fought in Galatia in central Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The Romans had just defeated the Seleucids in ...

with Rome, of 189 BC. During this war Gnaeus Manlius Vulso was victorious in a campaign against the Galatian Gauls.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, ''On the Bravery of Women'
21-22
/ref> One of his

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

s was put in charge of a group of captives, including Chiomara, described as "a woman of exceptional beauty".

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

''
38.24
/ref> He made sexual advances towards her, and when these were rejected, raped her. He then offered, to assuage his shame, to ransom her back to her people, sending one of her slaves, also a captive, with the message. Her countrymen came to the appointed place with the ransom, but while the centurion was counting the gold, Chiomara indicated to them - with a nod, according to

, or by speaking to them in their own language, according to

and

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

, ''Factorum et Dictorum Memorbilium Libri Novem'
6.1 ''ext''.2
/ref> - that they were to cut off his head. She then carried the head home wrapped in the folds of her dress, and threw it at the feet of her husband, telling him that only one man who has been intimate with her shall remain alive. The Greek historian

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

is said to have met her at

Sardis Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...

, and been impressed with her "good sense and intelligence". She is remembered in ''

De Mulieribus Claris ''De Mulieribus Claris'' or ''De Claris Mulieribus'' (Latin for "Concerning Famous Women") is a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in Latin prose in 1361–1362. ...

'', a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

, composed in 136162. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature.

References

{{Celts, state=uncollapsed Galatian people Celtic women 2nd-century BC women Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Wartime sexual violence Women in ancient European warfare Women in ancient Near Eastern warfare no:Chiomara