Ancient Rome was a prideful society that felt they were superior to any other race that opposed them. Boudicca and Zenobia were two queens that opposed Rome’s power. Because these queens did not want Rome to take over their land, they battled the great army. In general, one’s race and/or ethnicity is always considered when they are an enemy in a war, but based on the accounts of Boudicca and Zenobia, the Romans seem to pay more attention to their gender compared to their actual race because the Romans felt they were far superior compared to any woman. In the beginning of Cassius Dio’s Roman History, it is explained that many Romans were killed. Dio writes, “ Moreover, all this ruin was brought upon the Romans by a woman, a fact which in itself caused them the greatest shame. Indeed, Heaven gave them indications of the catastrophe beforehand” (Cassius Dio, 1). The Romans are not upset that they were defeated by a different race. They feel disgraced because they were beaten by an army that was led by a woman. Before Boudicca gives her great speech in Cassius Dio’s Roman History, she is given a detailed description. Dio writes, “In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large …show more content…
The fact that these queens are women is more prominent in both accounts for Boudicca and Zenobia compared to their race. The Romans may pay more attention to gender because, in a society that is ruled by a patriarchy, women were seen as inferior, and they were not allowed to fight. Therefore, their race and/or ethnicity is not as important of a factor compared to that of their gender when portraying Zenobia and