2. Princess Chiomara was supposed to be a pawn in an ancient power struggle, but brutally slayed the Roman soldier who violated her – and took his head home with her as a trophy
As every student of history knows, the Roman Empire could be brutal in suppressing its enemies. And it wasn’t just enemy soldiers who felt the power of Rome. Countless innocent men, women and children also suffered. Only a few were able to hit back. And one woman who did was Chiomara, a princess of the Tectosagi tribe and one of the ancient Galatian people who lived in modern-day Turkey. In 189BC, the forces of Rome attacked and defeated the Galatians. Princess Chiomara was taken prisoner. The centurion tasked with guarding her attempted to seduce his royal prisoner. When she turned down his advances, he raped her.
Perhaps feeling guilty, or maybe fearing he would be punished for his actions, the centurion offered Princess Chiomara her freedom back. He agreed to release her – for a ransom, of course. When her fellow Galatians came to pay the ransom, Chiomara ordered them to attack the Romans instead. She then ordered the centurions execution. The soldier was beheaded. The princess then wrapped the severed head up in her dress and took it back to her home town, presenting it to her husband and pledging that only one man who had been intimate with her would ever be allowed to live.