March 30: Women's Month

Character is destiny. This phrase, attributed to the Greek philosopher Herakleitos, has been used to make the case that you can accomplish anything, if you put your mind to it. Which is nonsense. You need a bit of luck. And health. And a good start in life. In antiquity, the Spartan royal Kyniska is the best example. She had put her mind to winning the quadriga race at the Olympics (with chariots, pulled by four horses), and she did, twice. She would become the ancient equivalent of a female sporting pin-up, and her heroine’s shrine at Sparta – decorated with bronze horses – had the inscription: “My father and brothers were Spartan kings, I am Kyniska: I say I am the only woman in all Greece to have won this wreath.” It doesn’t mention that all of her equipment was a gift from her brother, and that her quadriga was driven by a career-charioteer. Kyniska herself wouldn’t even be allowed to attend her own race, or pick up her trophy, as the only female in the stadion would have been Demeter’s priestess. So she won by proxy. It still counts.

Charioteer of Delphi, Delphi Archeological Museum, Greece

Quadriga race, Campana Relief, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France