Born: Unknown, Greece
Died: circa 506 BCE
Country most active: Greece
Also known as: Γοργώ
The following is excerpted from “400 Outstanding Women of the World and the Costumology of Their Time” by Minna Moscherosch Schmidt, published in 1933.
She was the clever and heroic wife of Leonidas. Demaratos, the dethroned King of Sparta who took refuge in Persia, sent to his compatriots, a message advising them that Xerxes, the King of Persia, intended to invade Greece. Fearing that the letter would fall into the hands of the enemy, he covered the writing with a layer of wax. But the intuition of this excellent woman betrayed the plot, for she guessed that under the wax, something was written, and thus the Greeks were warned of the invasion. The Spartans under the command of Leonidas determined to defend the pass of Thermopyles, knowing well there was slight hope of their returning home. Here, Gorgo lost both her husband and her young son. Who knows but that the famous epitaph on the tomb of the three hundred Lacedamoneans is her own inspiration: “Stranger Announce to the Lacedamoneans That Here We Are Lying Obeying Their Commands.” Once, when a stranger told her that the women of Sparta were the only ones who imposed on their men, Gorgo answered: “Because we are the only women who give birth to real men.”