Q. What three sister athletes were the Greco-Roman "Flo-Jos" of their time—and the contemporaries of Paul of Tarsus?

A. Living during the first century a.d., Hedea, Tryphosa, and Dionysia hailed from a rich little city in Asia Minor named Tralles. Over five years, these teens won firsts for track—and war chariot racing! at professional meets around the Mediterranean.

Uppity Women of Ancient Times

Author candid: "My most beloved book—I invested more than 20 years in gathering the material. Call me petty, but it was such a treat to produce a 'So hah!' book that rebutted all those mysogynistic Victorian-era historians whose books, by the way, still muddy the real scholarship of ancient times."

Ms magazine: "Ancient history comes alive in this witty retelling of the lives of 200 women—physicians, artists, slaves, builders, and queens—whose names, León points out, are 'not lost, just mislaid.'"

[Pub. November 1995, Conari Press. Trade paper $14.95 ISBN 1-57324-010-9. b&w art. 250 pages; bibliography; index; five maps of the ancient world]