Women in the roman army? (Combatants)

[Sean Manning]

That raises another point: even if your female could disguise herself to look like a soldier, she probably wouldn't know how to act like one.

Assuming she somehow interposed herself, appropriately attired and somehow carrying the weight, in the ranks, the first time a command was given and she responded wrong, everyone around her would be thinking, "This new-bee is going to get me killed."

Followed by a closer look at the strange soldier. At which point the charade falls apart. :oops:

I think the idea is that she volunteers during a time when nobody is asking too many questions, say the civil wars of -I or +III. Mary Read did manage to live and fight in two regiments of foot, a regiment of horse, and a pirate ship for some time without being detected as a woman. It would be harder in the Roman world because they were more casual about male nudity, but not quite impossible in a period of disorder.

But this is a silly topic which we should probably drop