You say it's interesting that Eusthathios noted women helping the war effort was "nothing out of the ordinary." I was curious what was interesting about it? Was women's place in war efforts not usually remarked upon? Or were women of that time and place not expected to help in the war effort at all? Always love hearing your thoughts and comments on women in history!
Thank you for the ask :D.
What I meant is that it implies that women contributing in some form to the defense was usual and expected.
And indeed, that was the case in many sieges, in many different lands and time periods. So that's why I said it was interesting. Because such things weren't unusual at all.
When you look across history, you will find many similar examples. It will range from women performing (essential) support functions from carrying ammunition to digging trenches, repairing walls, bringing water to the soldiers, nursing the wounded, manning the walls to trick the enemy into believing that they were facing a much larger force etc.
These stories often involve active fighting as well. These women weren't professional warriors. They were ordinary women. They fought with what whatever was available at the moment, from a pitchfork to roof tiles (a speciality in Ancient Greece). Maud de Braose (a 12th century-early 13th century Anglo-Norman noblewoman) once joked that if besieged, she would hurl wheels of cheese at the enemy. Maud was very adept at warfare. This joke conveys that she was aware of her duties in commanding the castle's defense, but also that women were used to making do with whatever came at hand.
It's also very different from the dudebro vision of history: "we did all the fighting while women stayed at home". Because these women were defending their homes, their families. I mean...we all know what happens when a city falls. And these women were aware of it too.
Such depictions are thoroughly lacking in fiction. Helm's Deep in the Lord of the Rings is one of the worst cases imho. When the fate of your entire people is in the balance, you need everyone on board. You aren't going to put children on the walls while robust adult women are kept out from the fighting.
It was a grim and desperate struggle. Sometimes these women saved their hometowns. Sometimes they didn't. But I think their spirit of resistance is worth remembering, especially since it actively challenges the myth of women's passivity.
