Pausanias, in his Description of Greece (c. 175 CE), refers to "the Sixteen Women." It's unclear how "the Sixteen Women" became a group. Several interpretations exist, including that they were selected as negotiators from 16 cities, for the purpose of making peace between Elis and Pisa.
Famous quotes containing the words sixteen and/or women:
““I don’t suppose there’s a man going, as possesses the fondness for youth that I do. There’s youth to the amount of eight hundred pound a-year, at Dotheboys Hall at this present time. I’d take sixteen hundred pound worth, if I could get ‘em, and be as fond of every individual twenty pound among ‘em as nothing should equal it!””
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
“A woman with cut hair is a filthy spectacle, and much like a monster ... it being natural and comely to women to nourish their hair, which even God and nature have given them for a covering, a token of subjection, and a natural badge to distinguish them from men.”
—William Prynne (1600–1669)