2. Ancient Pirates

In classical antiquity, the Illyrians, Tyrrhenians, Greeks, Romans, as well as the Phoenicians had all been involved in acts of piracy.  The most famous pirates of ancient times were the Cilician Pirates, whose territory was in what is modern Turkey.  They were most famous for kidnapping Julius Caesar in 78 BC, asking for a large ransom be paid.  

Artemisia reigned as the queen of Halicarnassus, a Greek city in modern-day Turkey, from 460 to 484 AD.  She was the first female naval commander recorded in history. 

Ancient accounts depict her as a brave and clever woman who was a valued asset in conquering Greece.  However, Thessalus described her as an unscrupulous pirate and a schemer. 

She allegedly sailed with 2 different flags on board her ship: one that was aligned with the Greeks, and another with the Persians. When she caught up to a Greek ship, she’d fly the Greek flag to get as close as possible before showing her true colors and attacking.

In modern times, Artemisia appeared in the 2014 movie 300: Rise of an Empire and the 1962 movie 300 Spartans.