The Ottoman siege of the Marina in 1657 remained known for the courage of the locals of Marina, but in history and tradition it was also remembered by the rare courage of its girls and women. In the hopeless siege, 30 young women changed into men's uniforms, grabbed their weapons, and actively took part in the fight. Some of the names and deeds of those heroines are known to us. Among them, Kate Despotova stands out for killing many Ottoman soldiers. Two young widows, Kata Despotova and Matuša Škriljina, whose husbands had died in one of the frequent battles with the Ottomans a few years earlier, led the girls and women of Marina with their courage.
During the capture, the Ottomans, having found out in astonishment that they were women, did not kill them, but spared their lives, took them with them to Bosnia and allowed them to remain armed during this time. The third brave woman, a girl named Jele Marunova, who did not want to surrender, ignited several gunpowder barrels in the tower where women and children took refuge, killing many Ottoman soldiers as well. Their families and surnames are no longer mentioned in Marina after the Cretan War and are probably lost.
