Artemisia I

Queen of Halicarnassus (r. c. 500 b. c.e.)

Born: Late sixth century b. c.e.; probably Halicarnassus, Caria, Asia Minor (now Bodrum, Turkey)

Died: Probably mid-fifth century b. c.e.; place unknown Category: Government and politics; women

Life Artemisia I (ahrt-uh-MIHZ-ee-uh) came to the throne of Halicarnassus upon the death of her husband. Her city-state was under the suzerainty ofthe Persian Empire. When Xerxes I invaded Greece in 480 b. c.e., Artemisia contributed five ships that she commanded because of her “spirit of adventure and manly courage,” according to the historian Herodotus.

Artemisia distinguished herself in the campaign’s first major action, off the coast of Euboea. No details are given of Artemisia’s skill during this first encounter, but no one contradicted her when she alluded to it later in conference with Xerxes. In that conference, Artemisia disagreed with all of Xerxes’ other advisers, telling him not to attack the Greek fleet. Xerxes admired her courageous stand but conceded to the majority and ordered his fleet to advance to Salamis, off the coast from Athens.

The narrow waters off Salamis negated the superior numbers of the Persian fleet, and the smaller and more maneuverable Greek ships soon gained the upper hand. Chased by an Athenian ship, Artemisia rammed an allied ship. This convinced her pursuers that she was Greek or had changed sides, so they turned away. Xerxes, watching the battle, assumed the ship that she rammed was Greek. Seeing her “success” in the midst of his fleet’s defeat, he is said to have remarked, “My men have turned into women, my women into men.”

Influence Artemisia had limited impact, but had her advice been followed before Salamis, all Greek and European history may have been changed.

Further Reading

Herodotus. The Histories. Translated by Robin Waterfield. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Lightman, Marjorie, and Benjamin Lightman. Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Greek and Roman Women: Notable Women from Sappho to Helena. New York: Facts On File, 2000.

Paul K. Davis

See also: Salamis, Battle of; Xerxes I.