Amestris

Amestris
Amestris
Queen consort of the Otanes
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Amestris (

Artaxerxes I of Persia.^[4]

She was poorly regarded by ancient Greek historians.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Life

Amestris was the daughter of

Darius I the Great of Persia assumed the throne. According to Herodotus

, Otanes was honoured with royal marriages. Darius I married Otanes' daughter Phaedymia while Otanes married a sister of Darius, who gave birth to Amestris.

When Darius died in 486 BC, Amestris was married to the crown prince, Xerxes. Herodotus describes Amestris as a cruel despot:

I am informed that Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, when she had grown old, made return for her own life to the god who is said to be beneath the earth by burying twice seven children of Persians who were men of renown.
— Herodotus, Histories 7.114

The origin of this story is unclear, since known records and accounts indicate that

human sacrifices were not permitted within the Persian religion

. Also since most accounts of the time are from Greek sources, and due to the involvement of Greece as an opponent of Persia, it is possible that not all accounts are accurate.

Circa 478 BC, her son Crown Prince Darius was married to his cousin Artaynte at Sardis. She was the daughter of Xerxes' brother Masistes. At the behest of Xerxes, Artaynte committed adultery with him (Xerxes). When Amestris found out, she did not seek revenge against Artaynte, but against her mother, Masistes' wife, as Amestris thought that it was her connivance. On Xerxes' birthday, Amestris sent for his guards and mutilated Masistes' wife by cutting off her breasts and threw them to dogs, and her nose and ears and lips also, and cutting out her tongue as well. On seeing this, Masistes fled to Bactria to start a revolt, but was intercepted by Xerxes' army who killed him and his sons.^[8]

Popular depictions

Amestris is a character in the opera Serse by George Frideric Handel (italianized as "Amastre"). In the opera, Amestris is about to marry Xerxes (Serse), yet he falls in love with another woman and wants to marry her instead. Amestris disguises herself as a man in order to be near him. At the end of the opera, Xerxes is sorry for the things he did and asks Amestris once more to be his wife.^[9]

Notes

^ Herodotus, John Kenrick The Egypt of Herodotus being the second and part of the third books of his history, p.XVII (1841)
^ Amestris made human sacrifice. See Boyce, Mary (1989). A History of Zoroastrianism: The early period, p. 141.
^ electricpulp.com. ""Amestris" in Encyclopedia Iranica". Retrieved 9 September 2014.
^ Smith, William (1867). "Amestris (I)". In William Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 137.
^ Herodotus, Histories vii. 61, 114, ix. 108—113
^ Ctesias, Persica c. 20. 30. ed. Lion
^ Plutarch, Alcibiades p. 123, c.
OCLC 1610641
.

^ Deutsche Oper am Rhein: Xerxes (issued in 2015), a book containing information on the opera itself as well as on a contemporary production

Sources

Amestris Archived 2013-09-07 at the Wayback Machine by Jona Lendering

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amestris&oldid=1203991393"

[1] Herodotus, John Kenrick The Egypt of Herodotus being the second and part of the third books of his history, p.XVII (1841)

[2] Amestris made human sacrifice. See Boyce, Mary (1989). A History of Zoroastrianism: The early period, p. 141.

[3] tricpulp.com. ""Amestris" in Encyclopedia Iranica". Retrieved 9 September 2014.

[DGRBM-4] Smith, William (1867). "Amestris (I)". In William Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 137.

[5] Herodotus, Histories vii. 61, 114, ix. 108—113

[6] Ctesias, Persica c. 20. 30. ed. Lion

[7] Plutarch, Alcibiades p. 123, c.

[8] OCLC 1610641
.

[9] Deutsche Oper am Rhein: Xerxes (issued in 2015), a book containing information on the opera itself as well as on a contemporary production

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