Artemisia

• Wife of King Mausolus, in Caria, to whom, after his death, she built the renowned Mausoleum, Gell. 10, 18.—
• II artĕmĭsĭa, ae, f., the plant mugwort, Plin. 25, 7, 36, § 73; App. Herb. 10.

(Ἀρτεμισία).

1. A queen of Halicarnassus, Cos, Nisyros, and Calydna, who ruled over these places as a vassal of the Persian empire in the reign of Xerxes I. She was a daughter of Lygdamis, and on the death of her husband, she succeeded him as queen. When Xerxes invaded Greece, she voluntarily joined his fleet with five beautiful ships, and in the battle of Salamis (B. C. 480) she distinguished herself by her prudence, courage, and perseverance, for which she was afterwards highly honoured by the Persian king. (Hdt. 7.99, 8.68, 87, &c., 93, 101, &c.; Polyaen. 8.53; Paus. 3.11.3.) According to a tradition preserved in Photius (Bibl. p. 153a, ed. Bekker), she put an end to her life in a romantic manner. She was in love, it is said, with Dardanus, a youth of Abydos, and as her passion was not returned, she avenged herself by putting his eyes out while he was asleep. This excited the anger of the gods, and an oracle commanded her to go to Leucas, where she threw herself from the rock into the sea. She was succeeded by her son Pisindelis. Respecting the import of the phrase in regard to lovers, "to leap from the Leucadian rock," see Sappho.

2. The sister, wife, and successor of the Carian prince Mausolus. She was the daughter of Hecatomnus, and after the death of her husband, she reigned for two years, from B. C. 352 to B. C. 350. Her administration was conducted on the same principles as that of her husband, whence she supported the oligarchical party in the island of Rhodes. (Diod. 16.36, 45; Dem. de Rhod. Libert. pp. 193, 197, 198.) She is renowned in history for her extraordinary grief at the death of her husband Mausolus. She is said to have mixed his ashes in her daily drink, and to have gradually died away in grief during the two years that she survived him. She induced the most eminent Greek rhetoricians to proclaim his praise in their oratory; and to perpetuate his memory she built at Halicarnassus the celebrated monument, Mausoleum, which was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world, and whose name subsequently became the generic term for any splendid sepulchral monument. (Cic. Tusc. 3.31; Strabo xiv. p.656; Gellius, 10.18 ; Plin. Nat. 25.36, 36.4.9; V. Max. 4.6. ext. 1; Suid. Harpocr. s. vv. Ἀρτεμισία and Μαύσωλος.) Another celebrated monument was erected by her in the island of Rhodes, to commemorate her success in making herself mistress of the island. The Rhodians, after recovering their liberty, made it inaccessible, whence it was called in later times the Ἄβατον. (Vitr. 2.8.) [L.S]

(Ἀρτεμισία). (1) The daughter of Lygdamis of Halicarnassus, reigned over Halicarnassus, and also over Cos and other adjacent islands. She joined the fleet of Xerxes, when he invaded Greece, with five vessels, the best equipped of the whole fleet after those of the Sidonians; and she displayed so much valour and skill at the battle of Salamis as to elicit from Xerxes the wellknown remark that the men had acted like women in the fight and the women like men. The Athenians, indignant that a woman should appear in arms against them, offered a reward of 10,000 drachmae to any one who should take her prisoner. She, however, escaped after the action (Herod. vii. 99; viii. 88, 93). If we are to believe Ptolemy Hephaestion, a writer who mixed up many fables with some truth, Artemisia subsequently conceived an attachment for a youth of Abydos, named Dardanus; but, not meeting with a return for her passion, she put out his eyes while he slept, and then threw herself down from the Lover's Leap at the promontory of Leucaté.

(2) Another queen of Caria, not to be confounded with the preceding. She was the daughter of Hecatomnus, king of Caria, and married her brother Mausolus, a species of union sanctioned by the customs of the country. She lost her husband, who was remarkable for personal beauty, B.C. 365, and she became, in consequence, a prey to the deepest affliction. A splendid tomb was erected to his memory, called Mausoleum (Μαυσωλεῖον, scil. μνημεῖιον, i. e. “tomb of Mausolus”), and the most noted writers of the day were invited to attend a literary contest, in which ample rewards were to be bestowed on those who should celebrate with most ability the praises of the deceased. Among the individuals who came together on that occasion were, according to Aulus Gellius (x. 18), Theopompus, Theodectes, Naucrites, and even Isocrates. The prize was won by Theopompus. Valerius Maximus and Aulus Gellius relate a marvellous story concerning the excessive grief of Artemisia. They say that she actually mixed the ashes of her husband with water and drank them off (Max.iv. 6). The grief of Artemisia, poignant though it was, did not cause her to neglect the care of her dominions: she conquered the island of Rhodes, and gained possession of some Greek cities on the mainland; and yet it is said that she died of grief two years after the loss of her husband. See Mausoleum.

(τὰ Ἀρτεμίσια). Festivals celebrated in honour of Artemis (q.v.) in various parts of Greece in the spring.

• queen of Halicarnassus, carved on pillar of Persian Colonnade at Sparta: Paus. 3.11.3
• queen of Halicarnassus, with Xerxes' fleet: Hdt. 7.99
• fought for Xerxes against Greeks at Salamis: Paus. 3.11.3
• her advice to Xerxes before Salamis: Hdt. 8.68
• conduct in the battle: Hdt. 8.87
• advice to Xerxes after Salamis: Hdt. 8.101-103