Atossa
Atossa (from Old Persian *Utauθa, and Avestan Hutaosā) was an Achaemenid queen and daughter of Cyrus the Great and possibly his wife, Cassandane, or Nitetis, an Egyptian princess. She lived from 550 BC to 475 BC and probably was a sister (or half-sister) of the Persian king Cambyses II.
Atossa married Darius I during 522 BC after he, with the help of the nobleman Otanes, defeated the followers of a man claiming to be Bardiya (Smerdis), the younger brother of Cambyses II.
Xerxes I was the eldest son of Atossa and Darius. Atossa lived to see Xerxes invade Greece. Being a direct descendent of Cyrus the Great, Atossa had a great authority within Achamenian royal house and court. Atossa's special position enabled Xerxes, who was not the eldest son of Darius, to succeed his father. [1]
[edit] Literary references
Aeschylus also included her as a central character in his tragedy The Persians. Also Atossa is one of the major characters in the Gore Vidal work, Creation.
[edit] References
- ^ Schmitt, Rüdiger (1989). "Atossa". Encyclopaedia Iranica. vol. 3. Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. ISBN 0710091214. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/v3f1/v3f1a014.html.
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