Queen Atossa: Adamantine Achaemenid Apron-Strings [Hdt. 2.1.1−2, Hdt. 3.66.2, 3.88.2, 3.133−134, Hdt.7.2.1−3, and 7.3.4

Abstract

Claims that Herodotus reveals himself as a proto-biographer, let alone as a proto-feminist, are not yet widely accepted. To help advance these claims, I have selected one remarkable, non-Greek, barbarian woman—Queen Atossa of Persia, the daughter of Cyrus the Great, and the spouse of three Achaemenid kings—whose exploits during their reigns are recounted in his Histories. It is to Heraclitus—a near contemporary—to whom we attribute the maxim êthos anthropôi daimôn (ἦθος ἀνθρώπῳ δαίμων)—character is human destiny—and it is the truth of this maxim—implying effective human agency—that makes Herodotus’ creation of historical narrative possible. From his many vignettes, which, without advancing the narrative, Herodotus is able to color-in the character of some of the more notable individuals he identifies in his Histories. Although never the cradle to grave accounts typical of Plutarch centuries later, by leap-frogging through three of the nine books, we can assemble a partially continuous narrative, and thus gauge Atossa’s character. Arguably this lets us attribute both credit and moral responsibility. This implied causation demonstrates that Herodotus’ writings include not only proto-biography but in several instances—one of which is given here—proto-feminism.