Greek Gods

Greek mythology tells us that Artemisia was the queen of Halicarnassus, Cos, Nisyros, and Calydna. She ruled over these places as a dependent of the Persian empire during the reigh of Xeres I. She was the daughter of Lygdamis and after the death of her husband, she became the queen. She joined the fleet of Xeres when he invaded Greece. She had five beautiful ships and aided him in the battle of Salamis somewhere around 480 B. C.. Artemisia could be distinguished by her courage, perseverance and prudence. She was highly honored by the Persian king.

It is said that Artemisia put an end to her life in a romantic way. It seems that she was in love with Dardamis, who was a youth of Abydos. The young man did not return her passion so avenged herself by poking his eyes out while he slept. This angered the gods and she was ordered to go to Leucas and she threw herself from a rock into the sea. Her son, Pisindelis, preceded her on the throne. Artemisia was named after Artemis or Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Wormwood is considered to be the Artemisia of Greek mythology because it is used for medicinal purposes as a poison for parasites. If one is given an overdose, it will affect the eyes and also could cause convulsions. You may have heard of the saying “as bitter as wormwood”.

Artemisia II was the sister, wife, and successor of King Mausolus, of Caria. She was the daughter of Hecatomnus. She reigned for two years after the death of her husband. The reign was from 352 to 350 B. C.. She is remembered in history because of her unusual way of grieving for her husband. It seems that she mixed his ashes in her daily drink and drank it.

The Mausoleum of Maussollos was built in his honor and it was about 140 feet tall and surrounded on all four corners with 36 marble columns. There were nine on each side of the Mausoleum. Each column were decorated with sculptural reliefs created by four Greek Sculptors. Each sculptor decorated one side of the Mausoleum. The sculptors were Leochares (did the west side), Bryaxis (did the north side), Scopas (did the east side), and Timotheus (did the south side). After Artemisia died, a fifth sculptor was hired and that was Pteron. He added to the monument with a pyramid which was just as tall and contained 24 steps. A sixth sculptor was also added and his name was Pythius. He built a marble chariot, with 4 white horses, at the top of the monument.