Amestris

The wife of Xerxes and the mother of Darius.

As the queen of the Persian Empire, Amestris was accustomed to the intrigues and excesses of her husband, Xerxes, but she exceeded all others in heavy-handed cruelty.

When Xerxes tried, and failed, to seduce his brother’s wife he set his designs on his son’s wife, Artaynte; Amestris devised a clever and evil plan to punish her husband and foil his impulses for infidelity; she gave Xerxes an exquisite cloak that she knew young Artaynte would covet; Xerxes gave the cloak to Artaynte as Amestris predicted and by doing so Amestris knew without doubt that her husband was being unfaithful to her.

Amestris waited for the king’s birthday and, as custom dictated, the king was obliged to grant favors and give gifts to his subjects; Amestris asked Xerxes for Artaynte’s mother as a gift and he could not refuse even though he suspected an evil end to such an unusual request; Amestris had Artaynte’s mother killed and mutilated.

Xerxes feared revenge for such unjustified treatment of the innocent woman and had his brother, his nephews and their supporters murdered to prevent any retaliation.

• Histories, book 9, chapter 108-113