ARTEMISIA I

flourished 5th century BC queen of Halicarnassus, a Greek city in Caria, and of the nearby island of Cos in about 480. Artemisia ruled under the overlordship of the Persian king Xerxes (reigned 486465) and participated in Xerxes' invasion of Greece (480479). Despite her able command of five ships in the major naval battle with the Greeks off the island of Salamis near Athens, the Persian fleet suffered a severe defeat. Herodotus claims that Xerxes acted on her advice when he decided to retreat from Greece at once rather than to risk another engagement.