Allow me to introduce you to the Artemisia Project which is casting a new wave in the study of Latin and Greek and the reinvented world of Classix.
Of late, there have been several loud voices calling for the deconstruction of the study of the ancient cultures and languages of Greece and Rome, which have been incriminated in the perpetuation of white supremacy, the passive-bystander syndrome vis a vis enslavement, and systemic racism.
Critical topics and pursuits all, yet a new wave is underway which provides hope and fosters understanding of the antiquity of the Mediterranean and its orbit cultures and nations.
Artemisia I, queen of the Anatolian region of Caria, south of ancient Lydia, in modern-day Turkey, was most famous for her role in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC/BCE, a naval clash fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes.
The Battle of Salamis resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. In that battle, Artemisia fought alongside the Persian King Xerxes.
Her name is derived from the Greek goddess Artemis, who presided over the creatures in the wild. Artemisia was the daughter of King Lygdamis of Halicarnassus and a woman from Crete whose identity is unknown.
The first husband of Artemisia ruled in Caria, and after the death of her king-husband, she served as regent for her young son Pisindelis. [Joshua J. Mark, World History Encyclopedia]
After the Battle of Salamis, she is said to have escorted Xerxes’ illegitimate sons to safety at Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey, and, afterwards, no further mention is made of her in the historical record.
The primary source for her achievements in the Greco-Persian wars is Herodotus of Halicarnassus and his account of the Battle of Salamis in his Histories, although she is also mentioned by Pausanias, Polyaenus, in the Suda, and by Plutarch.
Every ancient account, except that of Thessalus who describes Artemisia I as an unscrupulous pirate and a schemer, depicted her as a brave and clever woman who was a valued ally to Xerxes on his expedition to invade Greece.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that later writers of Artemisia I have conflated several of her exploits with those of Artemisia II, the wife of King Mausolus of Halicarnassus who died ca. 350 BC/BCE.
Artemisia II commissioned the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World.
As an illustration of the conflation, the conquest of the city of Latmus as related in Polyaenus (8.53.4), in which Artemisia I staged an elaborate and colorful festival some distance from the city to draw the inhabitants out so that her forces could capture Latmus without a fight, has now been attributed to Artemisia II.
Herodotus, however, praised Artemisia I to such an extent that later writers – many of whom criticized Herodotus on a number of points – complain that he focused on her to the exclusion of other important details regarding the Battle of Salamis.
As Herodotus wrote:
“I pass over all the other officers [of the Persians] because there is no need for me to mention them, except for Artemisia, because I find it particularly remarkable that a woman should have taken part in the expedition against Greece.
“She took over the tyranny after her husband’s death, and although she had a grown-up son and did not have to join the expedition, her manly courage impelled her to do so.
“Hers was the second most famous squadron in the entire navy, after the one from Sidon. None of Xerxes’ allies gave him better advice than she (VII.99).”
According to historian Joshua J. Mark, “The Persian expedition was Xerxes’ revenge on the Greeks for the Persian defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC/BCE, and the Persian invading force is reported to have been the largest ever assembled in the world up to that point.
“Even if Caria, as part of the Persian Empire at the time, had been compelled to supply troops and ships, there would have been no reason for a sitting queen to lead or even accompany her soldiers to the field. Artemisia’s decision, then, was wholly her own.”
If you have been enthralled by this foray into ancient history, select an ancient Mediterranean persona for yourself, do the research, and present your findings as a personal narrative to your audience, for example, the students in your Latin, Greek, or Ancient History class.
When the other students in your class do the same, you are all participating in the Artemisia Project which opens up a panoply of topics for discussion including the inherent nature of cultures, their economic and political systems, their treatment of conquered peoples, and their humanity.
Welcome to casting a new wave in Classix.
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