Stateira (wife of Artaxerxes II)
Encyclopedia
Stateira was the wife of king Artaxerxes II of Persia
.
Asteroid
831 Stateira
is named in her honour.
. She married Artaxerxes II, the oldest son of Darius II of Persia
and his wife Parysatis
. Probably Darius II wanted to establish good relations with an important noble family, from which Stateira was descended, because her brother Terituchmes married Amestris, a daughter of Darius II. But Terituchmes loved one of his half-sisters more than his royal bride and tried to start a rebellion. Therefore Parysatis had all the children of Hydarnes killed and only spared the life of Stateira at the request of her husband.
Artaxerxes II took over the Persian throne in 404 BC after the death of his father. Stateira seems to have been his only legal wife despite his numerous concubines. She bore a son, Artaxerxes
, the heir to the throne, and probably other children. The queen mother Parysatis and Stateira tried to be the key political influence on the king; so the both women became bitter rivals.
Stateira was very popular with the people, allegedly because she left the curtains open when she drove in her carriage and because she talked to the ordinary people. She supported her husband in his quarrel with his brother Cyrus the Younger
and criticized her sharp-tongued mother-in-law, because Parysatis had helped her favourite son Cyrus in his attempt to win the Persian throne from his brother Artaxerxes II. Reportedly the intense hatred between the two women led Parysatis to encourage Artaxerxes II to take on concubines in order to hurt his wife. Stateira also publicly spoke up against the cruelties of the queen mother at the Persian court. For example she criticized the brutal treatment of the eunuch Masabates and therefore intensified her conflict with Parysatis.
Finally Parysatis had Stateira murdered. Classical sources give different reasons for this deed. According to one version Parysatis wanted to save the life of the Spartan commander Clearchus
and his fellow-generals, who had been taken prisoner by Tissaphernes
, but Stateira had succeeded in persuading her husband to execute the prisoners. Therefore Parysatis is supposed to have poisoned Stateira. Plutarch
, in his biography of Artaxerxes II, did not believe this story. According to another tradition Parysatis murdered her daughter-in-law because she realized that her son only felt true love for his wife. Plutarch reports that Parysatis performed the assassination with the help of a loyal servant named Gigis. She carved a bird with a poisoned knife in such a way that only one half of the animal was mixed with the poison. This half was served to Stateira when they were dining together. The poisoned meal caused a painful death of Stateira.
Artaxerxes II of Persia
Artaxerxes II Mnemon was king of Persia from 404 BC until his death. He was a son of Darius II of Persia and Parysatis.-Reign:...
.
Asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
831 Stateira
831 Stateira
-External links:*...
is named in her honour.
Biography
Stateira was the daughter of the Persian nobleman HydarnesHydarnes
Hydarnes was an eminent Persian, the commander of the "Ten Thousand Immortals" during the time of king Xerxes invasion of Greece.Perhaps the most famous episode involving Satrap Hydarnes and his Immortals came at the Thermopylae in 480 BC, when they came into contact with Leonidas of...
. She married Artaxerxes II, the oldest son of Darius II of Persia
Darius II of Persia
Darius II , was king of the Persian Empire from 423 BC to 405 BC.Artaxerxes I, who died on December 25, 424 BC, was followed by his son Xerxes II. After a month and a half Xerxes II was murdered by his brother Secydianus or Sogdianus...
and his wife Parysatis
Parysatis
Parysatis was the 5th-century BCE illegitimate daughter of Artaxerxes I, Emperor of Persia and Andia of Babylon.She was the half-sister of Xerxes II, Sogdianus and Darius II...
. Probably Darius II wanted to establish good relations with an important noble family, from which Stateira was descended, because her brother Terituchmes married Amestris, a daughter of Darius II. But Terituchmes loved one of his half-sisters more than his royal bride and tried to start a rebellion. Therefore Parysatis had all the children of Hydarnes killed and only spared the life of Stateira at the request of her husband.
Artaxerxes II took over the Persian throne in 404 BC after the death of his father. Stateira seems to have been his only legal wife despite his numerous concubines. She bore a son, Artaxerxes
Artaxerxes III of Persia
Artaxerxes III of Persia , was the Great King of Persia and the eleventh Emperor of the Achaemenid Empire, as well as the first Pharaoh of the 31st dynasty of Egypt. He was the son and successor of Artaxerxes II and was succeeded by his son, Arses of Persia...
, the heir to the throne, and probably other children. The queen mother Parysatis and Stateira tried to be the key political influence on the king; so the both women became bitter rivals.
Stateira was very popular with the people, allegedly because she left the curtains open when she drove in her carriage and because she talked to the ordinary people. She supported her husband in his quarrel with his brother Cyrus the Younger
Cyrus the Younger
Cyrus the Younger, son of Darius II of Persia and Parysatis, was a Persian prince and general. The time of his birth is unknown, but he died in 401 B.C. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of the Greeks is told by Xenophon in his Anabasis. Another account, probably from Sophaenetus of...
and criticized her sharp-tongued mother-in-law, because Parysatis had helped her favourite son Cyrus in his attempt to win the Persian throne from his brother Artaxerxes II. Reportedly the intense hatred between the two women led Parysatis to encourage Artaxerxes II to take on concubines in order to hurt his wife. Stateira also publicly spoke up against the cruelties of the queen mother at the Persian court. For example she criticized the brutal treatment of the eunuch Masabates and therefore intensified her conflict with Parysatis.
Finally Parysatis had Stateira murdered. Classical sources give different reasons for this deed. According to one version Parysatis wanted to save the life of the Spartan commander Clearchus
Clearchus of Sparta
Clearchus or Clearch , the son of Rhamphias, was a Spartan general and mercenary.Born about the middle of the 5th century BC, Clearchus was sent with a fleet to the Hellespont in 411 and became governor of Byzantium, of which town he was proxenus...
and his fellow-generals, who had been taken prisoner by Tissaphernes
Tissaphernes
Tissaphernes was a Persian soldier and statesman, grandson of Hydarnes.In 413 BC he was satrap of Lydia and Caria, and commander in chief of the Persian army in Asia Minor...
, but Stateira had succeeded in persuading her husband to execute the prisoners. Therefore Parysatis is supposed to have poisoned Stateira. Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, in his biography of Artaxerxes II, did not believe this story. According to another tradition Parysatis murdered her daughter-in-law because she realized that her son only felt true love for his wife. Plutarch reports that Parysatis performed the assassination with the help of a loyal servant named Gigis. She carved a bird with a poisoned knife in such a way that only one half of the animal was mixed with the poison. This half was served to Stateira when they were dining together. The poisoned meal caused a painful death of Stateira.