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Historical person

Atossa

550–475 BCE

Atossa was an Achaemenid queen, a daughter of Cyrus the Great, wife of Darius I and mother of Xerxes I. Her position connected the dynasty’s founding branch to Darius’s line and gave her unusual importance in questions of royal succession.

Atossa also held the offices or ranks of queen consort. Atossa belonged to the Achaemenid dynasty and operated within Achaemenid Empire. Atossa was born in Pasargadae and died in Iran.

In Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound and Other Plays, set at the Persian court after the Battle of Salamis, it presents the grief of Queen Atossa, the ghost of Darius and the defeated king Xerxes as news of the Persian disaster reaches home.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Atossa (1 series)

Penguin Classics: Ancient World in Order

by various authors 32 books 4.6(13,212)

Penguin Classics: Ancient World brings together foundational works of literature, history, philosophy, drama and poetry from the earliest civilisations through classical Greece and Rome. The wider Penguin Classics series began in 1946 with E. V. Rieu’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey, reflecting its original aim of making important texts…

All books in this series