Artemisia was the daughter of Lygdamis and was set up as the tyrant of Halicarnassus by the Persians, who were at the time the overlords of Ionia, after the death of her husband. A tyrant (from Greek τύραννος týrannos) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. ... Map of the Aegean Sea, showing the location of Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey) Halicarnassus (; modern Bodrum; see also List of traditional Greek place names), an ancient Greek city on the southwest coast of Caria, Asia Minor, on a picturesque and advantageous site on the Ceramic Gulf (Gulf of Cos, Gulf... Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent The Achaemenid Dynasty (Hakamanishiya in the Old Persian (Avestan ??) language - transliterated Hakamanshee in Modern Persian) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ... Ionia (Greek Ιωνία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was an ancient region of southwestern coastal Anatolia (now in Turkey) on the Aegean Sea. ...

She participated in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC as a Persian ally with five ships, but as she was about to be captured by the Greeks, she purposely or accidentally rammed and sunk a Persian ship, causing the Greeks to spare her life as they believed she had defected to the Greek side. Combatants Greek city-states Persia Halicarnassus Commanders Eurybiades of Sparta Themistocles of Athens Adeimantus of Corinth Aristides of Athens Xerxes I of Persia Ariamenes † Artemisia Strength 371 ships 1207 ships Casualties 40 ships 200 ships The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle between the Greek city-states and Persia... Events King Xerxes I of Persia sets out to conquer Greece. ...

She escaped back to the Persians, where the Persian king Xerxes I declared she had fought "like a man" while the rest of his fleet had fought "like women". Herodotus also had a favourable opinion of her, despite her support of Persia, probably because he was also from Halicarnassus. Artemisia convinced Xerxes to retreat back to Asia Minor after the defeat at Salamis, contrary to the advice of Mardonius, who wanted Xerxes to stay. Xerxes then sent her to Ephesus to take care of his sons. Xerxes I (خشایارشاه), was a Persian king (reigned 485 - 465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Ήροδοτος, Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ... Mardonius was a Persian commander during the Persian Wars with Greece in the 5th century BC. He was the son of Gobryas and the son-in-law of Darius I of Persia, whose daughter Artozostra he had married. ... Ephesus (Greek: Έφεσσος; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). ...

She was also said to have fallen in love with a man named Dardanus, and when he ignored her she jumped to her death into the Aegean Sea from Leucas. The Aegean Sea. ... Lefkada, or Lefkas (Greek: Modern: Λευκάδα, Ancient/Katharevousa: -as) is an Greek island in the Ionian Sea, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge. ...