Tomyris

For the synonym of the moth genus Hypena, see Tomyris (moth). For the 2019 historical film, see Tomiris (film).
"Tamyris" redirects here. For the genus of butterflies, see Tamyris (skipper). For the female name, see Tomris.
Tomyris
Tomyris as imagined by Castagno, 15th century
Queen of the Massagetae
Reignunknown – c. 520s BCE
Predecessorunnamed husband
SuccessorSkunkha (?)
Diedc. 520s BCE
Spouseunnamed husband
IssueSpargapises
ReligionScythian religion
Tomyris and the Head of Cyrus, Frankenthal porcelain, c. 1773
Queen Tomyris learns that her son Spargapises has been taken alive by Cyrus, by Jan Moy (1535–1550).
Tomyris Plunges the Head of the Dead Cyrus Into a Vessel of Blood by Rubens

Tomyris (/ˈtɒmɪrɪs/; Saka: *Taumuriya; Ancient Greek: Τομυρις, romanized: Tomuris; Latin: Tomyris[1][2]) also called Thomyris, Tomris, or Tomiride, was a queen of the Massagetae who ruled in the 6th century BCE. Tomyris is known only from the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus, according to whom Tomyris led her armies to defend against an attack by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire, and defeated and killed him in 530 BC.[3]

She is not mentioned in the few other early sources covering the period, especially Ctesias.

Tomyris became a fairly popular subject in European art and literature during the Renaissance. In art the usual subject was her receiving the head of Cyrus, or putting it into the blood-filled container. This became part of the Power of Women group of women subjects who triumphed in various ways over men.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schmitt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bukharin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Schmitt 2018.