Tomyris
Tomyris (/ˈtɒmɪrɪs/; Saka: *Taumuriyaʰ; Ancient Greek: Τομυρις, romanized: Tomuris; Latin: Tomyris) also called Thomyris, Tomris, or Tomiride, is known only from the Greek historian Herodotus. According to him, she reigned over the Massagetae, an Iranian Saka people of Central Asia. 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. She had his severed head placed in a bag or bowl filled with blood, saying to it "There: drink your fill of blood!"
| Tomyris | |
|---|---|
Tomyris as imagined by Castagno, 15th century | |
| Queen of the Massagetae | |
| Reign | unknown – c. 520s BCE |
| Predecessor | unnamed husband |
| Successor | Skunkha (?) |
| Died | c. 520s BCE |
| Spouse | unnamed husband |
| Issue | Spargapises |
| Religion | Scythian religion |
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.