Artemisia: An Admirable Admiral [7.99.1‒3, 8.68.1− 8.69.2, 8.87.1−4, 8.88.1‒3, 8.93.2, and 8.101.1−8.103]

Claims that Herodotus reveals himself as a proto-biographer, let alone as a proto-feminist, are not yet widely accepted. To help advance these claims, I have selected one remarkable woman—Queen Artemisia of Halicarnassus—whose exploits during the second Greco-Persian War are recounted in his Histories. It is to Heraclitus—a near contemporary—to whom we attribute the maxim êthos anthropôi daimôn (ἦθος ἀνθρώπῳ δαίμων)—character is human destiny—and it is the truth of this maxim—implying effective human agency—that makes Herodotus’ creation of historical narrative possible. From his many vignettes, which, without advancing the narrative, Herodotus is able to color-in the character of some of the more notable individuals he depicts in his Histories. Although never the cradle to grave accounts typical of Plutarch, by leap-frogging through two of the nine books, we can assemble a partially continuous narrative, and thus gauge Artemisia’s character. Arguably this permits us to attribute both credit and moral responsibility. And this implied causation demonstrates that Herodotus’ writings include not only proto-biography but in several instances—one of which is given here—proto-feminism.