«Atossa» redirects here. For the homonymous asteroid, see (810) Atossa. Busto de Atosa
Atosa or Atossa (Greek version of the ancient Persian * Utauθa, and this of the Avestan Hutaosā) was a queen consort of Persia (550-475 BC). She was the daughter of Cyrus II and stepsister of Cambyses II. Cambyses insisted on marrying her, even though there was no legal precedent in Persia for a marriage of this kind; to avoid offending the king, Cambise's advisers told him that Persian laws allowed him to do whatever he wished.
Later, Atosa was taken by wife by Esmerdis, who overthrew Cambyses, and in 522 BC. C. contracted marriage again with Darío I, when this one overthrew as well to Esmerdis. Atosa had with Darío I several children: Masistes, Aquémenes (future sátrapa of Egypt), Histaspes and Xerxes, his first-born and successor in the throne of his father.
Atosa probably died before Xerxes came to power, possibly before 515 a. C., because it is not mentioned in the Tablets of the Fortress of Persepolis. However, Herodotus consdera who still lived during the reign of Xerxes, as well as Aeschylus, who introduces Atosa (if name it) as main character in his tragedy The Persians. Little is known about the true Atosa, although it is speculated that it could have come from a Zoroastrian family, since Atosa is a mythical figure in that religion. According to Herodotus, he owned Greek slaves, which he preferred over Persian slaves.
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