The beautiful island of Rhodes, with all its delightful mythological
associations, its roses and its splendid scenery, has not escaped
the horrors of war; it has been besieged several times, and in all
instances in connection with great names and great events.
Mausolus, king of Caria, subdued Rhodes. After his death, the Rhodians
revolted, and besieged Artemisia, his widow, in Halicarnassus. This
king and queen are rendered immortal in the European word _mausoleum_,
derived from the splendid monument so called, one of the seven wonders
of the world, which she built to his memory. She gave prizes to
poets for panegyrics written to commemorate his virtues; but still
further did her grief carry her,--she resolved to give him a yet more
extraordinary tomb. Having collected his ashes left by the burning of
his body, and caused the bones to be beaten in a mortar, she mingled
some of the powder every day in her drink, till she had consumed it
all, meaning by this to make her own body the sepulchre of her husband.
Notwithstanding her active, energetic spirit, her grief proved too
strong for her, and she died lamenting him, two years after his decease.
This princess ordered the inhabitants of Halicarnassus to meet the
Rhodians with open arms, as if they meant to deliver up their city to
them. The deceived Rhodians landed their men, and left their ships
empty, for the purpose of entering the place. In the mean time,
Artemisia ordered out her own galleys, which seized the fleet of the
enemy, and, having thus deprived them of the means of retreat, she
surrounded the Rhodians and made a general slaughter of them. This
intrepid queen then sailed towards Rhodes. The citizens, perceiving
their vessels coming home crowned with flowers, admitted the Carian
fleet into their port, amidst cries and exclamations of joy. Their
surprise may be supposed when they recognised their unwelcome visitors.
Artemisia insisted upon having the authors of the revolt put to death,
and returned home in triumph. We cannot leave this remarkable princess
without mentioning the extraordinary part she played in the immortal
battle of Salamis. She, from her country, was of course against the
Greeks, and, with her vessels, formed part of the fleet of Xerxes.
She strongly advised Xerxes to avoid a naval engagement; the Greeks,
she said, were more accustomed to the sea than the Persians were, and
would have a great advantage upon that element. Although her advice was
not listened to, she did her duty so nobly in the fight, that Xerxes
exclaimed,--“That if the men appeared like women before the Greeks, the
women fought like heroes.” In order to escape the Greeks, who pursued
her warmly, she hoisted a Greek flag, and to complete the deception,
attacked a Persian vessel commanded by Clamasithymus, king of Calydna,
her personal enemy, and sunk it. After this, the Greeks, believing her
to be of their party, offered her no more molestation.