Phaedymia

Phaedymia (or Phaedyme, Phædima; Greek: Φαιδύμη) was the daughter of Otanes, a Persian noble a highly influential noble at the Achaemenid court.^[1][2] She was married in turn to Cambyses II, Bardiya (Gaumata?) and Darius I.^[3]

Herodotus tells us in his Histories that the Persian king Cambyses II married Phaedymia. Otanes may have been the brother of Cassandane, who was Cambyses' mother. If this is correct, Phaedymia was not only Cambyses' wife but also his cousin.^[2]

Cambyses died in the spring of 522 BCE, and was succeeded by Gaumata, a magus who pretended to be Bardiya, son of Cyrus. According to Herodotus, Otanes was the first to suspect that the new king was not Bardiya, son of Cyrus, but an impostor. Phaedymia, along with all the other wives of Cambyses II, became the wife of the false Bardiya. Despite the risks, Phaedymia did not hesitate to help her father uncover the truth. She confirmed that the new king was the magus Gaumata and not the true Bardiya.^[4] Upon learning this news, Otanes began organizing a conspiracy which resulted in the death of Gaumata and the rise of Darius I to the Persian throne in September 522 BC. Herodotus recounts that Phaedymia married Darius, and Otanes, in turn, married an unnamed sister of his new son-in-law.^[5]

References

1. Benardete, Seth (1969), Benardete, Seth (ed.), "Persia", Herodotean Inquiries, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 69–98, doi:10.1007/978-94-010-3161-5_4, ISBN 978-94-010-3161-5, retrieved 2024-02-23
2. "Cambyses II". Livius.org. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
3. Kershaw, Stephen P. (2022-04-07). Three Epic Battles that Saved Democracy: Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4721-4564-2.
4. "Representações do Feminino nas Histórias de Heródoto". Retrieved 2021-06-22.
5. "Darius the Great: Dynastic Marriages". Livius.org. Retrieved 2021-06-23.

• Histories of Herodotus, Book 3, 3.69